remarks at the baseball hall of fame in cooperstown this morning. expected to touch on how tourism can lead to good-paying jobs. he's the firstth anniversary this summer. cooperstown is very cool. that's going to do it for "way too early." "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ we see a lot of people fooling around in the background of newscasts, but this is exceptional. this is tonight's edition of "behind the news." >> while following her victory speech, asked to leave a message for her illness. they will work together in this harrisburg community.

>> i love it. working for you tonight in harr harrisburg. that's pretty good. good morning, everyone. it's thursday, may 22nd. hello, thomas. with us on set we have mike barnicle and the host of "way too early" thomas roberts. and in washington, the washington anchor for bbc world news america, katty kay. >> yeah. you did. >> what the heck? did he oversleep? >> yes. >> john heilemann is supposed to be here. right. okay. >> he actually -- he smokes massive quantities of dope and we all know that. and so it's kind of like, you know, you've heard the story of a scorpion took the frog across the river and then we shot the scorpion. the scorpion said, well, you know, when john heilemann has a

tattoo around his chest that says do bongs live long, you can't be surprised he's going to come in late. >> i was up until 10:00 last nielt, but i'm here. >> he's stoned. >> it's for medical purposes. it's his back. >> all right. this picture -- >> it's his back. exactly. it's his back just like rick perry in the campaign -- 2012 campaign, this is heilemann's excuse. it's his back. it's why he smokes so much dope. >> this picture, we'll talk about it later. it's a little disturbing. the story itself disturbing. they are doing shots to celebrate their big deal between russia and china. that's a huge deal. >> that is, man. that's big. >> okay. but -- >> you know, mike -- i was just going to say, mike -- i'm just saying. talk about how much our world's changed, mike barnicle. you remember this.

the fear was china and russia coming together and we face that in korea, we face that in vietnam, and what we're facing now is china and russia, the danger of them coming together not, you know, moving weapons and tanks across the borders. now it's pipelines, it's oil, it's energy. it shows how much the world's changed. this a great challenge to the united states. >> joe, this is a great challenge to the united states. it enhances the economic stance of both countries. russia is a low-growth economy right now. this is a 30-year deal that's going to put literally billions of dollars into their pockets. in the meantime it's going to increase china's economic strength as well by getting low-cost energy. >> we'll talk about this in just a moment. but first president obama is vowing accountability for claims of manipulating wait list at a growing number of hospitals across the country.

after meeting with va secretary yesterday, the president voiced the scandal. >> when i hear allegations of misconduct, any misconduct whether it's allegations of va staff covering up long wait times or cooking the books, i will not stand for it. not as commander in chief but also not as an american. none of us should. so if these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful, and i will not tolerate it, period. >> so now the president is standing by the secretary, but that is pending a full report. >> i know he cares about it deeply. you know, he has been a great public servant and a great warrior on behalf of the united states of america. we're going to work with him to solve the problem. but i am going to make sure that

there is accountability throughout the system. rick shinseki serves this country, i think, because he cares deeply about veterans and the mission. i know that rick's attitude is if he does not think he can do a good job on this and has let our veterans down, i'm sure he's not going to be interested in continuing to serve. >> the president also touted work that had been done to improve the va under his watch including advancements in treating ptsd, homelessness. still his response wasn't enough for many. top republican leaders called it a national embarrassment. some asking for emergency action. others say he failed to treat the situation with the gravity it deserves. meanwhile, the inspector general's investigation has expanded to 26 facilities

nationwide. and nbc's john yang found more problems at a va in new mexico where there is management intimidation. >> reporter: this current health care worker who doesn't want to be identified for fear of retaliation says some patients are assigned to doctors who don't ever see them. >> those are doctors who are either in administration or gone. >> reporter: no longer working there. >> right. >> reporter: but they are still listed as having patients. >> yes. >> reporter: a staff physician called it a climate of deceit. it breaks my heart and makes me so furious that these veterans get bad care. >> as barnicle and i were just saying, these investigations happen every few years. this is an ongoing problem. but right now there's some light on them. i guess the question i have for you is at this point, it is clear that things have been

mishandled. it is clear that things are falling apart when more veterans need more service than ever before. i don't see around swift action. >> well, sadly it's not swift action. i don't understand what the president was talking about yesterday when he acted shocked by all these things happening. he talked about secretary shinseki who served. he has been running the va for six years now. we have seen massive backlogs. we've seen the most inefficient va in the history of the agency. now we've overturned this rock and what we've seen underneath is truly ugly and horrific. you've got veterans groups that are demanding his apologies and

his m recognition. he says if general shinseki doesn't think he can do the job, he'll leave the job. that's not how it works in the white house. it's not the cabinet secretary's job who's botched things up terribly over six years to decide whether or not he can do the job. that's what presidents are supposed to do. and mika, my question is to you and then to mike, my question to you is how can this president six years in act like this is the first problem with the va and say he's not going to stand for it if there's this sort of mismanagement and then not demand a resignation six years in? i'm shocked. i really am. >> my only hope is these problems are so deep rooted and they have been going on for so many decades, some of them, that perhaps he's doing the extra

work finally needed to get to the root of the problem and maybe it won't be just one symbolic resignation but a complete overhaul. that's what i can hope for. >> sadly this is not a new problem. these latest stories could have been written five years ago, ten years ago. there are 150 va hospitals. veterans go for 230,000 visits per day through that system. the system has already been breaking down for a decade. we've been at war, our latest war for 13 years. you've got iraq and afghani veterans now waiting to get into clinics. some of them incredibly difficult to get to, the clinics themselves. general shinseki it sounds from the president's wording yesterday as if he was on his way out the door. and katty, the system in washington, the bureaucratic system in washington, sometimes we rely too much on a person's

past performance. general shinseki's performance in the military was admirable. clearly his performance in the va is not up to par. >> and president obama recognized the problems in the va in 2008 when he was campaigning and spoke specifically about needing to overhaul them and address them. when he appointed general shinseki, he knew he had problems to fix because of all of those veterans coming back with wounds from afghanistan and iraq that needed the va's assistance. the only thing i thought was interesting yesterday in a way was president obama seemed to go closer publicly towards the idea that shinseki may be leaving than he has done in previous cases where people at the top have been under fire and the white house has resolutely stuck by them at least initially. >> as we said at the top of the show, vladimir putin has found a

friend. the russian president entered a $400 billion gas deal with the chinese capping over a decade of negotiations. the agreement gives moscow a huge energy market following sanctions that has limited its opportunity with the west. the kremlin described the 30-year contract as ground breaking. analysts say putin was willing to concede prices as the russian economy teeters on the brink of recession. the first thing i saw this morning, i thought it was one of the biggest headlines of the day and the most disturbing ones. >> well, i mean, if we spoke at the top of the show, it has altered the immediate fates, long range fates of two giant powers. russia and china. in their favor at our expense to a certain extent. >> katty kay, we have been working with others to try and deal with the fact that there is an energy dependence on russia and ukraine and that relationship has made it hard

for europe to even get behind us in some of our efforts. how does this change the game? >> i think secretary kerry said yesterday he saw there was no relationship between what was happening in ukraine and this deal that was signed, this $400 billion deal. i'm not sure. i think there was clearly a lot of pressure on president putin because of the sanctions proposed so far and the threat of further sanctions. moscow's under pressure here. this is a real result of that. he went to china and he had to negotiate a much worse deal than he otherwise would have gotten. because beijing is saying we know the europeans aren't going to buy it. so we'll buy it for you. i think in some ways it's a kind of -- the prospect of china and russia coming together may alarm the west. it's also an indication that what the west has done so far to russia has taken a squeeze and russia is not in as strong of a

position as it might have been in this deal. >> i agree with katty completely. it's also an indication that the energy revolution that's coming to the united states is scaring the russians for good reason. causing great concern to china. and this is -- it's both of these countries that are often bad actors on the international stage doing what's in their best interest. and certainly, katty, the last thing that either china or russia wants is to have the united states of america being the top producer of oil on the globe and having this natural gas revolution. and not somehow figuring out a way to counterbalance the additional power we're going to experience over the next decade. this is classic balance of power politics, isn't it? >> yeah. smacks of the cold war all over again when you've got superpowers on different sides of the globe trying to duke it out over energy concerns. you're right about fears from

russia about america exporting their natural gas. so far the gas boom in america has not yet been exported. the europeans are now saying give us those licenses. export more so we're not as dependent on russia anymore. i mean, whatever people are saying, it just feels like we have gone back 20 years to the time when we're looking at the balance of power between east and west. >> and mika, the dus function in washington, d.c. more than any issue where washington politicians are literally cutting off our noses to spite our faces, it's in this area of energy. and i'm not being harold ford here talking energy, energy, energy. but katty just brought it up. the europeans want us to be more aggressive in exporting natural gas, giving them licenses. the canadians, we have the

canadian ambassador on our show last week saying what are you guys doing? this is easy. this is obvious. we're going to shift this oil anyway, why don't we do it the safest way through your pipelines. and we're going to talk about him later on, tom stier. he's in the news again this morning. it shows how money is not only perverting american politics on both sides, but actually is starting to impact not only america's economic security, but europe's economic security. it's making the eu, making canada, make the rest of the world look at us going, are they jokes? >> well, we're stagnating. >> are they jokes? do they want to be a super power? or do they want to allow russia and china to, you know, to have even more of a say because they won't step up and take their rightful role as leaders on the

globe. >> it feels like we're going back in time on a number of levels at a time when others are clear i will moving forward and enjoying the moment and perhaps going to get the upper hand if we're not careful. i want to move onto benghazi. house democrats are joining the committee in investigating the attack in 2012. nancy pelosi appointed five lawmakers after weeks of debate whether democrats should boycott the panel. she picked cummings, smith, duckworth, sanchez. congressman cummings will be the ranking member. he said the ninth congressional investigation into the murder of four americans is not necessary, but democrats will be there to ensure the committee is not politicized. >> i feel that i owe it to the families of ambassador stevens and the other brave americans who lost their precious lives to

bring some minimal level of balance to this process and to check false claims wherever they may arise. in short, ladies and gentlemen, i believe we need someone in that room to simply defend the truth. defend the truth. that is why i've agreed to serve. >> seven republicans are serving on the committee led by trey gowdy. i would think the opposite would keep it from -- because if you left them alone, the republicans to do this, it would look incredibly political. what am i missing here? in terms of elijah's decision on his explanation. >> right. i think the democrats really don't have a choice. leave a side whether you agree with me this actually is a big deal and it needs to be investigated more because the white house has not been

forthcoming. leave all of that aside. if you're a democrat and think it's nonsense, you still need to be involved and you need to be involved because an ambassador died at his post for the first time since 1979, four americans died, and to stay away from this, this is not a land deal in arkansas. this is not whitewater. if the democrats stayed away from this investigation, it just -- it would be, i think, politically it would be dangerous for them. they're going to have to stay there and going to have to be involved. they can be very aggressive and katty kay, they can try to block whatever they can try to block. but at least they need to show up there. because there are, again, much bigger implications in domestic politics here. >> i think nancy pelosi made the right decision. it would have looked curious if the democrats hadn't shown up to this. there are risks here, too, i think for the republicans in

making this special investigation look too political and perhaps overstretching too far. i think the republican leadership is conscious of that, but they don't want to play to accusations that they are just doing this for politics and not for national security. which is why they're falling over themselves to say this is just going to be about the facts. we'll see what the tone of this investigation and how it actually comes out. >> it is the knife, thomas. they could -- i guess they have to be there. i guess you're right, joe. but it seems at some point they really have to let it go. >> i think to the casual observer, on the calendar to people, it does look nakedly transparent to find a way to keep hillary clinton in the news as secretary of state. when you look at the calendar and think whether or not she's going to keep her hat in the ring for 2016, this is the only reason why it is political hay to make for the republican party. it's not going to be determined exactly what happens -- happened

specifically that night. so what is the investigation hoping to prove? >> you're the third person, joe being the first, katty being the second using the keyword here "investigation." trey gowdy and a couple of republicans, they have used the word "trial." >> it's just not. >> that's the difference right there. >> joe, jump in. >> it needs to be an investigation. and i think a lot of people feel the way thomas feels and i think a lot of people feel the way i feel. i want answers. the white house hasn't been forthcoming. republicans have politicized this. democrats politicized this. and for those who watch the show every day and have for years, they'll remember i came out and eviscerated mitt romney for

holding a process conference the next day with things that nobody knew. it disturbs me the white house is holding back e-mails. the lawyer in me that's been through this before knows if they're holding back one e-mail that goes to the heart of susan rice and what she said, there may be something else out there. i have learned to grow skeptical of politicians on both sides of the aisle. saying we've investigated this 27 times, just move along while information is still dripping out. if there's nothing here, if the republicans overreach, guess who the winner is. the democratic party. if it's really an overreach, democrats have nothing to worry about. because you can go back to another off-year election like in 1998 where we republicans were seen as overreaching in impeachment and republicans thought we were going to win big that year, we got slaughtered. it cost newt gingrich the speakership.

so i think mike's right. let's investigate. the facts. >> it does seem like they're trying to prove something. not investigate anything. that's all. >> you're drawing that conclusion. let's actually let trey gowdy start the investigation and then we can judge him. actually, this is radical. we can judge him on how he runs the committee. >> okay. we can do that. coming up on "morning joe," he's set to meet with eric shinseki on the hill. before he does that, senate dick durbin is here. and later, senator tom coburn. what republicans learned from tuesday's primary results. but first -- >> unfortunately there i was trying to be serious and funny. i was asked a question by a guy who says i have a great candidate for the fbi. the problem is he smoked marijuana within the last five years. >> the fbi director clarifies his comments on pot smoking

agents to a very interested senate panel. plus this scene from a subway station in brazil. and this is before hundreds of thousands descend on the country for the world cup? up next, explaining how republicans lose by winning. here now is bill kairns for a check on the forecast who always loses by winning. >> i'm the winningest loser. is that a good way of putting it? >> good one. >> good morning, everyone. video out of colorado was impressive yesterday. another day with active weather and e veer storms. hailstones were bouncing all over the place. we did see some large hail, too, that did some damage. how about that? that's almost tennis ball size there. this picture sent to me from the denver police department. it was very impressive. this the aftermath of that storm. as much as five inches of hail on the ground. we had a lot of bad storms last

night in kentucky, new york city. we have one strong storm heading for maryland. the beltway being clipped by this. as we go through the afternoon, additional storms in the northeast. new york city, philadelphia, washington, d.c., and the capitol district. that's probably where the worst country will be in the country. that's 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. today. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪ hi, are we still on for tomorrow? tomorrow. quick look at the weather. nice day, beautiful tomorrow. tomorrow is full of promise.

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♪ time now to take a look at the morning papers. from our parade of papers, san jose mercury news. ebay warns users to change their

passwords right now after hackers got hold of information. the security breach compromised customer names, e-mails, phone numbers, and home addresses. the company says no credit or debit card information is stolen. how's that possible? ebay has 223 million customers worldwide. i'm not comfortable. joe? >> and they're joined at the hip with paypal. this is dangerous. my lord. "the wall street journal," the director of the fbi is clarifying his comments on marijuana saying he has no plans to adjust the bureau's policy. earlier this week director james comey -- as many of the top computer experts smoke pot. yesterday he said he was trying to use humor and will not change the current policy. i actually -- i was joking around about it yesterday. i'm not actually joking now.

if we're trying to track down the most dangerous cyber criminals in the world, if somebody smoked pot in the last five years, shouldn't be a disqualifier. that's bordering on ridiculous. >> joe, just take a look at the nsa and computer geeks who you hire. you're not going to go out and hire someone like thomas and myself. you're going to hire a 22-year-old person with a lip ring, nose ring who knows what to do with computers. >> seriously, does anybody in the federal government think that people that are some of the top programmers at google, yahoo! that work at apple or facebook, twitter, do they think people like this drink iced tea like me at night or maybe smoke pot? >> where do you think heilemann is right now? >> we look at this from a larger level. we have states that legalize

marijuana now. they have a pool of contenders they are discounting in a place where they are afforded the right to have and buy marijuana. so we need to get federally connected. >> all need to move to colorado. usa today, mcdonald's -- >> i think heilemann's there. >> this is important, joe. amongst protests of the company's headquarters in illinois. yesterday police arrested more than 130 protesters for demonstrating outside the company's headquarters. 2,000 activists and workers flocked to oak brook to protest wages and treatment. workers are calling for $15 in hourly wages and the right to unionize. and they should get it. >> this from the new york daily news. a cocktail party held at the 9/11 museum. alcohol and hors d'oeuvres were served during the event. michael bloomberg and other

donors were in attendance. some first responders were turned away that afternoon so they could prep. >> 7% of women who get a double mastectomy do not need it. research from the university of michigan who opt to remove a healthy breast after being diagnosed in the other breast are motivated by fear. rates of double mastectomies are up in years. breast cancer is one thing i feel you get so much conflicting information. honestly, every year there's something new. it is -- what else is a woman supposed to do but everything then? >> if you're diagnosed with a predisposed genetic marker, that also adds to the confusion and people want to act out of an abundance to their health. >> i think we need scientific rules at some point they know

more about. "the washington post," chaos has taken place in sao paulo. they're raising questions about the ability to handle the people set to attend the world cup. also dozens of protests this week. demonstrators saying money allocated for the world cup would have been better used for the country's poor. >> wow. that's awful. i will be watching the world cup from the united states of america. >> exactly. >> look at that. >> that's insanity. >> okay. we'll be following that. time now for politico, thomas. >> that's unbelievable. >> all right. joining us now for the politico playbook is john harris. good morning. >> good morning. >> explain what politico means by the gop loses by winning. this is in the larger

conversation of continuing the investigation into, say, hillary clinton and when she was secretary of state for benghazi. >> yeah. talking about it just a little bit earlier this morning. picture somebody on a raft out in an ocean, really thirsty. the one thing you don't do is drink the salt water, right? you'll get thirstier later. a lot of republican pollsters we talked to view the election in this content. republicans heading for what looks to be a good year. going to clearly keep the house, maybe take the senate. they're doing it in part by leaving themselves vulnerable on the issues they need to turn around for the 2016 context. being benghazi excessive is an example. tighter abortion laws that more establishment republicans have been touting in part to hold off challenges from the right. it's been successful but again positioning the party where it doesn't necessarily want to be to broaden its support in 2016.

minimum wage. another great example. >> john, you say this is basically being a little short sided. it doesn't position the party for the white house the 2016, the rms. >> this is pattern we've seen. 2010, great year for republicans. saying we've got the message. we're in good shape for 2012. the opposite was true. good congressional years, bad presidential years. long-term can't be a successful national party unless you're also a presidential party. and a pollster down here says right now the republican party is only a congressional party. not a presidential party. >> good to see you. coming up, the spurs take care of thunder in game one. in game two, it was easier for them. plus why did this mma fighter voluntarily tap out of the fight that he was winning? his surprising explanation next.

you won't believe it. that when we come back. ♪ [ female announcer ] who are we? we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. ...i got lots of advice, but i needed information i could trust. unitedhealthcare's innovative, simple program helps moms stay on track with their doctors to get the right care and guidance. (anncr vo) that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. the most free research reports,

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♪ welcome back, everybody. sports now. thunder and spurs in game two of the western conference finals. san antonio abusing the thunder

in the paint without the injured serge ibaka. tony parker led with 22 points. the spurs take a 0-2 series lead after putting down the beatdown on okc. nba playoff action picks back up on saturday in miami. the pacers and the heat. heat looking to take an edge in game three. to the stanley cup playoffs. we've got the kings, the blackhawks in game two. chicago with a one-goal lead. ben smith scoring another to make it 2-0 blackhawks. dodi nets the equalizer for l.a. that's six unanswered goals for l.a. for the 6-2 win. series now tied one game a piece. tonight the rangers look to put the canadiens on the brink coming up in game three. president obama hosted the seattle seahawks at the white

house yesterday. he's been working on material. take a listen. >> i considered letting sherman up here to the podium today. give him the mic. but yeah. we got to go in a little bit. i am sorry that marshawn's not here because i just wanted to say how much i admire his approach to the press. that spirit of working hard and giving back has endeared this team to its fans in a way many cities can't replicate. you all have that stadium that's kind of cheating because it's so loud. >> something we don't cover enough. mixed martial arts. >> yeah. i love mixed martial. >> amateur fight ends exactly the opposite of how you expect it to the guy in the white dominating. but for some reason he backs off, taps out many the middle of the fight. why would he do that? >> i just feel that there's no

point fighting him because he didn't train against me and i didn't train for him. i feel we're amateur fighters. we don't get money. we don't get paid. and i know that the only thing i'm going to finish the fight is in going to get hurt. i would feel terrible so just gave the win. >> two hits left. my hitting you, you hitting the floor. he didn't want to hurt the poor kid. over to baseball. this made one of the strangest ways for the game to end. >> nowhere to put them here. bases loaded two down in the bottom of the 13th. the indians win it. can you believe that? >> a balk-off. 13th inning after the winning run is balked.

cleveland gets the victory and the three-game series sweep. balk. >> my lord. >> it was a balk. >> mike, good luck, man, in the locker room after that. >> yeah. well, tito francona needed that win. that was a good one for them. a balk-off. >> awful. that's all i've got to say. it's awful. coming up on "morning joe," six years after the financial crisis and a big bank pleads guilty to a major climb. asking why does nobody seem to care. and then later -- >> are you talking about counting cards? >> no. i'm talking about getting very, very rich. >> his books have been turned into major hollywood blockbusters. now ben meserit is speaking

about online gambling. but first mika's must-read opinion pages. much more "morning joe" after this. ♪

i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your future? we'll help you get there. there was a boy who traveled to a faraway place where villages floated on water and castles were houses dragons lurked

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♪ time now for the must-read opinion pages. we're going to read from "the wall street journal" editorial. they're talking about the tea party, joe. and they have a reason -- i don't know. they're fudging things here, i think. the media's latest -- >> of course you do. >> the media's latest political line is that the republican establishment has finally crushed the tea party. the truth as usual is more interesting. the tea party has already changed the gop on policy and mostly for the better, but it is

suffering this year because of candidates and operatives acting in its name have been motivated more by personal than policy agendas. consider matt bevin, greg brennan. they are those who have lost by large margins in gop primaries. they didn't lose because the gop electorate has been captured by moderates. they lost because they seemed less capable of winning in november. gop voters opted for the conservatives with the better chance to retake the senate from harry reid and chuck schumer. i don't know. doesn't that just mean the tea party has bad candidates which is the same thing as the republican moderates crushing the tea party. >> but the thing is the people weren't moderates. you certainly have a front runner in georgia that's more of an establishment republican, but

other than that example, most of these guys and women are very conservativ conservative. and "the wall street journal" is right. on policy they're not that different. but you also have a lot of people who are hocksters. you have a guy that was running against -- you know, against the pailout, who supported the bailout in 2008, 2009. so i think "the wall street journal" is exactly right. the tea party has influenced the overall republican party. and after ten years of big spending republicanism, that's a good thing. >> mike. >> katty, i don't want joe's head to explode -- >> it might. >> -- so i'm going to ask you this question. in the context referred to as the gop establishment, is there a way that you or anybody, joe included, could tell people what is is moderate today in the republican party.

>> i think a moderate is somebody in the republican party who is prepared to deal with the other side to get things done and doesn't sign pledges on issues like the debt ceiling, for example. that's increasingly hard to find. one of the tragedies of the last couple of years in american politics is the resignation of one, o limp ya snow, said she couldn't work there anymore. i think the e real story has been watching the chamber of commerce. the fact you've had establishment business organizations step in to get their candidates in because they didn't like what happened last fall with the threat of america defaulting on its debt. and i think that's an interesting story. >> that's exactly what i was going to say. last fall was indicative of some people seizing the tea party mantle using it to raise money.

to raise their national profile. and there are a lot of republican -- there actually are a lot of consultants in washington, d.c. that don't give a damn whether the republican party controls the senate and harry reid is minority leader rather than majority leader. they want to make a quick buck. that's what they've been doing. the chamber of commerce stepped in and squashed a lot of them. i think that's a good thing. this is more about style than it is about substance. it's more about people running around shouting and playing the resentment card than it has to do with ideology. we have a conservative party. it's been a very conservative party since 1994. i don't think that's going to change. as i have always said, republicans -- guess what. part of that has to do with sitting down with the other side and figuring out where we have common ground and how we can move the country forward. still ahead on "morning

joe," news you cannot use. steven tyler surprises some street performers. and it's not music to their ears or ours. ♪ ♪ ♪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.

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♪ we all know and love this song from the '90s. it is one of the most iconic by aerosmith. take a listen. ♪ crazy crazy ♪ baby i go crazy >> all right. remember that? >> right. slow dance song. >> some street performers were playing an instrumental version of this song when a foreigner decided to join in on the performance. ♪ ♪ ooh ooh ♪ ooh ooh

>> i could listen to that all day. >> that is horrific. >> that is aerosmith lead singer steven tyler who is great, by the way. we love steven. the band is in lithuania for a concert. hopefully that violin was off pitch. or his side pony was a little too tight. i don't know. but his mika blue scarf looks good. >> yes. i'm confused. >> needs to go back to the rest home and just kind of hang out for awhile. >> there's autotune when you get on stage. he's a nice guy. >> do they fix your voice? >> they could. coming up at the top of the hour, russia and china say bottoms up as they toast a $400 billion gas deal. where does that leave the u.s.? plus the president vows to get to the bottom of the va scandal.

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her gigantic mouth looks like it will devour an elephant in one bite. >> mindy is not funny or attractive. she has an annoying voice. and just plainly sucks. why does she have her own show? i feel like this is more than 140 characters. >> david blaine looks like his voice is putting his face to sleep. >> don rickles looks like yoda. >> ethan hawke seems like a guy who wasn't supposed to be a movie star, but he slipped through the cracks and everyone was just like, okay. >> don't you love the ones that are kind of true? and you can tell they can tell. it's really funny. welcome back to "morning joe." mike barnicle, thomas roberts, and at that tim katty kay are b. also with us the author of the

great book "young money." where's heilemann? >> i don't know. i can't vouch for him anymore. he's not my problem. >> that's what i'm saying. >> i don't know. actually the problem is that as long as he was at new york magazine, he was a i believe to keep him in control. he leaves and goes over to bloomberg and they have dope parties over there. so you know. >> not confirmed. >> not confirmed. but i don't know. drop a lot of acid over there from what i hear. >> stop. >> we don't want to spread rumors. i'm sorry. >> before we get to the news, we were texts and on the phone you with your kids me not anymore. this is kind of sad. i used to watch ai with my kids. they were excited for it. now i watch it alone.

there was an incredible performance by john legend last night. take a look. ♪ you fix your makeup just so guess you don't know that you're beautiful ♪ ♪ try on every dress that you own ♪ ♪ you were fine in my eyes a half hour ago ♪ >> so, mika, kate was blown away by john legend and everything. kate watches all the time. and big fan of john legend. so i tweeted out last night great performance by john legend. p.s., kate's a huge fan. he wrote back and said tell kate hi. she was jumping across the room. huge shock and it almost helped kate get past the fact that caleb was the winner last night.

which was a big shock. >> i like caleb. >> i thought caleb was great, but i don't think a lot of people expected him to win last night. >> oh, i did. >> did he really? >> two things. mika used the acronym ai which i didn't know. >> "american idol." >> that went over my head. and john legend. he is a big msnbc fan. >> he's a great guy. i'm not surprised he tweeted right back. we should have him on the show. he likes coming on. we'll bring in on and kate in. >> he's a great guy. i'm go i think to call it ai so i'm down with the kids on the street. >> i thought it was allen iverson. >> yeah. so what's going on in the news? >> vladimir putin has found a friend and it's a good friend to have, i guess, if you're vladimir putin. the russian president inked a $400 billion gas deal with the

chinese capping over a decade of negotiations. it gives moscow a huge energy market. the kremlin described the 30-year contract as a ground breaking event. analysts say he was willing to concede lower prices to beijing as the russian economy teeters on the brink of recession. we have all these ans. we hurt their economy. and they can fix it elsewhere. >> well, they can fix it. but katty, i tell you what, it's a tremendous price for putin. he had to go to the chinese begging because russia is actually starting to feel the pinch from the problems that have gripped it before crimea, but especially since. >> yeah, it was interesting. yesterday john kerry made a point of saying he didn't think this deal had anything to do with ukraine. of course it's not about what's happening in europe right now. but certainly what's happened in

krooi mere ya and ukraine has had an effect on vladimir putin. he had to go to the chinese in a much less strong position because of those sanctions that are already hitting and the threat of more sanctions against the russian economy. i think you're starting to see the impact of what the united states and europe have done against russia is starting to bite. putin is in no stronger position than he'd like to be. at the same time you have the europeans now looking to america rather than nervously in saying we're still worried about losing some of that russian gas if we're going to go ahead with even more sanctions. can you help and give me licenses. >> it's a buyer's market. putin goes to china. they get him down in price. russia's economy is teetering

anyway. very slow growth, low growth economy. what does this portend for the immediate future of economics? >> it means they have the largest trading partner as china. they have this 30-year deal now that will guarantee them steady rev gnaw. they're going to have to diversify away from gas at some point. they cannot live on gas alone. as you're seeing in some countries in the middle east, these countries are starting to take stakes in american companies. because they don't want their entire economic future dependent on natural gas, oil, and things like that. >> okay. we're going to -- i also want to get to your piece on credit suisse which is really good. but first we want to get to the va investigation. president obama is vowing for accountability for manipulated wait lists at a growing number of va hospitals across the country. the president voiced frustration

with the skap dal but for now he's standing by him pending a full report. >> i know he cares about it deeply. he has been a great public servant and a great warrior on what have of the united states of america. we're going to work with him to solve the problem. but i am going to make sure that there is accountability throughout the problem. rick shinseki serves this country, i think, because he cares deeply about veterans and the mission. and i know that rick's attitude is if he does not think he could do a good job on this, then i'm sure he is not going to be interested in continuing to serve. >> the president also touted work that has been done to improve the va under his watch including advancements in treating ptsd, homelessness, and bringing the agency into the 21st century. still his response was not

enough for many. top republican leaders called it a national embarrassment. some calling for emergency action. others saying he failed to treat the situation with the gravity it deserves. the investigation has expanded to 26 facilities nationwide. you start scratching the surface of this and you'll find story after story after story because a lot of this is systemic at the va joining us now senator dick durbin. thanks for being with us. >> good to be with you. >> did you think more should have happened after the press conference? >> the house did move on a bill to give the va new authority to replace senior executives. today in the senate we're going to have a hearing in the appropriations committee about more money for the inspector general. and at 12:30 i'm going to meet with general shinseki in my office to focus specifically on

illinois facilities. most people don't realize that almost half of the returning veterans from iraq and afghanistan are filing disability claims. this is a larger number than before. we've seen more and more of these men and women who serve their country honorably needing help. the question is whether we can rise to this challenge and we must. >> all right. >> dick, joe scarborough. general shinseki has been there for six years now. we've had serious backlog. we now have scandals erupting across the nation. should the president have asked for his resignation yesterday? >> i think the president is respectful of general shinseki's contribution to this country. he's an amazing man. i respect him very much. i think it was asked earlier in the program, is that enough.

can he manage this huge bureaucracy? >> he's had six years. we all respect his service, but you respect the service of the men and women from illinois who served honorably in iraq and afghanistan and vietnam and cross the decades dpop they not deserve better treatment than they're getting and six years in should the president not have asked for his resignation yesterday? >> i think we've seen some improvement in the va but the current situation is unacceptable. in illinois and across the nation. i think there's going to be clear accountability here. general shinseki today, i'm going to put him on the spot to tell me what he's done in these six years and where we are. what we've heard, unacceptable. we have to reach the point where we serve our veterans and keep our promise to them. >> you say there's been some improvement in the va. is the va better off today than it was in 2009 when general

shinseki took over the va? >> you can see statistically an improvement in the diminishing backlog of cases for disabilities. that's a positive thing. but i have to say -- >> so we're better than we were in 2011. but are we better than we were in 2009 when he took over this job? >> i think yes in some aspects. but it is unacceptable if we have waiting lists for any veterans that endanger their health, period. if we find that has been the case, we have to make dramatic changes and these changes could go all the way to the top. >> all right, mike barnicle go ahead. >> senator durbin, i'm not picking on you and i don't want to pick on you. you're a good guy. but you've been in washington for 30 years. you were in the house of representatives. you've been in the united states senate. it's not just you individually,

but memorial day is coming up. we have senators coast to coast wearing flag pins. but during your course in washington, what percentage of constituent services are devoted to va, to veterans? i would assume it is a high percentage of complaints and yet little has occurred over the years to truly improve the va. why? >> mike, i can tell you what has happened. a dramatic increase in va activity with the disability claims coming in from iraq and afghanistan. many of the men and women who would have died on the battlefield are brought back and go through an amazing reconstructive surgery and therapy and helped to get back on their feet. more and more demands on the va system and it has not been able to rise to the challenge. it has been overwhelmed by this. congress has a responsibility here as well. we have to provide the resources for the va to do their job to keep our promise to veterans. the responsibility for this just

doesn't lie in the white house. it's on capitol hill as well. today we'll take up that appropriation. we should put the resources there to serve the veterans as well. >> but the va was overwhelmed by vietnam. and now again. you're right people are saving lives, but this is an ongoing problem. >> let me put some perspective on it. ki remember my brothers and others who went and served in vietnam and came home and said why didn't they adjust into society, what's the problem with those guys, why are they having those difficulties? now we know. post-traumatic situations are being identified and treated as they should have been long ago. we are accepting a major responsibility, which we should, to these veterans to provide the services. but the system is not up to the challenge. we've got to make sure the system works and there are lead ners the system that demand it works. >> it's going to take a lot of money if you want to overhaul the system.

i want to take in another angle here for you, senator. from chicago former chairman of the rnc, michael steele. off question for the senator. >> senator, good to see you this morning. i understand and i hear exactly what you're saying. accountability, the congress has a role, the white house is not fully responsible, there are all these other players. where do you draw the line as a sitting united states senator as mike barnicle laid out your bona fides. you've been there. where do you draw the line? what is too much? at what point do you get so outraged that heads have to roll? right now i think all the american people are hearing is sort of the typical washington platitudes about what we should have done, what we need to do. and yet here we are six years later and this is the problem. where do you draw the line and gets you upset to the point you say you've got to go? >> where i draw the line is when any of the 750,000 veterans in illinois come forward and ask

this government for services promised and they are not given those services in a timely professional way, period. let me say this as well. if general shinseki were gone tomorrow, the challenge at the va would still be there. we've got to make certain that everyone is pulling together. it's easy to point fingers of blame and say if one person goes, that ought to solve the problem. it is more than that. it is a challenge to a system but a promise we've made that it's going to work. these men and women are the costs of war. their treatment and all of the help they need are the real costs of war which we should bear as a nation proudly. >> and senator, as you know as well as anybody, this has been a problem for a very long time. i talked about the problems i had 10, 15 years ago with constituents. a lot of it has to do with the money. do you think this is one issue that republicans and democrats can come together on and actually get more funding for an overwhelmed va system? >> i think so, joe. i'll tell you why. when we did sequestration, as

awful as it was, we exempted the veterans administration. we said there won't be cutbacks there because we have to make sure the services are going to be there even as we reduce spending in our government. that was a bipartisan decision, a reflection of the way congress feels and should feel about serving the veterans. >> senator dick durbin, thank you for joining us. >> good to be with you. >> kevin, i want to talk quickly on your piece on credit suisse. you have a big bank just pleaded guilty to a major crime and nobody cares. >> nobody cares. >> it's a good piece. you say the context of the credit suisse case is essentially one of prosecutorial desperation. embarrassed over having failed to punish any of the executives involved in creating the 2008 financial crisis, prosecutors and regulators have been searching for a way to appear tougher on the banks. and this is a good point. charging larger financial institutions with criminal acts is a delicate business because

it could punish workers by putting businesses out of business. in this case law enforcement officials weren't going to settle for financial restitution. too big to jail be damned. >> it sounds tough to treat them criminalally rather than accepting a fine and making them promise not to do it again. but if you really look at the fallout from this case at credit suisse, the ceo didn't have to step down, they didn't have to turn over the names of the clients who were participating in tax evasion. there was no real consequences. the stock price actually went up after they announced this. so investors were happy and the ceo is talking how none of the clients are upset with this. if you want to get tough with banks, that's good. but actually do it. >> and i'm trying to look at --

you have a lot. air bus versus new york attorney general. you're looking at that. we've had them on the show a few times. this is sort of an up and coming company. >> it's an interesting company. it's about $10 billion in valuation right now. young guys based in san francisco. and they just came to an agreement with schneiderman yesterday they were going to turn over user data anonymously to allow people to investigate whether air bnb users are renting out their houses as hotels. i can rent out my spare room to strangers. if you look at new york code, that's treated as a hotel and regulated as such. the attorney general wanted more information. he wanted all their users information. >> it's a company that's been on the hot list of up and comers in terms of their ability to sort of make a new business thrive. >> when you talk about the

regulation, this is new york state wants its piece of the pie. it's not making sure the sheets are clean. it's making sure new york state is getting tax cash. when you look over your bills and you're hit with these little fees and pings of taxes, that adds up to major coin for the state. >> the users have to pay taxes. what's bringing this about is that the hotel lobby is complaining they're stealing their customers. i think that's something we see a lot with these start-ups that are -- >> i feel so bad for the hotel lobby. why don't they stop charging us for wireless and things in the rooms that you wouldn't even -- literally are there anyway. i guess they would be a little scared. >> this is going to be happening much more often now. you have start-ups not just making apps for gizmos. they're taking on these heavily regulated industries. health care, education, transportation, lodging. i mean, this is going to happen

again and again and again with these start-ups. >> very interesting. new york magazine's kevin roose, thanks for being here. >> any time. coming up on "morning joe," will the setbacks for the tea party be good for the republicans? tom coburn joins us. we'll have a first look at "time" magazine's incredible cover story on saving preemies. and later it's sheldon adelson against the states with online gambling. i see. another person infiltrating on his business. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪

♪ how democrats are joining the select committee investigating the 2012 attack on

the consulate attack in benghazi. over whether democrats should boycott the panel. pelosi picks cummings, schiff, smith, duckworth, and sanchez. congressman cummings is going to be the ranking member here. he says the ninth congressional investigation into the murders of four americans is not necessary, however, democrats are going to be there to ensure the committee is not politicized. >> i feel i owe it to the families of ambassador stevens and the other brave americans who lost their precious lives to bring some minimal level of balance to this process and to check false claims wherever they may arise. in short, ladies and gentlemen, i believe we need someone in that room to simply defend the truth. defend the truth. that is why i've agreed to

serve. >> seven republicans are serving on this committee led by trey gowdy who is a former prosecutor. as this goes on, this ninth investigation in benghazi, for people looking at this to figure out what answers are yet to be undetermined, how does this not look highly political? >> well, because if you have an investigation as mike barnicle was talking about where you actually search out the truth and search out the facts and get questions answered, that would be a good thing. and mike, i want to go to you because you sounded a bit skeptical last hour. i guess there are a lot of people -- i heard charles krauthammer talking about this yesterday. four americans are dead. the white house selectively decided what they wanted to turn over. and a lot of people wonder where the accountability is, where the responsibility is, and wonder why the only person government

service who has suffered in their career was gregory hicks who was the whistle blower who heard four americans die on the other side of his line practically. and testified tearfully before congress and he got demoted. i'm sorry, i -- i think we can count up the number of investigations there have been all we want. until all the facts are out and the truth's out and we figure how this happened and how we stop it from happening again, i think questions are still going to be raised. i don't think democrats should stand in the way of getting the facts out. >> i don't think the democrats are going to stand in the way of getting the facts out, joe. i think what they're striving for a clarity. you've used the word "investigation" and we've used it here this morning. i would harken back to trey gowdy used the word "trial" when he was here with us. they have prosecutors, more or less, on the gop side of this

committee. the democrats have a member of the house intelligence committee, house armed service committee. i think every american should want to see some clarity here on this issue. secretary of the navy is here with us. can you bring any -- well, what are your thoughts of another hearing in benghazi? >> what our job is in the navy is to make sure that we've got options no matter what happens. and after benghazi and after just looking at a whole with all these things going on, now we've got marines in spain and italy ready to move at a moment's notice to move to any embassy or any american's need. that's what i'm focused on. giving the president, giving our leaders options to make sure that whatever the situation, we're going to be there. >> so mike as you mentioned the

secretary of the navy ray mabus was in for fleet week which didn't happen last year. we'll talk about what's happening this year in fleet week in just a moment. let's move to the va investigation/scandal. the president is promising swift action. first of all, do you believe that will happen? and how swift and how all encompassing does the action need to be to really solve the problem that veterans have faced with the va for years? >> well, i think the president was pretty clear yesterday in what you said swift and far reaching action. i think one of the things we have to do as leaders is make in my case the say lors get the help, support, things they need to do their jobs. that their families get the support they need. i mean, that's our edge. that's the most important thing we have are sailors and marines.

we've got great technologies and great ships and systems. what gives us the edge is the marines and sailors. knowing they have whatever they need to do the job while on active duty. that's part of my job. and that's what one of is the things i focus on the most. when they're doing their job, they're usually a long way from home. >> it's good to see that's happening again this year. you also -- you have a team with you. they're doing selfie with the sailor and i did my first one. that's up on twitter. i put one up. secretary of the navy ray mabus thank you for coming in. and please enjoy fleet week. we all will. it's a wonderful, wonderful

event. did you just make a dirty joke? what did you say? >> no, i didn't. >> make sure you hash tag it. >> did i do it wrong? i'm not for twitter. coming up, political donor tom stier is spending $100 million to get a specific issue on the ballot this november. we'll tell you what that is. and a movie about the power of the written word. actor clive owen will be here for his new film "words and pictures." that and a new issue of "time." straight ahead on "morning joe." ♪ captain: this is a tip. bellman: thanks, captain obvious. captain: and here's a tip. when you save money on hotel rooms, it's just like saving money on anything else that costs money. like shoes, textiles, foreign investments,

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♪ billionaire tom stier plans to bump $100 million into the election this season to battle those who are climate deniers. the races in colorado and new hampshire and iowa. he plans to fund his superpc

comes as marco rubio says human activity is causing dramatic changes to the climate. michael steele, a lot of ways to look at this story. influence of money and politics or perhaps wanting to spread some sort of counter to what seems to be a narrative of denial. >> you know, i think it's a little bit of both, mika. i'm shocked that there's a liberal billionaire who's spending his money on issues and candidates that, you know, support his particular ideology. imagine that. it's just amazing that you have this environment that's now created a politics where those folks at that level are fully injecting themselves not just on the political side or money side but bringing them together in a way they have influence. so yeah. you want to raise the issue of climatology and the science around it and all of that. but what's the underlying political narrative that's being

created? and exactly what is the end game here? because at this point i don't see much of it from steyer. it's just we're going to spend money and raise awareness, but what's the political end game? i think the same can be said about the koch brothers. a lot of interest in what's the political end game. i think that's an important piece for a lot of americans right now to get answers. >> joe? >> mika, i've got absolutely no problem with it. i've said this for quite some time. if george sorros wants to spend a lot of money in politics, if the koch brothers want to do the same, if tom steye are wants to do it, i don't know. i'm crazy this way. if tom steyer believes he can help climate change get to the center of public debate over the next decade, then i think it's more constructive for him to use his money that way than going around buying billion-dollar yachts and the same thing with the koch brothers. if they want to talk about the free market and they want to

talk about the energy revolution, you know, i'd much rather them do that than buy five football teams and build $5 billion stadiums. i'm not upset by this whether it's george sorros or tom steyer doing it. >> also, joe, i suspect you're a little like me. i mean, part of you is going to sit back and enjoy this game of different people demonizing oligarchs depending on their wealthy status as well as their political preferences. the koch brothers on one side, tom steyer on the other. part is just going to be sitting in the grand stands watching this stuff. >> at the end of the day what's so crazy, mika, is at the end of the day it usually balances itself out. democrats spent more money than republicans in 2008 and again in 2012. barack obama raised over a billion dollars. and suddenly campaign finance

reform wasn't important to democrats. now they're screaming about the koch brothers and they will until people like tom steyer flood them with more money. it's hypocrisy on both sides. up next, his book on las vegas and counting cards inspired a hollywood blockbuster film. now author ben meserik is on. and tiny miracles. "time" magazine's incredible issue on how new advances in medicine are saving the smallest, most helpless newborns. ♪

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boy, joe, when you see these pictures, it's going to hit home. joining us now the managing editor of "time" magazine nancy gibbs. the new issue looks at what's being looked at as the preemie revolution. and these babies are so small now and they can do so much. >> it is one of the great quiet success stories in american medicine. and the context is america ranks pretty badly in the number of preterm births. it's 131st out of 187 countries. but one of the reasons is actually that in a lot of countries these would be classified as stillbirths where doctors here are able to be saving babies and not just saving them, but preventing what have always been off in the long-term health problems that premature infants face. it is extraordinary what they've learned. so we went into an intensive care unit to find out what is

happening. >> this picture, i remember, joe, when your youngest jack was born. you described this to me. all the tubes and this tiny, tiny baby. >> skin you can practically see through. >> i remember you did not know how he would make it. >> i still don't know. we look back at the pictures of jack who is now a growing 5-year-old boy about to celebrate his sixth birthday. he's the tallest boy in this class. it's unbelievable what they were able to do at sacred heart hospital in pensacola. what hospitals, nancy, are doing across the country. infants born at 24, 25 weeks that now have a great shot at survival. >> they do. and a lot of it is because of what they have learned about how the care has to be coordinated. so much can go wrong so quickly

with these babies. and it's such a delicate balance. obviously their lungs aren't developed. so getting enough oxygen is crucial. except too much oxygen can cause blood vessel growth in the eyes which can cause blindness. they have to balance the feeding and medication and puissues. they are making a tremendous difference at sending these babies home. >> joe? >> and that's really the problem. you're exactly right. the difference between preemies and babies that are born full term is when something goes wrong, they fall off the cliff. and it just -- everything goes wrong. and, you know, it's always you hold your breath. i remember the doctor after jack was born, it was shocking seeing a baby that -- i had three

babies born full term and then to have jack, they're so delicate and small. i said when can you stop wor worrying about him. he doctor said, when he gets married. it is a rough ride for a lot of these parents, isn't it? >> it is. one of the most interesting things they found in addition to all the advanced medicine is that one of the most crucial factors is what they refer too as kangaroo care. which is the importance of holding these babies. it settles their respiratory function, their sleep cycles, their eating, their heart rates. and yet parents as joe can understand are often very frightened because they look so incredibly fragile. literally hold them in the palm of your hand. yet studies found the babies that were frequently held by adults in the earliest weeks did much better not only through their infancy but through childhood. >> katty kay, i'm always

fascinated by these pictures. it's such a rough ride for the parent who is have to continue well after they're 18 as we know as mothers of a lot of kids who are now in their teens and beyond. >> yeah. and i was going to ask you, nancy, now that they are bringing these babies through at young aeer and younger ages, do know long-term health implications far baby brought to at 22 weeks for example? >> we do. as much progress as has been made in improving outcomes at 23, 24, 25 weeks. below 23, it is still a survival rate of about 5%. and these children when they do survive are about 38% more likely to die in young adulthood than full term babies. there's a large number that have neurological problems and other often lifetime disabilities.

but again, so part of the new science is to both increase the quality of life as well as just the fact of life being possible. >> the new issue of "time" is out now. saving preemies. nancy, thanks. ahead, sheldon adelson lays out his case against online gamb gambling. >> i want to make money from those who can afford it. i can't tell over the internet who's underage or who has financial difficulties. i can't tell who is not gaming responsibly. i can't tell if money is being laundering. i can in the casino. >> how much are you willing to spend to stop online gambling? >> whatever it takes. >> our next guest knows a little bit about online gambling. and the author of "straight flush" joins us next. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be back. ♪

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here with us now, ben mezrich, author of "straight flush," the section friends who dealt their way to an empire and

how it all came crashing coundo. and he made his case for legalizing gambling and he writes "okay, maybe poker isn't a sport but it isn't really gambling either. to large degree, it's a game of skill, just like in tennis or bowling or golf, the better the player usually wins and even if there is a gambling element to it. i can drive to a casino or keno parlor in the 30-plus states that offer some form of legalized gambling or if the business section is to be believed, throating down the charles by the time all is said and done and bet every penny i have without breaking a single

law yet online poker against another consenting adult is somehow a step too far. i get your point. >> it's total hypocrisy when you can't play poker online when you can play farmland online and buy little things on facebook. those are just as addictive to people and poker is a skill. it seems bizarre that people can't run a game online without going to jail. >> but poker is addictive. >> many things are addictive. >> mike, have you gambled online? >> yes, i have. specifically the massachusetts legislature. we can't have online gambling for poker. we'll settle for you being six

people behind several widows and orphans buying lottery tickets everybody week. >> i think lottery tickets are a big hypocritical game and local news stations all get bought into it. i've done it. i've been put out there. i've sat there saying the winning number is bought here, let's see who she is and it's usually somebody whose life comes crashing down after they spend to all the money. >> your book specifically refers to massachusetts. >> my point is online gambling i believe will come back. when it disappeared, it was really $30 billion or $40 billion, vanished overnight because of a strange bill in 2006 that snuck through and now state after state after state is going to see how much money can be generated through it. people want to play. the demand is there.

so massachusetts itself has taken some time but there a couple bills in the works and hopefully within a couple years it will get there. we're talking about casinos all the time and i think online poker is an easier and fair step. >> would it hurt bingo in the catholic churches? >> it probably will. it will hurt casinos and a casino owners. >> when it comes to online casinos look casino owners like -- >> have you ever walked into a casino and been asked how much money you made? >> he's trying to legitimatize it but he's got the money to open it up. >> i think his better bet would be to open an online poker site

with that money. that's ridiculous. you go to a casino, everybody's drunk, they stay there for 24 hours until they're broke. >> joe, i just want to point out that ben has taken a recipe from your cookbook on how to dress like a writer. >> really? is he not wearing socks? >> check it out, joe. orange pants. >> i'm trying to be like joe. >> yeah, well. >> it helps you create. because you walk outside and people laugh at you and you're fill with angst and self-hatred and you go home to a very dark place and you escape through your writing. is that how it works? >> it is.

you run back inside and shut the blinds and hide. >> unlike joe, the fake hair looks bad, roll out of bed fake -- >> hey, ben, can we have a split screen here? i think this -- listen. >> and it goes straight up and then the stock market goes up the higher your hair is. >> i like that. >> very good. >> the book is "straight flush," now out in paperback, ben mezrich. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> up next, how this toast could tip the world's economy. bottom's up, everybody, balance the power. plus the world's two biggest tobacco companies are looking to join forces. we'll be right back. ♪ out in pittsburgh, p.a. ♪

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we teak a live look at new york city. back with us on set we have mike barnicle, thomas roberts and katty kay. >> that's a huge. >> that is a huge deal. >> i was just going to say,

mike, you know, i'm just saying we talk about how much our world's changed, mike barnicle. the great fear was china and russia coming together, china and the soviet union coming together and we face that in korea, we face that in vietnam, and china and russia, the danger of them coming together not moving weapons and tanks across the border, it's pipelines and it shows how much the world has changed. this is a great challenge to the united states. >> in addition to it being a great challenge to the united states, it enhances the economic strength of both countries. russia is a low growth, slow growth economy right now and this is a 30-year deal that's going to put literally billions of dollars into their pockets. in the meantime, it going to increase china's economic strength as well by getting low-cost energy. >> we'll talk about this in just a moment. but first, president obama is

vowing accountability for claims of manipulated wait lists at a growing number of v.a. hospitals across the country. after meeting with secretary shinseki yesterday, the president voiced frustration about the scandal. >> when i hear allegations of misconduct, whether it's covering up long wait times or cook bei cooking the books, i will not stand for it. not only as commander in chief but also not as an american. none of us should. so if these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful and i will not tolerate it period. >> for now the president is standing by the secretary until he gets a full report. >> i know he care about it

deeply and he has ban great public servant and great warrior on behalf of the united states. we're going to work with him to solve the problem but i am going to make sure there is accountability throughout the system. rick shinseki i think serves this country because he cares deeply about veterans and he cares deeply about the mission. and i know that rick's attitude is that if he does not think he can do a good job on this and if he thinks he's let our veterans down, then i'm sure he is not going to be interested in continuing to serve. >> the president also touted work that had been done to improve the v.a.nd his watch, including improvements on ptsd and bringing the v.a. into the 21st century. still, some asked for emergency action. others say he failed to treat

the situation with the gravity it deserves. meanwhile, the inspector general investigation has expanded to 26 facilities and in new mexico doctors and nurses report chronic problems. >> reporter: this nurse says some patients are assigned to doctors who don't ever see them. >> those are doctors who are either in administration or gone. >> reporter: no longer working there? >> no. >> "it breaks my heart and makes me so furious these veterans get bad care." >> these investigations happen every few years. this is an ongoing problem. but right now there is sunlight

on them and i guess the question i have for you is at this point it is clear that things have been mishandled. it is clear that things are falling apart at a time when we probably have more veterans needing service in more ways then ever before. i don't really see around swift action. >> well, sadly it's not swift action. i don't understand what the president was talking about yesterday when he acted shocked by all of these things happening, he talked about johnson shinseki, who served this country honorably for decades and we owe him a debt of gratitude for that, but he has been running the v.a. for six years now. we've seen massive back logs and the most inefficient v.a. in the history of the agency. now we've overturned this rock and what we've seen underneath is truly ugly and horrific. you've got veteran groups

demanding his apology and resignation and the president of the united states comes out and says general shinseki cares deeply about these veterans. i know he does. that's irrelevant. if he says if general shinseki doesn't feel he can do the job, he will leave the job. no. that's not how it works in the white house. it's not the cabinet secretary's job who has botched things up terribly every six years to decide whether he can do the job or not. that's what presidents are supposed to do. mika, my question to you is, and then to mike, my question to you, mika, how can this president six years in act like this is the first problem with the v.a. and say he's not going to stand for it if there's this sort of mismanagement and then not demand a resignation six years in. i'm shocked. >> my only hope is that these

problems are so deep rooted and they have been going on for so many decades, some of them, that perhaps he's doing the extra work finally needed to get to the root of the problem and maybe it just won't be one symbolic resignation but a complete overall, mike barnicle. that's all can i hope for. >> sadly, this is not a new problem. this latest speight of stories could have been written years ago. veterans go for 230,000 visits per day through that system. the system has already been breaking down for a decade. we've been at our latest war for 13 years. you have iraq and afghani veterans lined up to get to clinics. some p general shinseki, it sounds from the president's wording yesterday, as if he is on his way out the door. and, katty, the bureaucratic

system in washington, sometimes we rely greatly, too greatly, on a person's past performance. general shinseki's performance in the united states army was admirable and honorable. clearly his performance in the v.a. is not up to par. >> yeah. and president obama recognized the problems in the v.a. in 2008 when he was campaigning and he spoke specifically about needing to overhaul and april dress them. when he appointed general shinseki here, knew he had problems to fix, exactly because of the all veterans coming back from afghanistan and iraq who needed the assistance. president obama seemed to come closer publicly that general shinseki may be leaving. >> as we said at the top of the show, vladimir putin has found a

friend in his push to counter the u.s. and europe. the russian president inked a $400 billion gas deal with the chinese, capping over a decade of negotiations. the agreement gives moscow a huge energy market, following sanctions over ukraine that has limited its opportunities with the west. the kremlin described the 30-year contract as ground breaking. analysts say putin was willing to concede lower prices to beijing as the russian economy teeters on the brink of recession. the first thing i saw this morning, i thought it was one of the biggest headlines of the day and the most disturbing ones. >> it has altered the immediate fates of two giant powers, russia and china, in their favor at our expense to a certain extent. >> katty kay, we have been working with others to try and

deal with the fact that there is an energy dependence on russia and ukraine and that that relationship has made it hard for europe to even get behind us in some of our efforts. how does this change the game? >> secretary kerry said there was no relationship between what was happening in ukraine and this $400 billion deal that had taken a decade to get to between russia and china. i'm not so sure. there was clearly a lot of president on president putin because of the sanctions that had been proposed so far and because of the threat of further sanctions, moscow is under pressure here. he went to china and had to negotiate a much worse deal than he might have otherwise got. the price had to go down because beijing is looking at this and saying we know the europeans aren't going to buy it so we'll buy it from you at a cheaper price. while the prospect of russia and

china may alarm the west, it's also an indication that what the west has done to russia has taken a squeeze and russia is not in a strong position in this deal. >> it's also an indication that the energy revolution coming to the united states is scaring the russians for good reason and causing great concern to china. it's both of these countries that are often very bad actors on the international stage doing what's in their best interests. and certainly, katty, the last thing that even china for russia wants is to have the united states of america being the top producer of oil on the globe and having this natural gas revolution and not somehow figuring out a way to counterbalance the power that we're going to -- the additional power that we're going to experience over the next decade. this is just classic balance of power politics, isn't it? >> yeah, it just smaks of the

cold war all over again, when you've got a couple of super powers on different sides side of the globe -- so far the gas boom we've had in america because of fracking has not yet been exported. the europeans are saying please, give us those licenses, export some of your natural gas so we're not as dependent as russia. it feels like we've gone back 20 years to the time where we're looking at the balance of power between east and west. >> and, mika, if you want one issue that points to the dysfunction in washington d.c. more than any other issue, where we actually -- where our washington politicians are literally cutting off our noses to spite our faces, it's in in area of energy. and katty just brought it up.

the europeans want us to be more aggressive in giving them licens licenses. we had the canadiens on last week saying what are you doing? this is easy. i goes tom stier, the guy who has given $100 million to democrats is in the news again this morning. it shows how money is not only perverting american politics, on both side, but actually is starting to impact not only america's economic security but europe's economic security. it's making the e.u., making canada, making the rest of the world look at us going are they jokes? >> well, we're stagnating. >> are they jokes? do they want to be a super power or do they want to allow russia and china to, you know, have

even more of a say because they won't step up and take their rightful role as leaders on the globe. >> it feels like we're going back in time on a number of levels at a time when others are clearly moving forward, enjoying the moment and perhaps going to get the upper hand if not careful. >> i want to move on to benghazi. house minority leader nancy pelosi appointed five panel members. she picked elijah cummings, and four others to vet the murder of four americans. >> i feel that i owe it to the families of ambassador stevens

and the other brave americans who lost their precious lives to bring some moninimal level of balance to this process and check false claims wherever they arrive. in short, ladies and gentlemen, i believe we need someone in that room to simply defend the truth, defend the truth. and that is why i've agreed to serve. >> seven republicans are serving on the committee led by congressman trey gowdy, who is a former prosecutor. joe, i would think the opposite would keep it from -- because if you left them alone, the republicans, to do this, it would look incredibly political. what am i missing here? >> okay -- >> in terms of elijah's decision or his explanation. >> right. i think the democrats really don't have a choice. leave aside whether you agree

with me that this actually is a big deal and it needs to be investigated more because the white house has not been forthcoming, leave all of that aside. if you're a democrat and up think that's a bench of nonsense, you still need to be involved because an ambassador died at his post for the first time since 1979, four americans died and this is not a land drill in arkansas, this is no whitewater. you cannot stay away from this investigation. i think politically it would be dangerous for them. they're going to have to stay there and be involved. they can be very aggressive and try to -- katty kay, they can try to block whatever they can try to block but at least they need to show up there because there are, again, much bigger implications in politics here. >> i think nancy pelosi made the

right decision. there are risks here, too, joe, i think for the republicans in making this special investigation look too political and perhaps overstretching too far. i think the republican leadership is conscious of that, that they don't want to play into accusations that they are just doing this for politics and not for national security and that's why they're falling all over themselves to say this is going to be about the facts, just the facts. >> i gets they have to be there, i guess you're right but it seems at some point you really have to let it go. >> i think the casual observer who is just looking at the calendar, to a lot of people it does look nakedly transparent to keep hillary clinton in the news as secretary of state. and this is something as you game out and look at the calendar and think about whether or not she's going to throw her

hat in the ring for 2016, this is the only reason why. it political hay to make for the republican party. >> up next, clive owen joins us. here now is bill karins. >> what's this "here now" is bill karins? >> here now. >> how about let's get this over with. >> thank you for that. as for the personal forecasts, you make sure to get those. >> the remnant effects from storms has caused airport delays, the rain is just about over with in central jersey. one last thunderstorm drenching the capital in new jersey,

downtown trenton. we'll get a break for a while and then 4:00 the storms will fire back up in this region. another round of storms is possible later today. we're under what we call a slight risk of severe weather. some of those storms could be strong enough to knock down some trees with minor wind damage and also a possibility of some small hail. our friends are on west coast are looking at a quiet, tranquil weather pattern. at reagan international airport, no delays there but storms are possible later this evening. i missed you, too.ou. hi buddy.

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president obama is destroying the constitution. >> treating the constitution worse than a placemat. >> or those insane people who say we have to repeal obamacare. >> if i had my way about it, we'd repeal obamacare. ♪ >> so, yeah, take that, tea party! >> what was the shot with the gun? just holding it up look i got

one? >> it's a prize, let's give it out. >> that was senator mitch mcconnell, calling for primary unity and the country after his own primary victory in kentucky. joaning us from washington, senator tom coburn from kentucky. >> good morning. how did you let slow sleep in this morning? >> he is so lazy. >> i've known him for a long time. >> i do, too. he's taking his kids to school right now, which is really nice. he like to do that once in a while. oh, he's putting his ear piece in. first of all, about benghazi, what's the question that could be answered that hasn't been answered that won't look like a

political fight against hillary's candidacy? >> just to make sure all the information is there. there's a difference in what happened and what they said happened. the question is is why was that different. to me i don't think it ought to be a political thing. i think it ought to be something we learn from. to me it's really important the questions are answered so we can correct how we handle embassies, especially at-risk sites in the future. >> joe, you get the kids to school? >> yes. specifically what information would you like to learn from this investigation that the white house hasn't been forthcoming enough on? >> well, i think -- first of all, i'm not an expert on this. i've studied it from the intel committee side of it. i have not kept up with it. others have worked on that. i think is there a full amount

of information of what went on during the occurrence of this tragedy, one. number two is what went on during the period of time afterwards to create such a statement that was so wrong and misled the american people and why did that come about because there's no question the american people were misled. >> so let's move from benghazi to the v.a., as you know, because you've been serving the people of oklahoma since 1995. the v.a. has long been a dysfunctional bureaucracy. it's been a nightmare more a lot of vets to get into that system. it seems to have only gotten worse over the past six years since general shinseki has become the v.a. chair. do you believe that he should resign, that he should be fired, or that barack obama should allow him to stay on, as it appears he's going to do?

>> my question with general shinseki is do you have the management skills and the knowledge down deep into the v.a. that you should have. look, the v.a. has been a problem. during transition they were apprised of it. the gao has been making points for a long time. in 2012 they talked about the reliability of their appointment statistics and said it wasn't reliable and it wasn't true. i think the keycy want to to give president obama some credit. he put a real manager into the department of home land security, one of the more dysfunctional agencies in the government and we're seeing big change there is. so management makes a difference. i'll make a couple of points. one is our combat veterans deserve the best care, not the last care. and the average distance driven by veterans to get to a v.a.

facilities is more than 50 times. we spent three times on transportation than we spent in total off women's care. we ought to let veterans choose the best care, rather than mandate where they go. so a bill will be introduced that will solve a lot of the problems and direct the attention to the focus, which is veterans get to choose what kind of care they get rather than have it handed out to them and wait for long periods of time. >> senator, woe're talking abou the v.a. this morning, we could have been talking about the v.a. with the same issues that you just raised that we were talking about the last couple of days in 1984. it was the same problems and same issues with the veterans.

do you think the fact that there is such a small percentage now of veterans serving in both the house and the united states senate has anything at all to do with the lack of constant and consistent attention paid to this issue? >> no. because what you see is the career politicians here today are loath to do the oversight. it doesn't matter what agency it is. and it doesn't matter whether they're veterans or not. oversight is hard work, you don't get any kudos for it and it doesn't play well back home so the oversight doesn't happen. there's no questions there were problems. almost every doctor trained in a v.a. hospital, mike. we know what's going on at v.a. hospitals. and if you ask any doctor in the country and this is not to demean any of the people at v.a. hospitals because we have excellent hospitals that lead the country in certain areas but if you ask any v.a. doctor if

they want to be treated there and you won't have anybody raise their hands. they fire employees at one-fourth the rate or agencies do. that means once you get there, you're going throb. the way to change that is to give veterans the choice to get their health care where they want. and this v.a. will have to compete for that choice by giving service and quality outcomes. >> i want to ask you about the primaries overs past week and in kentucky, seeing mitch mcconnell

winning offer his opponent matt bevins and the tea party coming out. what do you think this means? >> i this there's no question, it's interesting when we use the word "tea party," everybody has a different thought for what that is. i remember being on this show a year and a half ago and the people on the panel, on your side of the desk didn't have a good idea of what tea party was. the fact is it's a group of hard working american citizens that care essentially about liberty and i think they're making changes. i think they're americans, they're not independents, they're not just republicans, not just democrats. i think they'd like to see a limited government that enhances our freedom and improves the efficiency of our government. >> senator coburn, thank you for being on the show today.

>> you're welcome. god bless you guys. >> coming up, more than 100 million customers at risk. and what's worth more, words or pictures? we'll answer that question next. ♪ ♪ i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties.

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♪ >> forgod sakes. >> i wish i was a painter. >> words fail. >> pictures, too. i can't tell you how much i want us to put our mouths together. >> oh, really? you're attracted to me? >> very much. >> why? >> same species, different sex. aren't you attracted to me? >> not in the least. did you think i would be? >> well, i had high hopes for this jacket. it's old but it's custom-made and yet you feel nothing? >> admiration. >> good. >> for your tailor. >> that's one way to say it. what did he say? that was a scene from the new film "words and pictures," and

joining us oscar nominated actor clive owen. joe, the story line here, i already relate with it, social media. take it. >> no, i absolutely love it. and, by the way, clive owens, welcome to "morning joe." people on the west coast say they watch the show when the kid are sick. my kids were sick two nights ago and i turned the channel and there you were in "arthur," wearing a funny helmet and bleeding all over the place. this is a little bit different. i want to get to the david bowie sign. first of all, talk about the amazing chemistry that you guys had on the set. >> we were very much helped by a really, really great script. the dialogue, it was fantastic, very witty and humorous. i think it helped having one of the greatest actresses.

i think the very first scene was shot, we made each other laugh and thought we're off to a good start here. the whole experience was really great and very playful. >> does it ever throw when you you shoot scenes out of sequence, you viewer cease the movie from beginning, middle to end. how do you adjust mentally every day to shooting different sequences? >> you adjust to doing the script in different places. you have to know when you hit a place that's not in the natural rhythm that you're in the right place. i just shot my first tv show in a long time and that was really difficult jumping around that amount of time. but you get used to shooting out

of sequence. >> juliet pinoche, she takes you on and challenges you to the picture versus the words. >> i got a bit jaded and it had all gone a bit stale. >> you were thirsty. >> i was thirsty. and she comes in and she says forget words, pictures are more important and that galvanizes

me. >> i like that a lot in this age of facebook and texting and schools not having art programs. >> we've got words, pictures, we've got music. you're a huge bowie fan. talk about how you get a bowie song into a scene where you had a tennis racket in your hand and wanted to do great violence to the room around you and you needed the right -- like the right mood setter and you picked a song. tell us about it. >> the scene is i'm trying to get back writing, i'm trying to write, it's not coming easy and i'm getting very frustrated and i'm sort of hitting a tennis racket and ball outside and move in the house and basically i trash the house with my tennis racket and ball. fred said we're going to keep the cameras out wide and you just do it, do what you like in that room and just go for it for 15 minutes. i said i might need some music

here to help me along and i was listening to david bowie's new album and it was just going to be a temp track for me to get in the mood but after playing it so many times, they couldn't get it go and it's in the movie, which i'm very happy about. >> i've never met a man who could pull off a cashmere vest before meeting clive owen. it's cashmere, isn't it? >> it is. >> and thank you very much. it's nice to meet you. still ahead, e-cigarettes are changing the tobacco games and now two giants are joining forces. >> plus we'll tell you where this massive subway chaos happened and why it has major

implications to an upcoming world event that you might want to go to. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ a woman who loves to share her passions. grandma! mary has atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts her at a greater risk of stroke.

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reynolds american and lorillard, the number one e-cigarette company, this would really be an e-cigarette deal, it could damage the brands. also ebay saying 145 million of its accounts were hacked about three months ago. it's urging all of its users to change its password. 145 million in a data breach, could be the biggest data breach of all time. >> how is it not on the credit cards? how could they be sure? >> you know, what ebay says and what a lot of these companies do is when you type in your password, which for you is probably something like bria brian123, something like that, it's encrypted.

but if hackers are good enough to get into the system, you think they'd be good enough to encrypt the information. and watch this space. i was doing these type of stories, data hack, privacy stuff. >> just the beginning. i'm going to have to chang my password now. >> naked on a bike? >> oh, no. i won't do that. don't one night of williams. >> did it go to williams? >> it did. >> data breach. >> brian sullivan, thanks. >> what happened in the pool that made the kids unable to be in the water? the story behind this terrifying

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in south florida today, three kids shocked while swimming in the pool.

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well, it's time now to talk about what we learned today. joe, i know what i learned. >> what's that? >> that you're channelling a tired, news, broken writer with this new hair style. >> well, i've had this hair style for a very long time. >> no. >> i'm going to say what i learned today is it's time for a hair cut. i have been flooded with e-mails, text messages and phone calls and they're all saying the same thing, "cut your hair, hippie." i don't know, i kind of like it. >> it's time to start braiding it. >> the secretary of the navy was here, look for selfie with the sailor. he's got these great paperwei t

paperweights. >> very nice. >> i learned the hypocrisy needed my break over the week d weekend, the lack of outrage on the veterans administration has been insufficient. >> if it's way to early what time is it? >> this means it would be time for "morning joe" but now it's i'm for "the daily rundown" with chuck todd. >> the president makes clear he's sticking with secretary shinseki, for now. >> and also this morning, yet another twist in the tawdry taping tale in mississippi. could it actually put a