house. today to bring attention to the danger of sports-related concussions. the focus will center specifically around injuries among children and other young athletes. and finally, 46 focus on children. of the scripps national spelling bee. we wish all of the contenders the best of luck. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ . i wrote a poem called "phenomenal woman." and i wrote it for black women. and i wrote it for white women. i wrote it for short and tall and very fat women. the kind who say there's a skinny woman trying to get out. and i wrote it for very thin women. those who deserve all our sympathy. i wrote it for women on the

covers of "vogue" and "elle," and "ebony" and "essence." we are phenomenal. we have not begun to scratch our potential. many people wonder where my secret lies. i'm not cute or built to fashion model size. when i try to show them, they think i'm telling lies. i say it's in the reach of my arms, the span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips. i'm a woman phenomenally. phenomenal woman, that's me. >> there was perhaps no poet more iconic in america than maya angelou and she is being remembered this morning for a breathtaking body of work, renowned in its eloquence and its power to endure. >> i know why the caged birds

sing. toll of life in jim crow south the words lifted her to the heights of power. sharing the podium with the newly elected president bill clinton at his inauguration. >> maya angelou won an emmy and multiple grammys. she died in her home in winston-salem, north carolina. she was 86 years old. we're going to have so much more on her incredible lasting, enduring legacy and influence in just a moment. everybody on this set and offsite who we're waiting for ra hemato be talking. everybody just stopped and listened to her words. as they do every time we hear them. good morning, everyone. it's thursday, may 29th. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set we have mike barnicle, columnist and associate editor, david

ignatius. he's got a new book out. we'll be talking about that this morning as well. also with us, nbc chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of "andrea mitchell reports," andrea mitchell. all over the networks for the past 24 hours. and in washington, julie pace. thanks to you all for being with us this morning. we'll get to lots of news this morning. we had the president making a foreign policy speech yesterday. and also edward snowden says there is no evidence his leaks of classified information have damaged national security. in an interview with brian williams, the computer specialist and self-proclaimed american spy challenged the u.s. government to prove his actions put the country at risk. the hour-long conversation was held in moscow where the 29-year-old is living under temporary asylum nap arrangement

raises clear questions about his relationship with the russians. >> so i have no relationship with the russian government at all. i've never met the russian president. i'm not supported by the russian government. i'm not taking money from the russian government. i'm not a spy, which is the real question. >> people are going to find it hard to believe that president putin hasn't taken a run at you or what you know. you can state declaratively that that hasn't happened? >> yeah. i mean, the way -- the way to think about this is, again, i already know how to deal with counterintelligence. beyond that, i took nothing to russia so i could give them nothing. >> snowden described the nsa surveillance tools claiming analysts can watch americans as they draft e-mails, essentially monitoring their thoughts. and the former contractor claims some government programs are useful and others are down right

dangerous and therefore needed to be exposed. >> in your mind, though, are you blameless? have you done as you look at this just a good thing? have you performed, as you see it, a public service? >> i think it can be both. i think the most important idea is to remember there have been times throughout american history where what is right is not the same as what is legal. sometimes to do the right thing, you have to break the law. >> so you're a kid from north carolina, and while i after this interview am free to fly back to the united states, you can't. does that hurt you? >> i may have lost my ability to travel, but i gained the ability to go to sleep at night and put my head on the pillow and feel comfortable that i've done the right thing even when it was the

hard thing. and i'm comfortable with that. >> the administration is outraged. we'll have their reaction in just a moment. but that's at this point expected. the question is did he move the meter, snowden, in any way in people's minds in terms of who he is. a hero or a traitor. >> well, it certainly is always when you have the ability to voice your concerns and your beliefs and your views to the american people, the people across the world are obviously going to have an impact. we've mainly just seen still pictures of him. but we had him yesterday when he was talking to brian williams that aired yesterday, david ignatius, he was paraphrasing martin luther king who once said an unjust law is no law at all. i suspect there would be few people in the intel community who would agree with that sentiment as it relates to this case, but i do know there are younger americans who do not see him as a treacherous spy.

why do i have a sense that this case will be debated even after we're gone? >> well, this is the biggest leak of intelligence information, i think, in modern american history. and the consequences of it, we're just beginning to understand. snowden was an oddly, quietly compelling person on television last night. i thought he was in effect conducting the early rounds of his negotiations. in effect saying bring me home under these charges, but i'm a patriot. what i did was for the good of the country. in a trial if one ever happens, the country will be able to judge precisely what was the damage that was caused? >> david ignatius, does the american government, the obama administration want to have a trial with snowden where dirty laundry gets aired?

>> eric holder at one point said he'd be willing to have conversations about such a thing. i think at this point the u.s. government wants snowden to go away. they're so sick of explaining to our allies all the revelations, all the damage that's come out. but still here he is speaking to his audience. i think after tonight's broadcast or last night's broadcast, the question should he be brought home for some kind of plea bargain reduced to charges and some trial would be one the administration would have to deal with. >> john, do we have secretary kerry? i want to show you this. this is the administration's position at this point and the outrage in his voice. take a look. >> what he's done is expose for terrorists a lot of mechanisms which now affect operational security of those terrorists and make it harder for the united states to protect our nation. if this man is a patriot, he

should stay in the united states and make his case. patriots don't go to russia. they don't seek asylum in cuba. they fight their cause here. there are many a patriot. go back to the pentagon papers. those who stood and went to the court system of america and made their case. edward snowden is a coward, he is a traitor, and he has betrayed our country. if he wants to come home tomorrow to face the music, he can do so. >> andrea, at one level it was an impressive performance by snowden getting his case out. where do you think in a range of priorities does it rank that the united states wants snowden back in order to cut a deal with him, no trial, to sit him down and find out from him exactly what he has and how he took it. >> that's exactly the point. they know how he took it. they know what he so-called

scraped, what he had access to. they don't have a sense of what he took. which is shocking, infuriating that a year later they don't know exactly what he took. that's what they want. and they want to very quietly, if they could. but after watching him last night, i don't know how possible it is for him to go away. he is passionate and convinced. he has -- well, to a lot of people. kevin tibbles was talking to people there outside of baltimore in a bar there last night watching. a lot of people felt -- well, sort of in between. he was compelling. some felt he was a patriot and convincing. some felt that he had taken an oath and violated his oath which he clearly did. he feels that he is -- that this is civil disobedience to him.

so remarkably that he's not a traitor. he says sometimes you have to break a law if you feel the law is wrong. here's what he's persuaded of. that he was disillusioned by the iraq wmd falsehoods. and secondly by the capability, discovering that they can turn on your cell phone, they can take your apps, they can find a profile of who you are. the fact is that the internet companies can already do that and americans are not as offended as many people feel they should be by that intrusion. at the same time, what he doesn't seem to understand from my reporting is that this doesn't happen as universally as he says. it's supposed to be legally authorized by the court. he's correct that the secret

court is a knee jerk court. but he is so offended by this sense of privacy. >> it's clear what he exposed which is the mass warrantless surveillance of private american citizens. what's not clear to a lot of people is the damage he's done that we've heard about from the united states government. do we know from your sources in the intel community what the damage is here? because they haven't made that case, i don't think, very compellingly yet. >> they assert privately that damage has been enormous. that it will cost many billions of dollars to replace the system he has compromised. for the nsa which is a code breaking agency, he in effect has revealed that we're able to break codes, to get into systems all over the world in ways people might not have known. and those are secrets that are

very precious. he's also made us see how vulnerable all of our communications are all the time. that's the part as american citizens we're upset, we're going to have some new laws, we're going to test limited ways of going after these problems and see how they work. in that sense, i think the post-snowden world subject of this new book i've written, this post-snowden world legally will offer a test of whether we can be secure with much less intrusive surveillance. >> we were looking at polls that came out in january. it'll be interesting to see what the new thoughts are after hearing from him this way. the other big story we're covering today, at west point, president obama used his commencement address to lay out america's role in the world. saying critics of his stance on syria and ukraine were, quote, misreading history or engaging in partisan politics. he also spoke about

decentralized extremists abroad. >> military that you have joined is and always will be the backbone of that leadership. but u.s. military action cannot be the only or even primary component of our leadership in every instance. just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail. for the foreseeable future, the most direct threat to america at home and abroad remains terrorism. but a strategy that involves invading every country that harbors terrorist networks is naive and unsustainable. today's principle threat no longer comes from a centralized al qaeda leadership. instead of it comes from decentralized al qaeda extremists and affiliates. so we have to develop a strategy

that matches. one that expands our reach without sending forces that stretch our military too thin. >> some would argue the conversation has been calling for these moves at the same time criticism from likely but credible sources. look at this headline. cleanup on aisle one. not new. not improved. obama rehashes his walmart policy. critical of the dates or timeline out of the pull out of afghanistan. there is definitely a cry from the right for the president to have a more forceful foreign policy given this speech. >> i don't know that it's just from the right either. i think it's fascinating listening to a president six years in talking about we need to develop a foreign policy that dot dot dot dot. what have you been doing for the

past six years? west point new york, president obama tried once more to articulate his vision of the american role here on wednesday. julie pace, what's so fascinating about this man, about this political figure is that he is one of our most gifted speakers in modern american political history when he gets behind a microphone. he is capable of soaring rhetoric, but whether you're talking about the president's 12th or 13th or 15th turn to jobs or whether we're talking about the president six years in going to west point doing what most candidates do in their first campaign for president, he is still trying to define what the obama foreign policy is. six years in. what does that say? >> yeah. there was something about this speech that was a little odd. this is not the first major foreign policy address that the president has given. it's not the first time that he

has tried to articulate this vision. he actually has done this since he was first running for president. yet there is this frustration in the white house because they feel like for whatever reason they have not either been able to communicate it properly or that it's being misinterpreted by critics, by republicans. i don't think we learned a lot new about the president. this is basically the barack obama that we have known from the start of his public life. you know, a president who wants to avoid military action unless there is an imminent threat to the united states. a president who tries to straddle this line between isolation and intervention. i do think when it comes to terrorism, he did paint a scary picture for the public who has lived through 13 years of war, wars that were designed to fight terrorists and now he's saying this still remains the top threat. it's just a lot different. and i'm not sure if he provided specific answers for people

about how the u.s. will actually respond to those new threats. >> and david ignatius, going back to the lead, "the new york times," president obama tried once more to articulate his vision of the american role in the world on wednesday. are we going to be reading that in "the new york times" a year or two from now as the president delivers his farewell address? you understand what i'm saying. you certainly didn't read that during the clinton era six years in or the bush era six years in. it is so ill defined. >> yeah. and you learn as you do. i do remember previous presidents coming back for second and third and fifth takes. joe, what i thought was interesting about this speech was the president is trying to instill the things he thinks has worked in his policy. he looks at ukraine.

he says we didn't end up with the russians invading and end up with a new president after elections that we badly wanted. and the reason is because we were able to pull our allies together. we were able to use sanctions, the threat of sanctions effectively. we were able to use our partner germany which has a lot of leverage on russia. and look. we have the outcome we more or less would have wanted. i thought he almost declared victory in his ukraine comments. on a question of terrorism and new terrorism coming at us, i think the white house is really scared now about the growth of al qaeda in syria and iraq both. and what you heard was one new thing which was discussion of a counterterrorism partnerships fund which is there are going to be $5 billion to fund the services in that area, to get tougher and go places the cia can't go. and that's not a new idea, but it's a good idea. >> so mika, we've been having our lower third of the obama

doctrine. free "morning joe" bumper stickers and mugs for anybody that ask tell us around the set in ten seconds or less what the obama doctrine is on foreign policy six years in. >> i can do that. >> okay. go ahead, mike. >> it's the republicans' fault? is that it? >> it's the obama administration's foreign policy right now is we don't want to scare the hell out of you, but coming out of yemen, coming out of africa are things we really have to pay attention to and we're trying to. >> and you could argue it is partly because the way they withdrew from iraq and the way they failed to assess the growing threat in syria. there are two failures there that they're not ready to acknowledge. >> this is the president of drones. this is the president of osama bin laden. this is not a weak president on foreign policy. convoluted, complicated, and sticking to what he campaigned on. >> mika can i just say the judge

has spoken in my ears. no mug for barnicle or andrea mitchell. >> this conversation continues. but now we have more on the life of maya angelou. her life's work transcended poetry. raheema ellis joins us now. >> she made people think. >> i wrote this piece for every human being on earth. >> reporter: in every one, maya angelou saw the possibility for goodness and grace. >> you show who you really are by how you treat other people. >> reporter: her message always delivered in that distinctive poetic voice. >> the hells we have lived through and live through still have sharpened our senses and toughened our will. >> reporter: a best-selling author, she defied stereotypes.

she embarked on a life-long civil crusade alongside malcolm x and dr. martin luther king. she wrote about it all. >> i want to see some honesty. some fair play. i want to see timeliness and justice. >> reporter: born in 1928, her first big break came as a singer in the 1950s. she won three grammys for her recordings of her writings. she was also nominated for a pulitzer, a tony, an emmy for her role in "roots." >> and i will still be your grandmother. >> reporter: but her place on the world stage didn't come easy. her life struggles fueled her work. >> you can stumble and fall and fail yet some how miraculously rise and go on. >> reporter: her devastating childhood was depicted in her popular book "i know why the

caged bird sings." following sexual abuse at a young age, she refused to speak for six long years. but when she finally did, she was unstoppable. angelou was the first to deliver an inaugural poem in honor of president clinton. >> say simply, very simply, with hope, good morning. >> reporter: her last message on twitter just a few days ago. listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of god. oprah winfrey added she will always be the rainbow in my clouds. and young people in her hometown honored the poet using her own words. >> the free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream until the current ends. >> the caged bird sings of things unknown but long for still. >> and its tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird

sings of freedom. >> what an extraordinary voice. she succeeded in virtually everything she did. inspired so many along the way. particularly young women over the years to believe in their own beauty. i'm glad she also inspired me. >> thank you so much for coming in. an extraordinary voice that just stops you. thank you. still ahead on "morning joe," a, quote, big mistake. that's what peter king thinks of the president's plan. and also taking on the concussions issue in football. valerie jarrett has details. and in our 8:00 hour, the supercharged word that women are increasingly using to call on women. and the reason behind it. but first bill kairns with a check on the forecast. >> very chilly morning in new england as you found out this morning as you headed out the door. things have changed even as far south as d.c. all that warmth is gone.

now dealing with a jacket day. temperatures this morning are cool in the north. it is 36 degrees in southern massachusetts this morning. i mean, that's -- probably got a frost on your car this morning. it's 40s in the city. so the burbs are definitely in the 30s. near philadelphia and d.c., you're not going to warm up much today. temperatures about 66. just a couple days ago you had the heat on at 92. incredible. the temperature swing we've seen in the last two to three days. also heavy rain continues. the flooding was bad in louisiana. now the flood threat is worse standard mobile. four inches of rain in the last 48 hours. and that flood threat goes for rare areas of mississippi, alabama. as much as 1 to 2 inches widespread localized near mobile about 3 to 4. atlanta airport maybe delays this afternoon with thunderstorms. same goes for orlando, miami, and tampa. many of you in the northern

plains will enjoy a nice day today. all the bad weather located in the deep south. washington, d.c. stuck in the clouds. what a cool, drizzly morning. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪ honestly, the off-season isn't really off for me. i've got a lot to do. that's why i got my surface. it's great for watching game film and drawing up plays. it's got onenote, so i can stay on top of my to-do list, which has been absolutely absurd since the big game. with skype, it's just really easy to stay in touch with the kids i work with. alright, russell you are good to go! alright, fellas. alright, russ. back to work!

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the quicksilver card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase, every day. don't settle for anything less. i'll keep asking. what's in your wallet? ♪ welcome back to "morning joe." we're going to look at the papers in just a moment. joe, looking back on the legacy of maya angelou is almost possibly overwhelming because everything she said had such value and such weight. even her last, i believe it was a tweet, seemed to speak to the next generation about mindfulness and thoughtfulness. >> i retweeted this just a

second ago. it's funny you say that. listen to yourself in and the quietude you might hear the word of god. i'm going to put that on my daughter's wall. her example is so powerful that there are millions of little girls like kate who she will be a remarkable example to for decades to come. for generations to come. what a really, really transformative remarkable woman she was. >> we're going to try and put her life into words more coming up. it'll be difficult, but we'll take on the task in her memory. let's move to papers now. "usa today," an american is believed to be responsible for a suicide bombing that killed three people in syria over the weekend. u.s. officials say they are investigating the incident which they blame on an al qaeda-linked group. it would be the first time a u.s. citizen was responsible for

an attack in syria. intelligence officials have warned about militant groups trying to recruit and train americans for attacks there. >> and from our parade of papers, big business news. "the san francisco chronicle" is reporting that apple is confirming its purchase of music streaming in the headphone company beats for a $3 billion price tag. the move is going to allow the tech giant to compete for the market share in subscription based music business. beats was founded by rapper dr. dre in 2006 who is doing well this morning counting his money in a bank. >> "the wall street journal." teen pregnancy numbers in the united states are down to their lowest levels in 13 years. about 12 births per every thousand women between the ages of 15 and 17. in total the amount of teen births has dropped about 68% since hitting a peak in 1991. >> isn't that something?

in "the new york times," reporting the president is going to be hosting a summit at the white house today. he's hoping to bring attention to the sports-related concussions. president obama is expected to push for more awareness and funding for campaigns. the panel is going to include researchers, parents, pro athletes, officials, and sports casters. >> "the san jose mercury news." 10% of workers are male. 52% of non-tech workers are also men. while just 21% of its leadership are women. the company also struggles in terms of racial diversity with 61% of its workforce white, 30% asian, 3% hispanic, and 2% black. google says that being open about its numbers is its first

step to changing them. willie? >> with us now the chief white house correspondent for politico mike allen. he's got a look inside the world famous playbook. good morning. >> good morning, willie. >> interesting story you guys have this morning. allies of john boehner are plotting to make sure he stays in power after the midterm elections. first of all, who are these guys? and how are they going to do it? >> willie, we've had this running conversation in washington for years now, is the tea party waxing or waning. and the move you're talking about there is more evidence these forces are weakening. jake sherman of politico says if republicans take the senate, john boehner is likely to stay. and his allies are trying to avoid the spectacle we had two januarys ago when these dozen conservatives voted against him for speaker. there was live coverage of the vote on cable. people had their tallies. so what they're doing is trying to cut off any opposition to a

boehner speakership. one way to do this is to change the conference rules. so it's easier to strip someone who votes against the speaker of all their committees. you vote against the speaker. you don't have any committee you can tell your constituents against. something else smart they're thinking of doing is releasing a list of a couple dozen members who said they will vote for no one else for speaker. this would make it mathematically impossible to deny boehner the speakership. it would take away a lot of the drama and power from the people that wanted to do it. at least a couple of the people voted against them are going to be gone. and some of those who stayed moved forward. so a stronger boehner if he comes back next time. >> how extraordinary are these measures? we hear of people getting stripped of committee assignments. but creating this letter and rules to pressure the members in other ways seems new. >> it is. this is a comeback for

leadership. something we talked about here on this show is the leadership a ek waer. there's so many fewer tools that leaders have now. partly because earmarks are gone. taking away funding for a big project used to be the best way to punish a member. now that earmarks are gone, they can't do that. the rise of digital fund raising and marketing has taken away another party tool. so this is a way that leadership is showing they can still rule the roost. >> rallying around john boehner. mike allen, thanks so much. >> have a great day. coming up, could you eat nine pounds of steak in less than 15 minutes? i don't know why i'm asking this question, but i am. that's apparently what one woman accomplished at a texas steak house. look how fast she eats too. amazing. but first, the pacers shut down lebron james. got him into early foul trouble. would it be enough to keep themselves from being eliminated from the playoffs? "morning joe" sports is next. ♪

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♪ all right. let's do some sports. heat/pacers, game five. lebron james in foul trouble all night.

he got three early ones. rode the pine. played less than 25 minutes. scored only seven points. that's a career playoff low for him. go to the fourth quarter. james knocks down a three there. that ties things at 81. even though he wasn't in a lot of the game, they were still tied late. but the game belonged to paul george. he scored 37 points. heat gthough didn't get a good chance to win. trailing by two with ten seconds on the clock. chris bosh's three is no good. indiana lives to play another day. they win 93-90. that series now goes back to miami. miami leading 3-2. >> miami better put them away. >> oh, yeah. you don't want a game seven. >> i'll be there. >> don't want a game seven on the road. thunder and spurs tonight. that's in san antonio. that series is tied at two games a piece after oklahoma city came back to win the last two at home. let's go back to the heat/pacers though. lebron james and lance

stephenson have been involved in trash talk. stephenson steps it up last night. he leans over and blows into lebron's ear. >> that's not right. >> his reaction -- lebron just shakes his head. i think that's literally getting into his head, isn't it? that's incredible. >> that is hilarious. what just happened? >> lance stephenson, he's a different guy, let's put it that way. and they won last night. nhl playoffs. what a game this was. third period, kings up 4-3. ben smith with the equalizer for chicago. goes to overtime. scoreless in overtime, so how about double ot. >> shaw. he scores!

>> michael handzus with the back hander. that's the game winner. keeps chicago alive. blackhawks win 5-4. they're still down in the series as it goes back to los angeles. tonight the rangers get another shot to close things out against the canadiens. >> they've got to win. >> going to win here tonight in new york if they want to move on. up next, the threat of cyber terrorism has never been more real. and it also happens to be the subject of the new book by david ignatius. >> he's here. >> it's a good one. >> we'll talk to david about his new book next. and later today mika will be joining her mother at books & books in miami. >> i told you i was going to miami. >> for discussion and signing. her new book "lure of the forest." if you're in the area, stop on by there in coral gables, florida, at books & books. don't go away. back with more "morning joe." ♪ she keeps you on your toes.

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are another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account. all right. we have some breaking news from overseas. reuters are reporting 14 ukrainian troops including an army general were killed when their helicopter was shot down. that's according to ukraine's acting president. it follows an attack last week where at least 13 soldiers were killed when pro-russian separatists attacked a check point in the and part of the country. david, before we get to your book, let's talk about this. we've had elections there. there was a hope that would help bring some stability or credibility to the process. this doesn't look good. >> we all took a deep breath after sunday's elections and the election of poroshenko who seems like a unifier for ukraine. but the violence has continued on the eastern border. with deaths at this number, you

have an escalating crisis. the russians will have to decide whether they really need to make this new regime work. that they do, that means support for the government and really save lives against pressing. >> but can russia control the rebels? >> it remains to be seen. if over time the rest of ukraine gets stronger and the russians don't do anything, yes. they will be able to put them back. >> we'll be following this as more information comes in. but david, we also have your book to talk about which is out today? >> it's out june 2. >> we are early. which is good. "the director" is your latest novel. obviously this is not your first. but it seems to be based on real life events? >> all my books are drawn from my research as a journalist. this is about the -- >> everything we're talking about today. >> -- issues of hackers and

espionage in the news every day. when it became obvious that the themes of the basic spy novel were all going digital. you don't want to recruit the station chief now. you want to recruit a systems administrator because he can open more secrets to you. comes out of a communications company, wants to shake the place up. comes into office and in his first week is confronted by a walk-in at the u.s. consulate in hamburg who says i'm a hacker. we've broken all of your codes. and hands him a list of the names of officers, intelligence officers in germany and switzerland. and that's what this new director has to deal with. he's dealing with the weapons that snowden has described and thrown back at the agency itself. >> in the context of the novel, your latest novel "the director." you like those plugs?

>> i like it. >> available at amazon.com. the term hacker has taken on, i think, a whole new meaning in the last few years. used to be you think of a hacker as someone in their mother's basement with cheetos. >> and now you say thank you. >> you want to acquire the services. >> aren't -- doesn't outfits like the nsa and cia look for hackers to hire? >> so if you were to take a trip as a journalist to the nsa, what you would see at ft. meade is a lot of military officers, men and women, in the halls. but you'd see a lot of men and women in black t-shirts and guys with ponytails and tattoos and earrings. these are people who come out of the hacker underground. and the nsa decides years ago if we don't get these people on our side, hacking systems, finding out ways to break into things, we're in trouble. i think part of where the

scandal came was hacker mentality with the traditional government bureaucracy that wants in secret to kind of take over everything. and you have this quite toxic mix. but, you know, hacking in all directions is now part of life. and that's the subject of this book. off director who's dealing with a hacker in his midst in ways he doesn't begin to realize. and the book is the story of how he begins to get his arms around this problem and finally deal with it aggressively. >> we have an early look at the book the director. and you can read an excerpt on your site. and david, monday we're going to politics and pros to celebrate "lure of the forest" then right to your event for "the director." we'll see you very soon. >> thank you. next in news you can't use, we'll introduce you to the canine being used as the world's first b.a.s.e. jumping dog. my goodness. ♪

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hour, edward snowden says he sleeps easy at night after exposing the nsa. but has your opinion of him changed? more from nbc's exclusive interview next. and we're still looking for someone to define the obama doctrine. that's not true. just some of us are still looking. john heilemann, howard dean, david gregory all next. we're back in a moment. ♪ revolutionizing an industry can be a tough act to follow,

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there is a true yearning to respond to the singing river and the wise rock. so they the asian, the hispanic, the jew, the african, the native midwestern, the catholic, the muslim, the greek, the irish, the rabbi, the priest, the chic, the gay, the straight, the preacher, the privileged, the homeless, the teacher. they all hear the speaking of the tree. >> what a breathtaking body of work renowned in its eloquence and its power to endure. maya angelou has passed away. her book "i know why the caged bird sings," her poetry, her final message, everything will endure and just make us stop and think every time we hear her voice. welcome back to "morning joe."

joining joe and me on set here, "morning joe" contributor john heilemann, former communications director for president george w. bush nicole wallace, and former chairman of the democratic national committee howard dean, and in washington, the moderator of "meet the press," david gregory. got mike barnicle here too. packed hour ahead. so much to cover. joe, we'll start with edward snowden who says no evidence his leaks of classified information has damaged national security. the computer specialist and self-proclaimed american spy said he hasn't put the country at risk. the hour-long conversation was in moscow where the 29-year-old is living under temporary asylum. raises clear questions about his relationship with the russians. >> right. so i have no relationship with the russian government at all. i've never met the russian president.

i'm not supported by the russian government. i'm not taking money from the russian government. i'm not a spy, which is the real question. >> people are going to find it hard to believe that president putin hasn't taken a run at you or what you know. you can state declaratively that that hasn't happened? >> yeah. i mean, the way to think about this is, again, i already know how to deal with counterintelligence. beyond that, i took nothing to russia, so i could give them nothing. >> snowden described the nsa surveillance tools claiming analysts can watch americans as they draft e-mails essentially monitoring their thoughts. while the former contractor claims some government programs are useful, he says others are downright dangerous. and therefore needed to be exposed. >> in your mind, though, are you blameless? have you done as you look at

this just a good thing? have you performed as you see it a public service? >> i think it can be both. i think the most important idea is to remember that there have been times throughout american history where what is right is not the same as what is legal. sometimes to do the right thing, you have to break a law. >> so you're a kid from north carolina, and while i after this interview am free to fly back to the united states, you can't. does that hurt you? >> i may have lost my ability to travel, but i've gained the ability to go to sleep at night and to put my head on the pillow and feel comfortable that i've done the right thing even when it was the hard thing. and i'm comfortable with that. >> okay. here with us now from capitol hill, republican representative from new york and some say the next chair of the house intel committee, congressman peter

king. joe take it away. >> thanks for being with us. you believe that edward snowden is a traitor. millions of americans disagree with you. they are very concerned about a massive surveillance system run by a large centralized state and are sympathetic of what snowden did and are glad they know more about what their federal government is doing day in and day out looking at records not only abroad but also at home. how do we square these two? does snowden deserve a trip back to the united states and some leniency if he gives us information we need to know? >> absolutely not. that's the whole myth around snowden. i think brian williams added to that last night basically giving you an infomercial.

the fact is that all of this talk, they cannot give one example of any american's right being attacked. this is the most careful system we have. all the examples he gave about taking control of blackberries -- >> peter, you have that information. are you saying no americans have had their personal information lifted by the federal government in a way that would concern most of us? >> the nsa has not taken anyone's information. they're not reading e-mails. they cannot listen to phone calls whatsoever without the approval of the courts. same with fbi and local police. all this about monitoring e-mails and taking control of cell phones, that is not done by the nsa to an american citizen. there are the strictest possible regulations. this is a myth that's gone on. i agree with john kerry. for once i agree with kerry that edward snowden is a could and a

traitor. we know how it's interfered and harmed our relations with overseas countries. the fact is american phone calls are not being listened to by the nsa. >> so, congressman, i'm not going to disagree with everything you're saying. i think we can debate it. i want to bring david gregory in. when we hear from snowden himself, i have to say it doesn't look like what you usually would think in the older version of the term "hacker." actually, it's the newer version of the term "hacker," which is thank you very much for what i'm able to do. and there are a lot of people who watched that interview and were like, whoa. i wonder is he a traitor or a hero. >> you asking me? >> i'm asking david gregory to jump in to go to you. >> well, i think part of the answer to that question is about what damage has actually been done. so congressman, when you heard edward snowden assert without

evidence that there's no provable way to say that he's done damage to the united states, that he's done damage to our intelligence gathering service or that there's no way to prove as he said that terrorists have adapted to what he's put out there to the world and could be plotting attacks or changing their methods as a result, how do you answer that? >> well, on the intelligence committee we have direct evidence of terrorist organizations which have changed their means of communications since snowden made his revelations last year. i would go back to what mika said. she said came across not a usual hacker. he did not give one example to justify what he did. he did not show how one american had his rights violated. any way the nsa listened to anyone's conversation was not approved by a court order. how they read anyone's e-mail. none of that. he was talking about all the things he could do which any

intelligence agency in the world could do. the difference is the united states is mon tord by the courts, congress, and justice department. i think this guy is a fraud. and i really wish that brian williams had gone after him and asked him to give one piece of evidence that shows the nsa has violated the law in any way. >> got to move on to president obama at west point. but peter, isn't the revelation here that the government can do these things, may do these things, and is doing these things? are you denying that these systems are in place? >> it has the ability to go after the enemy. but to be able to do that, it has to get court orders. it has to follow the law. strictly laid out methods by the court and comply with the courts. this is in keeping with our system of checks and balances. this is what's essential to fight al qaeda in the world today while respecting americans' civil liberties and right. that's why snowden is a liar and a fraud. i'm saying to joe scarborough

too. as republicans we can disagree on policies, but i think there's no room if the republican party for anyone who defends edward snowden. we can disagree on the nsa, but to say we could tolerate a person who gives secrets away who violates american security and says that can be stowed by anyone in the republican party. i go back to bill buckley. he said there was no place for that in the society. i'm saying there's no place for anyone in the republican party to say it's legitimate to disclose secrets of the enemy. >> are you talking about rand paul? >> him and others who say this guy could be a hero, a medal. the fact is he's put american lives at risk and defense intelligence agency information. >> we've got a lot more to talk about. we have to move on to the president's speech. >> heilemann, we're going to continue this. hold that thought.

we're coming back. i hear you. i hear you, definitely. at west point, president obama used his commencement address to lay out his vision for america's role in the world. saying critics of his administration's stance on syria and ukraine were, quote, misreading history or engaging in partisan politics. he also spoke about america's new number one threat. decentralized extremists abroad. >> military that you have joined is and always will be the backbone of that leadership. but u.s. military action cannot be the only or even primary component of our leadership in every instance. just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail. for the foreseeable future, the most direct threat at home and abroad remains terrorism.

but a strategy that involves every terrorist networks is naive and unsustainable. today's principle threat no longer comes from a centralized al qaeda leadership. instead it comes from decentralized al qaeda affiliates and extremists. many focused in countries where they operate. so we have to develop a strategy one that expands our reach without sending forces that stretch our military too thin. >> joe, what do you think the president was doing here? >> well, the president's trying to define what the obama doctrine is in foreign policy. a question that's eluded many including your father for years now. it's been more reactive than proactive than most presidents six years in. "the washington post" talked about no mention of the russian

reset the president spoke about in 2009 and 2012. no mention of the pivot to asia that hillary clinton talked about in 2011. no mention of the red line in syria that the president drew and then erased. no mention of the israeli/palestinian peace process that was at the center of john kerry's first year which now has been wiped away. and "the wall street journal" said it reminded them of the end of "castaway" where tom hanks used whatever was left of the wreckage. perhaps that's a harsher assessment, but i must say "the new york times" lead is quite damning this morning when on the front page it talks about president obama once again tried to define what the obama doctrine was in this world six years in. i want to ask you howard dean, nicole wallace, everybody around the table. did we get close tore figuring out what the obama doctrine was? if so we offer a free "morning joe" mug to someone who can answer this with 15 second or

less. john heilemann, we go to you first. a mug standing by if you can answer -- and i'm serious. what is the obama doctrine? >> i'll take the question seriously. i don't think we're any closer than we were before yesterday. i think one of the big things that president obama faces is a speech fatigue. one of the things that has been true of him all along is that he's -- obviously he's a great orator. he's given many speeches during this time as president. but he's given so many that it's hard for them to have the significance now that they used to have. people have heard him give these speeches so many times in the area of foreign policy it's particularly acute. because the definitional issues of what obamaism on the foreign stage is have always been vexed. i think they're more vexed now than they have been. i think today we're no closer today than we were yesterday to having a clear, concise, two or

three sentence answer to that question. >> the problem isn't the speeches. the problem is that he doesn't have a clear policy. yok the problem is the speech he gave yesterday. the problem is he doesn't have the cohesive foreign policy. you read "the wall street journal." the criticism from "the washington post" and "new york times" which are pretty faithful defenders of this presidency to me is steaming. when they can't get through to their allies in the media, they are really in trouble. >> it is a problem. but when you run for president and you were defined by what you were not, he was defined during his campaign as not being george w. bush and not being dick cheney. it helped him get elected president. but howard dean, that was one of the president's problems. also historically where the 44th president of the united states lands and the american story is

also another problem. if you're president prior to 1989, it's an easy world to define. it is a bipolar world. there is a cold war going on. and it's us against them. russians are the bad guys. we're the good guys. then it moves to this multilateral world we merging powers app and of course you have one or two people that can have oil money, start a terror outfit and destabilize the world one way or the other. the president, i'm a critic of foreign policy but it's also a hell of a lot more difficult than it was for the first, say, 38, 39, 40 presidents. >> i think that's right. i think actually that's the problem. the problem here is not the president. it's the media. the media doesn't know how to deal with a more sophisticated foreign policy. i listened to the whole speech on the radio. i thought it was a good speech. i think what this president has consistently said is that we are no longer living in a polar world.

we are going to -- our foreign policy is based on cooperation with other people. he showed it in libya. he has showed it in ukraine. >> is that the obama doctrine? >> that is the obama doctrine is that this is no longer a bipolar world. us against them. it requires us to build alliances. everything he specifically said during the speech, if the american interests are directly threatened, we will respond militarily. but -- >> can i ask you this question, howard? >> let me finish. if there's not a direct threat, we will build alliances and expect partnerships -- >> and not make the mistakes of the past. >> i think that makes sense. >> so can i ask you this? because i think it's a great point. and i think the president made great points, too, that we project power in ways far different than rolling tanks into other countries. that's just not going to be effective moving forward. we have to use soft power. but is it fair to say this

president is not the best at forging those sort of alliances and personal relationships across the globe. that is one of the great challenges of the policy he put forward yesterday. >> i go to europe a lot for various speeches. i always get asked how come obama's not paying attention to us. i think he is. the problem is the europeans have to change. this is not -- he can't rely only on america with a different policy. the europeans have to understand now they're equal partners and more is expected of them. i think that's exactly what the president -- the kind of foreign policy the president wants. >> david gregory, i'm going to take another run at getting the coffee mug. >> you're going to get it, mike. >> for explaining the foreign policy doctrine. take what i say and see if you can pull it apart. >> and go. >> here it is. the president of the united states yesterday at west point looked at the graduating class and said, i'm sorry, but the jobs that you've been training

for, there are going to be fewer of them in the future. because we are currently spending $10 million an hour in afghanistan. an hour. $10 million an hour. the world is a dangerous place. it remains a dangerous place. but unless we have partners abroad to help us in all of these efforts, we're going to stay at home for awhile until and unless someone threatens us on our shores. >> you get two mugs. >> he didn't even say that. >> hold on, nicole. david, take it. >> i think he did say that. to nicole's point, part of what obama is trying to do is still sort of paint the contrast of president bush. and that line in there where he called it naive and unsustainable to go into country that harbor terrorists and invade them is simply not a good strategy anymore. that is the repudiation of the thought if you harbor a terrorist, you're a terrorist. he's really not out of that

business. i think he's saying we do face real threats. those threats are on our shores. those threating are also in places that could become failed states. if we want to go back to the first president bush idea of the united states leading an international order with alliances and partners who will go out and attack these things using various levers of power. i think to peter king the question becomes what is the united states not doing to back that up that you'd like to see more of? >> well, for instance, david, the president is saying now the threat from al qaeda comes from decentralized organizations. this is where the president is confused. e with knew this four years ago. at least four years ago these organizations were in place. we saw that with the underwear bombing on christmas day. forward from there. a year ago the president said the terror threat was pretty much behind us and we were in a pre-9/11 state. we're not. today he's saying it's more dangerous than ever.

it's this inconsistency with the president. he talks about not using military force he said we were going to use rocket attacks in syria and were lining up countries as supporters. pen pull the rug out from under them. he's the one with inconsistent policy. he's the one who used drones in yemen. he's the one with this drone policy which is using force. and also he says we're not going to send in troops when there's a threat. is he saying he would not have sent troops into afghanistan in 2001? i think he's trying to show he's not george bush but he doesn't know who he is. i think that's why there's so much confusion. >> nicole wallace, i wanted to ask you what your reaction was to the president's speech yesterday. obviously he was a man elected president by defining himself as the antithesis as the men and women you worked for in the bush white house. and yet it still seems to a lot of foreign policy analysts that

he's strangely ill-defined in his foreign policy. mika read last hour a review of it saying it was the walmart policy, cleanup in aisle one. for ad hoc, make it up as you go along. what was your reaction? >> well, very rarely do you have vice president dick cheney, the pages of "the new york times" editorial page, and "washington post" singing similar notes of one song. forget for a moment my friend peter king's criticism and simply look to hold obama to his own words. that's where the failure is most acute. when he stands before the world and draws a red line and then refuses to enforce it, that's what shatters the confidence of our allies. and nobody who leaves this country and travels in the middle east or europe have not heard this. i'm not saying anything that comes as any surprise. people think that american credibility around the world is badly damaged. forget about, you know, obama

always wants to make this about straw men with whom he can drum up to punch down. simply hold him to the words he's spoken as president. that's why i think the failure is most acute. and not damaging to just his own legacy, but potential successors. >> sure, peter, quickly. then get the response. go ahead. >> that was david here. i just think the issue here, syria notwithstanding and that's a huge issue about the red line and not following through on that, there is still not a question about america's capacity to lead in the world, alliances or otherwise. the issue is the lesson from afghanistan and iraq which i think a lot of people agree with is if you look at those periods of time america was there, what's been achieved. the ability of the u.s. to engineer the kind of change that was desired seems to be elusive still. >> and we know the failure in iraq.

we don't know about afghanistan yet. >> joe, real quick. >> mika, i wanted to get your impression of the president's speech. do you think he clarified what america's role in the world was yesterday at west point? >> i think he gave an in-motion point of view as to where we are headed and the challenges we faced in the past. and i thought it was fairly realistic. and i think that trying to explain his doctrine in ten seconds or less is not even the point here. i got to say. >> it may not be the point -- >> i don't think that's what he was setting out to do. >> -- the judges have just notified me that barnicle once again failed to get a mug. >> he gets two mugs. >> we have an hour and a half left. >> we have another hour and a half and mike, you are going to get along with the rest of our guests today we thank for being on the "morning joe," rice-a-roni, a san francisco treat. >> congressman peter king, thank you very much.

howard dean, david gregory, thank you as well. still ahead, protecting ourg kids from concussions and also adults. the white house today is taking on the serious problem of sports-related head injuries. valerie jarrett will be here to talk about that. plus she may be the only one standing in the way of republicans taking back the senate. the tactic that senator mary landrieu is using to keep her seat. kasie hunt is back and joins us for states of play. "morning joe" continues after a break. ♪

♪ all right. live look at d.c. kind of hazy morning there. you get not one, but two mugs. >> thank you very much. thank you. there you go, joe. >> moving on now.

louisiana is known for its unique food, music, and politics. the senate race there is poised to become the lightning rod for the entire 2014 cycle. political reporter kasie hunt traveled to the bayou to visit with mary landrieu. >> oil from the gulf is the life blood of louisiana's economy, and that puts it at the heart of senator mary landrieu's re-election campaign. she took the u.s. energy secretary on a tour of u.s. oil and gas facilities. it's meant to show just how much power and influence she has. >> the chair of the energy committee, the people of louisiana have clout that only comes around once every 25 years. why would you give that up when being in the chair is so important? >> landrieu is trying to paint herself as an independent advocate for louisiana. distancing herself from national democrats. >> some people in the democratic party want to shut down oil and

gas production and say, you know, out with all fossil fuels. i think it's foolish, impractical, and ner going to happen. >> but she voted for the president's health care law and republican opponents say that's way out of step with the state. on the right is air force colonel rob palis pointing out he also wrestles alligators. the more serious threat is from congressman bill cassidy, a physician who turned an abandon abandoned kmart into a clinic at katrina. telling the post she couldn't get a vote on the keystone pipeline. >> first of all, i'm the chair of the committee. i'm not the majority leader or minority leader. they control the floor. washington has their own gridlock and problems. i'm able to move serious pieces of legislation through for the benefit of our state and region.

>> but you won't say one way or the other whether you'll back harry reid. >> if he runs, i will. i don't agree with harry reid on everything. i certainly don't agree with mitch mcconnell on everything. >> groups linked to the koch brothers have already spent millions ofr negative ads. >> mary landrieu said obamacare is going to make things better. better? not for people like me. >> tell landrieu it's about people, not politics. >> i think the koch brothers and people like them are very dangerous to the process. you know, they have so much money, they can write a $250 million check and just not miss it. so i think that's what's dangerous. now, it's happening on both sides. >> do you extend that to tom steyer, for example? >> absolutely. >> but in a state known for take no prisoners politics, she says she's up for the fight. >> i've worked now with three presidents, seven governors. this is not my first rodeo.

>> no, it's not. that was a good sound bite. let's bring in kasie along with political director and host of "the daily rundown" chuck todd. kasie, explain the delicate dance here. >> it almost feels like she's running for governor of louisiana. she has to push herself as far away from democrats as she can. without pushing too hard against president obama in particular. because her being re-elected is really going to depend on particularly fortune voters in new orleans. that lets her put a little more distance between herself and harry reid. she lumped him in there with mitch mcconnell which i thought was remarkable. she's very supportive of the health care law. >> if there's a dance too delicate, it sounds challenging. >> listening to her excellent piece, you hear mary landrieu at the end saying this isn't her first rodeo. it's not. she's been in close races throughout her career.

and somehow she always manages to somehow pull the rabbit out of the hat. i think a lot of people in our business sense this is going to be another one of those cases. is your sense now that the balance has shifted and she is less endangered now than she was two or three months ago? >> i don't actually find myself there. i don't know how she gets to 50. i know she'll be the leading vote getter. couple things you've got to understand about louisiana and i know everybody around the table knows this. if nobody gets 40%, there's a runoff. let's think of the 50% plus one for her. this is the first time she's had to do this without post-katrina, without barack obama on the ballot. so it's a midterm election, first time she's been on the ballot post-katrina in a midterm, no barack obama. what's that mean? issue of african-american turnout. and there are a lot of voters that were there for her in 2002 that now live in houston and

atlanta. that no longer live in the state of louisiana post-katrina. that's problem number one for her. problem number two i think is going to be this issue of just how her victories before have been to do well in the new orleans suburbs. in particular that's where a democrat's got to do pretty well and where they have a chance. but we've seen particularly in the south that the white suburbs have not been voting democrat as much as they had in the past. they're looking at it through a national prism. so i think that's why -- i think bill cassidy has not run a great campaign yet, but they seem to be playing we'll wait until the runoff to play the real race. he's just got to get into the runoff. but i have to say, i still have my doubts once we get to the runoff. >> i'm going to get to nicole. jump in there. apparently in our graphic we put

an r instead of a d. >> but maybe some day. >> no. >> you said she's running as a -- like she was running for governor. obviously it's a state with a republican governor. what lines of attack do they privately fear the most from the republicans? because she sounds an awful lot -- she running an awful lot like a louisiana republican. >> she is in many ways. health care is still jo overshadowing all of this. she's trying to neutralize the claim she's backing away. she goes hard after governor bobby jindal over the medicaid expansion issue. that's something where she tries to go on the offense. it's clear these negative ads have already blanketed the state. they privately acknowledge they've taken her numbers down. >> well, kasie, i want to know where you're going next because the suitcase is hanging around here. we keep showing that thing. >> we're just going to be back in louisiana later this week. there's a republican conference.

then on to probably mississippi. >> all right. kasie hunt, thank you. chuck todd, we'll be watching "the daily rundown" at exactly 9:00 a.m. i can assure you of that. still ahead -- >> the whole hour too. >> kiss reunited at this year's rock and roll hall of fame ceremony. what was the scene like backstage? we reveal the behind the scenes moments ahead on "morning joe." ♪ what if a photo were more than a memory? what if it were more than something to share? what if a photo could build that shelf you've always wanted? or fix a leaky faucet? or even give you your saturday back? the new snapfix app revolutionizes local service.

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♪ later today i'll be joining my mom at books & books in miami, florida. don't you love that place? >> will she have her chain saw? >> that's what i'm scared of. >> she can get the chain saw through. >> i talked to the good people at steel chain saws. i believe they'll be providing her with a battery powered one. i don't think she'll like it. but we'll see. i think she likes the one from 1982 that's about 80 pounds. we'll be talking about her new book "the lure of the forest." it's about her life's work sculpting incredible pieces, trees she works on.

and again the book is "the lure of the forest." if you're nearby in miami, stop by. up next, she was one of the most prolific poets in american history and after 86 years she left us too soon. our tribute to maya angelou next on "morning joe." ♪ she keeps you on your toes.

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we want to talk about the concussion summit later today. but first the passing of maya angel angelou, how do we put into perspective the legacy of someone who was able to do what she did with words and her voice? it seems so difficult. >> yeah. it's impossible, mika, to do her justice. i still remember as a young teenager about the age of 12 or 13 reading "i know why the caged bird sings" and the profound effect her life story had on me. just the devastation and trauma that she experienced at such a young age. and yet she was resilient and strong and proud and had the most elegant grace that i could imagine. so she was an inspiration not just to me, obviously, but to millions and millions of girls around the united states and around the world. and i think her legacy will live on through her words and her amazing ability to tell a story. >> joy? >> yeah. i agree. "i know why the caged bird sings" is one of those -- you

know, you read it because we were assigned it in school. i read it on my own at a young age because it was so impactful. she did speak for particularly young black girls that have an invisibility problem in society. she spoke for us. i think for women throughout her career she was this trail blazer. she was this independent person who was doing things that let alone black women or women, period, weren't doing. and she was just brilliant. very much missed. . >> valerie? >> a true renaissance woman, yes. >> in a way, because i was assigned the book too, one of the first and only books i actually didn't just read because it was an assignment but because i took off in it. and her voice continues that every time, valerie, you hear now a recording of her voice, you stop. and you give it weight. and you become mindful which doesn't happen in this day and

age. >> it does not always happen. she was really a master of the story and the voice and her ability to just reach out with this rich melodic tone and touch not just black girls but really women and men, joe, around the world. and i think it's a remarkable gift. and she worked hard at it. i think she kind of showed everybody, all of us who stand on her shoulders it is about hard work and resilience and finding that inner beauty that is in everybody regardless of your circumstances, regardless of your appearance. believe in yourself. >> giving a voice radhika to those who need one now tr i guesses to "time" magazine. your cover's fascinating to me. especially the wording of it. you're looking at the transgender tipping point. what do you mean by that? >> well, there's something quintessentially american about maya angelou's voice.

it's about that desire to speak for yourself and identify yourself as an american, a person with rights and dignity. and that's what our cover story is about. it's about a small minority of americans who identify as transgender. it's about 1.5 million. not a lot of people, but increasingly in the last year especially since the success of the gay rights movement and the legalization of gay marriage. they are coming out of the margins to say this is who we are. and we're looking for respect and we're looking for change. we don't want to be bullied. we don't want to be discriminated against in schools and in the workplace. we want to know which bathrooms we can use which is always a common denominator in fight for civil rights. so this story is about this community becoming more vocal and visibility and carving out an identity. >> when you talk about this, the aspect of how transgender americans fall into the lgbt category, they've been marginalized as the lesbian and

gay community as the fight moves forward. there's not a question mark on e the cover. so you're declaring that it is the tipping point. >> well, certainly that's our argument. and again, this is a much smaller group than the larger gay and lesbian group, but through actions and the words of people like laverne cox who's on our cover as one of the stars of "orange is the new black," more people are aware of this. >> she's fantastic. >> she is. more and more people are aware that there are transgender people around us. and they deserve the respect and dignity that anyone else does. >> mike barnicle. >> in just a few hours the president will hold a sports summit at the white house. we've got in my family is little familiarity with this. one of our boys between hockey and football while in high school had three concussions. thankfully we lived in the greater boston area, great access to medical care, medical treatment, immediate treatment. but is one of the focuses of

this summit today, is it to raise awareness of the dangers, the true dangers of the vulnerability of the brain and thus concussions? >> absolutely. 250,000 children each year go t awareness of the dangers of concussion? >> absolutely. what we've got it figure out is the basic research to understand concussions and other head-related issues and to figure out what we can do to prevent them, identify them and then treatment them. so today you're going to hear a series of announcements of unprecedented magnitude, partnerships between the naacp and the defense department, $30 million funds that are going to be allocated to continue the research and increase awareness. the nfl partnering as well to raise aware nishs centers for disease control, the national institutes of health. it not just football. it's soccer, it's cheerleaders.

we also want to make it clear that sports is healthy, it's good, it's a way of staying active, teaches team sports and we'll have a clinic to show how we can do this in a safe way. so we need to increase our basic research in this field. that's what's going to help raise awareness so that parents and teaches and coaches and students know how to protect themselves. we also know there's a culture particularly with the concussion with young kids wanting to get back on the field quickly and continuing to play, not following the treatment course once diagnosed. raising awareness will help everybody and ensure we can have our children be safe. it obviously an interest with our military. so it's everything from the young people to the men and

women who serve our country. >> thanks for putting the spotlight on this issue. >> any time. and joy reid, we'll be watching the reid report. we didn't have enough time. this is our first time on together. can you stay for one more block? >> sure. >> up next, the u.s. number one on a new list that we probably don't want to be on. next on "morning joe." [ 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.

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okay, joy, help me out here because everyone thinks i'm like the police of this, and i actually care deeply and want different angles. a new study out this morning reveals an alarming rise in the obesity rate around the world. 30% of the world's population is now overweight or obese. that's a 145% increase from 1980? the united states tops the list with 87 million american considered obese, about 13% of the world's total. i actually was watching -- i think it was on your show this morning, chris christie responding to a woman who was saying "you're smaller" or something, because he's taken steps to address the problem and open up the conversation to people. it shouldn't be bad to bring

this up. you even look uncomfortable that i brought this up. am i wrong? >> no, i'm not uncomfortable. >> am i wrong? when you talk about chris christie, i don't think it's a natural -- >> we is a serious health crisis. >> it's a long running health crisis. my mother was a nutritionist. she specialized with working with children who are obese. everybody assumes people who think people who have a problem with obesity, a, it's a grand problem or, b, it's a greed problem. depending on where you live, you may live in a food desert where you can't get a fresh vegetable within many, many miles.

and you have a poverty issue where things that are cheap, soda. >> it's hard actually to find good food even not in a desert. so, joy, thank you so much. >> i told you, we could do mika meals. >> i've got to soften up on this. coming up in a packed 8:00 a.m. hour, nbc's exclusive it sitdown with edward snowden. and also, the supercharged word that's being used by women on college campuses to attack other women. what the word is and why they're using it. >> and later, the surviving members of nirvana reunited in brooklyn just days after the 20th anniversary of the kurt cobain death and we'll take you behind the scenes of the hall of fame induction ceremony.

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because our priority... amazing! ...is you! the amazing spider-man 2 delivered by the united states postal service. a wrote a poem called "phenomenal woman," and i wrote it for black women and i wrote it for white women, i wrote it for short and tall and very fat women, the kind who say,

"there's a skinny woman trying to get out," and i wrote it for very thin women, those who deserve all our sympathy. i wrote it for women on the covers of "vogue" and "elle" and "ebony" and "essence." i wrote it for all women because we are phenomenal and we are wonderful. i say it's in the reach of my arms, the span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips, i'm a woman phenomenally, phenomenal woman, that's me. >> there was perhaps no poet more iconic in america than maya angelou.

and she is being remembered for a breathtaking body of work renowned in its elegance and its power to endure. >> "i know why the caged birds sing." sharing the podium with a newly elected bill clinton at his inauguration. >> maya angelou received a medal of freedom from president obama, won an emmy and multiple grammys. she died in her home in south carolina, where she taught at wake forest. she was 86 years old. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." we have with us mike barnicle, david ignatius and also with us host of "andrea mitchell reports," andrea mitchell, all

over the networks of msnbc and nbc this morning and julie pace. we have the president of course making a major foreign policy speech yesterday and also edward snowden. we'll start there. he says there's no evidence his leaks of classified information have damaged national security. in an exclusive interview with nbc's brian williams, the computer specialist and self-proclaimed american spy challenged the u.s. government to prove his actions put the country at risk. the hour-long conversation was held in moscow where the 29-year-old is living under temporary asylum. that raises clear questions about his relationship with the russians. >> all right, so i have no relationship with the russian government at all. i've never met the russian president. i'm not supported by the russian government, i'm not taking money from the russian government, i'm

not a spy, which is the real question. >> people are going to find it hard to believe that president putin hasn't taken a run at you a and what you know. you can state declaratively that that hasn't happened? >> yeah. the way to think about this is, again, i don't know how to deal with counterintelligence. beyond that is correct i took nothing to russia so i could give them nothing. >> the former contractor claims some government programs are useful. he says others are downright dangerous and, therefore, needed to be exposed. >> in your mind, though, are you blameless? have you done, as you look at this, just a good thing? have you performed, as you see

it, a public service? >> i think it can be both. i think the most important idea is to remember that there have been times throughout american history where what is right is not the same as what is legal. sometimes to do the right thing you have to break a law. >> so you're a kid from north carolina, and while i after this interview am free to fly back to the united states, you can't. does that hurt you? >> i may have lost my ability to travel, but i've gained the ability to go to sleep at night and to put my head on the pillow and feel comfortable what i've done the right thing, even when it was the hard thing, and i'm comfortable with that. >> and, joe, the administration is outraged. we'll have their reaction in just a moment. but that's at this point expected. the question is did he move the meter, snowden, in any way in people's minds of who he is, a

hero or a traitor in. >> it certainly is always when you have the ability to voice your concerns and your beliefs and your views to the american people, and your voice is going to have an impact of him. when he was talking to princess williams and that aired yesterday, david ignatius, he was paraphrasing martin luther king who once said an unjust law is no law at all. i expect there would be very few people in intel who would agree with that sentiment. but i do know there are youngers americans who do not see him as a treacherous spy. why do you i i have a sense that this case will be debated even after we're gone? >> this is the biggest leak of intelligence information, i think, in modern american history and the consequences of

it we're just beginning to understand. snowden was an oddly, quietly compelling person on television last night. i thought he was, in effect, conducting the early round of his plea negotiations, in effect saying bring me home under reduced charges, clemency, maybe i'd serve a little jail time but i'm a patriot, what i did was good for the country. in a trial the public will able to -- >> does the united states government, does the intelligence community, does the obama administration want to have a trial with edward snowden where a lot of dirty laundry gets aired? >> eric holder at one point said he'd be willing to have conversations about the question. i think at this point they want him to go away. they're so particular of explaining to our allies all the

damage that's come out. i think after last night's broadcast, the question of should he be brought home for some kind of plea bargain, reduced charges and some trial is going to be one the straegs will have to deal with. >> do we have secretary kerry? andrea, mike, i want to show you this. this is the administration's position at this point and the outrage you can hear in his voice. tack a look. >> what he's done is expose for terrorists a lot of mechanisms that will make it harder for the united states to break up plots, harder to protect our nation. if this man is a patriot, he should stay in the united states and make his case. patriots don't stay in russia, they don't seek asylum in cuba, in venezuela la.

there are many who stood and went throughout the court system of america and made their case. edward snowden is a coward, he is a traitor and he has betrayed his country. if he. >> on one level it was a very impressive performance by edward snowden getting his case out. where do you think on a range of priorities does it rank that the united states wants snowden back in order to cut a deal with him, no trial, to sit him down and find out from him exactly what he has and how he took it? >> that's exactly the point. they know how he took it, they know what he so-called scraped, what he had access to. they don't have a sencensus of t he took, which is shocking, infuriating that even a year later think still don't know exactly what he took.

but after watching him last night, i'm not so sure how possible it is for him to go away. he is passionate and convince $. >> we had in a city kevin tib ls, in a bar there last night watching -- a lot of people felt in between. he was compelling. some people felt that he was a palt, that he was very convincing. some felt that he had taken an oath and violated his oath, which he clearly did. he feels that he is -- that is is civil disobedience to him. so he is thoreau. he said he's not a traitor but sometimes you have to break a law if you feel the law is

wrong. he was disillusioned. >> they can find a profile of who you are. the fact is that the internet companies can already do that and the american are not as owe poped as many people feel they should be by that intrusion. at the same time what he doesn't seem to understand from my reporting is that this doesn't happen as universally as he said. it supposed to be targeted, legally authorized by the secret court. he's correct that that secret court is a knee-jerk court. there's no adversarial justice there, that that court just approves the targeting but he is

so so it clear what he exposed, which is the mass search warrant list of private, american citizens. what's not clear to a lot of people is the damage that he's done. do we know from your source in the intel community what that damage is? >> they assert privately that damage has been enormous, that it will cost many billions of dollars to replace the systems that he has compromised. for the naa, he in effect has revealed that we're able to break codes to get into systems all over the world, and those are secrets that are very precious. he also has made us see how vulnerable our communications are all the time. as american, we're going to have new laws and have more limited

ways to test against these problems. the united states will offer a test legally on whether we can be secure of less intrusive carol numbers. >> the other big story we're covering today, at ws been. >> america's role in the world. obama defended his policy saying critics of his administration's stance on syria and ukraine were highs reading in partisan politics. t the. >> the military that you join is and always will be the back bone of that leadership.

but the u.s. military action cannot be the only or even primary component of our leadership in every instance. just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail. for the foreseeable future, the most direct threat to america at home and abroad remains terrorism. but a strategy that involves invading every country that harbors terrorist networks is naive and unstainable. today's threat no longer comes from a centralized al qaeda leadership. instead with a focus. so we had to develop a strategy that matches this di use, one that expands our reach. >> some would argue that the

administration has been calling for these moves, at the same time criticism. >> look at this headline "clean up on aisle one" not new, not approved. there is definitely a cry from the right to have the president have a more. popcy give. >> you have been doing for the past six years? the lead in the "new york times," west point, new york. president obama tried once more to articulate his vision of the american role in the world here on wednesday. julie pace, what's so

fascinating about this man, about this political figure, is that he is one of our most gifted speakers in modern american political people, he is capable of soaring rhetoric. but when you talk about the 12th order 13th jobs or whether they're 16 and do what cam panners do in their foreign policy is different than. >> there was something about this speech that is a little oud. it not the first foreign policy address the president has ever begin. it's not the first time he's articulated this vision. he actually has done this --

they feel he's doing this improperly or that ilt being misinterpreted. i don't think we learned a lot new about the president. this is basically the barack obama from the. >> a prz a who tried to chadle this lien between isolation and intervention. i do think it comes to scary turly picture, wars that were designed to fight terrorists and now we're seeing this still remains a top threat. it's just a lot different. i don't know if he provided specific answers to people about how the u.s. will respond to those new let's. >> coming up, college cam us z

pez. >> but first, bill karins. >> it's jacket weather for people in the atlantic and deep south today. we've wushd it towards pan cola and mobil areas. the prep that this morning we've got about 4 inches of rain in the gain am hom ail, about it d swung in opiniononed now this morning a few spots were done in the bd is watching washington,

d.c. and philadelphia, both lowe cases, you're not locked in the cloud, there's nothing and reports of drizzle out there. your temperatures or 20 degrees cool are there been. >> there's l.a.x. airport. no problem at this hour. you're watching "morning joe," we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ in the real world, security surrounds us.

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♪ ♪ to "morning papers" now, "usa today," an american is responsible for a suicide bombing that killed three in syria overs weekend. u.s. officials say they are investigating the incident, which they blame on an al qaeda-linked group. it would be the first time a u.s. citizens was responsible for an attack in syria. intelligence officials have warned about islamist militant groups trying to recruit and train americans for attacks there. joe. >> and big business news this afternoon. the fan twan to jury rooming for a $3 billion price tag. the move is going to allow the technical giant to compete in the streaming business.

he was doing pretty darn well this morning counting his money in the bank. >> the wall street journal. teen pregnancy numbers are down to their lowest level in 23 years. they dipped 13% last year. that's about 12 births for of thousand of women. in total the amount of teen birss had dropped about 68% since hitting a peak. >> the hosting can be day-long summit at the white house today and he's hoping to bring now, the panel, it going to include researchers, pro officials,

sport 80% of the tech workers are male, twiel just 21% of its leadership are women. the company also struggles in terms of racial diversity with 61% of its workforce white, 3% asian, 2% hispanic and google says black. google says being open about its numbers is the first step toward changing them. >> with us is mike allen. he's had a look inside the world famous play book. interesting things, allies of house speaker john boehner are trying to make sure he stays in power after the mid-term elections. first of all, who are these guys? secondly, how are they going to do it? >> is the tea party waxing or waning? there's more evidence that these forces are weakening. dick sherman of politico says if

the republicans particular the senate, john bayer in is like will hiroshimastar, they're trying to cut off any opposition to a boehner speakership. one way to do this is to change the conference rules so it's easier to strip someone who votes against the speaker of all their committees. you vote against the speaker, you don't have any committee you can tell your constituents about. something else that is smart that would this would make it mathematically impossible to deny speaker boehner the champion thiep.

so a stronger boehner if he comes back next time. >> we hear about people getting committee assignments for stepping out of line, but creating this letter and new rules to punish the members in other way seems new. >> well, it does. this is a comeback of muscle for leadership. we've talked about leadership and how some senates are weaker. there's fewer clubs and tools. partly taking away funding for a big project needs to be the best way to punish a member, now that the ear marks are gone. the raise of digital fund-raising and market has taken away another party rool. >> mike alen. thanks, mike. up next, how one word has taken on a whole new meaning for women

on college campuses around the united states. "morning joe" will be right back. ♪ well, i was born in a small town and i live in a small town ♪ hi buddy. mom! awesome! dad!! i missed you. ♪ oh... daddy. chevrolet and its dealers proudly support military appreciation month. with the industry's best military purchase program, for all that have served. little things, anyone can do. it steals your memories. your independence. insures support. a breakthrough. and sooner than you'd like... ...sooner than you think.

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okay, so we're all here because of this book, right? well, i don't know who wrote this book but you all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. it makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores. >> that's awful. the comedy "mean girls" epitomized just how mean girls can be to each other. now a new study out that shows just how pervasive that meanness is and the true reasons behind it, or at least some of them. with us the editor in chief of "cosmopolit "cosmopolitan," joanna coals, thomas, mike and me. we heard about the word "slut" being used in the movies. and it's being used for a different reason now. what do you think is behind

that, joanna? i'm surprised that a -- i actually see an awakening among women now where we're actually nicer to each other, yet younger women on campuses using this word on a number of different levels and probably debasing or at least bringing back up the real meaning of it. >> i think it's important to point out that what tina fey was actually doing in "mean girls" is being ironic. >> exactly. >> i'm not one to want to ban words. i think you take the power out of words when you let women use it like this. so i don't have the same issues that everybody else i think does with it. and i felt the survey itself was based on 50 sorority girls in one college. i'm not sure it told us actually anything useful and it's much more useful when people claim

them and use them as they want. >> when women use words like slut play a part in social roles and -- >> i think there's a difference when women use it online. i'm frequently calling my friends sluts as a joke, oh my god, you old sluts, as a joke, which is my way of reclaiming the word. >> you alluded to the fact that we live largely in a non-e non-eye contact word.

>> sometimes people use the word slut as someone who has had a bit more sex than they've had. that's sort of just the way people communicate. men call each other things like this all the time, too. >> men call each other studs if they're getting away with this kind of behavior. >> i it's different. >> if men are achieving a type of sexual appetite that is perceived as perm is cues, a lot of guys deem this as this guy's a study. now, a woman ma sure, they are then shamed in other ways, whether it's through men trying to teach their girls not to be loose or whether it's their mothers. >> but i do think there's something much more interesting going on here, which is the victim shaping of genuine sexual

assault, which does go on and feels to me much more worthy of our time in terms of discussing, the idea of rape shaming, that you try to shame someone online, if you hear they've been the victim of a sexual assault. that's -- in the way gays reclaimed the word gay to stress something about what's powerful about gay culture. >> but how can you bifurcate and separate maybe the way women like us throw around the word slut and other 16-year-olds -- this came to be two weeks ago when we talked about the monica lewinsky, telling her story in "vanity fair." a lot of people called it slut

claiming. i don't think -- i think those words are used as weapons against other young girls. >> well, all sorts of things are used as weapons. are you saying that tina fey shouldn't have made the movie, shouldn't have done the book? >> no, i'm saying -- >> i thought that was a very powerful scene in that movie, you didn't and you take back the idea somebody that's at the heart of what's going on now. there's something really concerning about how women feel threatened ander in voss on college campuses right now. we saw it erupt over the sort of shooting last week. and i think that is really worthy of our attention. >> so adding a new thing to it. instead of trying to reclaim the word shut and add positive

connotations, sexual appetite, whatever, why is sex such a bad thing? why aren't we teaching men to understand certain things about women and the way we should be treated and about the way they want to control themselves. we always worry about the women being demonized for being, quote, a certain thing. what about men and that concept of studlyness having a change over time. it never has. over decades and decades, it has never been a bad thing to help get around. >> oh, you want to avoid him, he's did it's never is. >> there's two versions. i'm sorry, maybe not. >> i do think there's a crisis

in confidence between young men and young women, especially on college campuses. i agree there are different prices to pay for it. but i do think women are trying to take this back and that's what the hash tag was all about. >> joanna, thank you. we went four year a catch the latest issue of "cosmopolitan" magazine. >> coming up, how rockers really party behind the scenes at the rock 'n' roll hall of fame induction ceremony. some of them might be sleeping. we'll be right back.

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♪ ♪ ♪ i feel stupid and contagious >> last nun music legends gathered for an epic induction ceremony concert for the rock 'n' roll hall of fame's classic 2014. hbo captured the on stage and behind-the-scenes look. joining us is the president of the rock 'n' roll hall of fame foundation. i'm giving heilemann some power here. take it away. >> it was a rapid fire. let's start with peter gabriel. >> peter gabriel was the first one that was up that night. chris martin did the induction with him. went to cat stevens with gar funkle doing the induction,

bruce springsteen inducted the e street band, the side men and then linda ronstadt was inducted as well. we had an incredible cross-section of artists and the performances were spectacular. >> one of the ones most people were struck by was the linda ronstadt tribute. talk about that. linda was not able to come because she had throat cancer, right? >> i think she had parkinson's. >> talk about who was there in her stead. >> we looked for a cross-section of women. we had stevie nicks, carrie underwood, bonnie rait, sheryl crow, tried to get a wide variety of women from people who

are her contemporary to new people like carrie underwood who can really show that connection. that's what we do at the museum. that's our goal is to show a connection between what the inductees are and people they influence. >> that's a whole show right there. >> that will be a subset. >> we talked back stage also for a few minutes about cat stevens. had not played in new york city for an emotional -- it was incredible. his voice sound exactly like it was in 1972. >> when cat stevens opened his mouth, it was beautiful. he's been living a very modest life and it's obviously reflected in his voice. >> people were blown away by that. all these people, all the

inductees get so into it and they've give us this. >> so if springsteen gets inducted in 1999 and the band gets inducted now and he alluded to the fact that peter van zant was pissed off. >> ul that. >> okay, this one's great. and what a great job you have. do you love your job? >> we have a new exhibit featuring the history of festivals from newport to the rurnt. >> i love it, the 2014 rock 'n'

roll induction ceremony at 8:00. she's one of the world's top female golfer. stacy jones joins us here next. s of data to share and unlimited talk and text. (whispering) oh ten gigs sounds pretty good. (whispering) yeah really good (whispering) yeah and for a family of 4 it's a $160 a month. what! get outta here! (whispering) i'm sorry are we still doing the whisper thing? or? (whispering) o! sorry! yes yes! (whispering) we'll take it.

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okay, this is a challenge. i'm good. actually, i did get this wrong, stacy lewis, really nice to meet y you. you have an incredible story. john, first of all, what is this partnership? let's talk about what it means overall in terms of this relationship. let's make the announcement. >> we're announcing and michael ought to probably kick this off as the commissioner of the lpga because it's a joint effort of all four parties. mike, you kick that off. >> it's historic. we're going to evolve the lpga

tournament called the kpmg women's tournament. it's one of the biggest clubs in the west chester country club, one of the grandest purses and we'll rotate the venue year after year. so in women's golf, there's only five majors, five times where really the whole world pays attention. this one is not only great attention in terms of women's golf, but this is going to create attention and opportunity for women outside as well. >> it's a win, win and double win. >> absolutely. our organization is all about growing the game. for us this is a major statement on our belief in women's golf and really to add more women in the game and more diversity into the game. >> john, if you look at this partnership, where do you want it to go? let's think five years down the line. >> kpmg is committed to

advancing and empowering women. i know that's a big agenda item for you as well. we see this as a platform to build a year-round initiative to create and build and develop that nest direction of women leaders. we have a summit built into the tournament on site, at the tournament. we'll attract the leading business, political, sports women and use that as a jumping off point to really create year-round programming to mentor, coach, skill develop that next generation of up-and-coming women as well. >> okay, so speak of women, let's get to the one woman on the panel. nbc will be broadcasting the whole thing, it's really exciting. when growing up, did you ever imagine you'd be here? i was mentioning in the tease you were in a back brace for many years, curvature of the spine, scoliosis and here you are, a champion on so many

levels. >> i think back to ten years ago when i was having my surgery, not sure if i'd ever play golf again, not bend or twist, but to now put women on the highest platform. it's exciting. gli have 30 seconds. how awesome is it, nicole, to hear a woman saying i'm one of the best players in the world. without any equivocation. >> but you get to bring to america on so many levels. john? >> absolutely. we have a great partner in nbc that's going to be just an added dimension on how we get the story out and we want women gochl players to use this as a venue, showcase women, showcase the great things women are doing across the field, certainly golf but just as important is off the field as well.

>> all right. let's figure that that's what we learned today and chuck todd will pick things up with "the daily rundown" on msnbc. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon.

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