right now, too high a price? on the first leg of his european trip president obama today defending his decision to cut a deal with the taliban for sergeant bowe bergdahl. even as the army now launches an inquiry into how he left his post. >> regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an american soldier back if he's held in captivity, period, full stop. we don't condition that. >> but is bergdahl a hero or deserter. questions about whether he cost american lives by going off post? being raised by former members of his platoon and families. >> we all served together and in it together over there and he broke that bond by leaving us. >> bergdahl's platoon mate,

former sergeant josh courter will be here live next. decision day, high stakes in eight states holding primaries today, including mississippi's mud fight for the republican senate nomination. >> knock the walls down mississippians. knock the walls down. >> today is about mississippi's tomorrow. >> and cashing in, seattle mayor ed murray joins us as his city raises the minimum wage to $15 an hour, the highest in the nation. it will be phased in but will this set an example for those struggling for a living wage? good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. the controversy over the release

of american p.o.w. bowe bergdahl is escalating by the hour. how and why did he leave his post after six weeks? why did national security adviser say he served with honor and distinction. what about the tweet attributed to his father calling for all guantanamo detainees to be released. president obama in poland today addressed the controversy defending bergdahl's release and the swap of prisoners. >> the united states has always had a pretty sacred rule. and that is we don't leave our men or women in uniform behind, with respect to the circumstances of sergeant bergdahl's capture by the taliban. we have not been interrogating

sergeant bergdahl, he is recovering from five years of captivity. >> traveling with the president in poland, the chief white house correspondent and host of "the daily rundown", chuck todd. chuck, this is such a fascinating series of events, first the jubilation in the rose garden on saturday and then the attacks from members of congress. a lot of criticisms from democrats and u.s. allies to me and others off camera and president playing defense and more so when he was asked about it the first chance that reporters had to question him about it. >> reporter: big shift in 48 hours, not just him but secretary hagel who is in brussells and chairman of the joint chiefs martin dempsey who then took to facebook today to say that that the accusations about sergeant bergdahl will be something -- he's innocent until proven guilty but he wouldn't get special treatment. there would be an investigation to try to quiet down that end of the criticism.

absolutely from where we were sunday and what you mentioned about susan rice said about bergdahl to the questions about why these five, why were they released? by the way we haven't even gotten to the questions about what this does mean for the future of gitmo and rest of the detainees sitting there? if we're treating them as this is a prisoner exchange by both chuck hagel and the president, does this mean this is also part of winding down the war and this is how gitmo is going to get shutdown. there's going to be a return of these quote/unquote don't call them prisoners of war, prisoners of war. so all of those questions -- and what's been interesting, andrea, what's cost the white house offguard here, they were expecting gitmo criticisms of the detainers that were chosen. they did not expect this criticism of the attempt to go get bergdahl in the way that it was done. and that appears to be what's caught them off guard and that's why they look like they are on their back feet on this one.

>> chuck, it does seem they thought that the military would rally around them, that that would give them the protection, if you will, political protection from dealing through the qataris with the taliban. >> right, there would be some sort of as you said rally around the principle of leave no man behind. if you take one of the quotes from the pentagon spokesperson today that appeared in "the new york times," it was interesting, when somebody goes overboard in a navy ship, it doesn't matter whether they were pushed or fell or something else happened, or they jumped themselves, the boat turns around and goes and gets them. that wasn't necessarily what they were saying on sunday. on sunday they thought there would be u for ya around this, the only p o.o.w. in afghanista there would be a rally around the flag. that didn't happen.

the issue of which detainees are up for negotiation, then you heard the president basically admit that congress wasn't consulted and at the same time said, but they knew this was on the table. >> there are a lot more questions to come indeed. thank you so much, chuck. >> reporter: absolutely. >> live from warsaw today. elizabeth joins me now as well as ayman. elizabeth, first to you, because you covered this and dealt with the family for years and covered the pentagon as well as every other beat in washington before becoming deputy bureau chief. what is your understanding of the circumstances under which bowe bergdahl left his post? >> well, as the story said in today's paper, the senior military commanders who are very familiar with the investigation into his disappearance saying that he wandered off the post on his own sometime after midnight

on june 30th, 2009. he left a note behind saying he had grown disillusioned with the war and packed up a back pack and did not take his body armor or weapons which is extraordinary. this is from a former senior military commander, very good source. the pentagon has not said officially what happened to him these days but of course the initial reports from the military, american military were that he had walked off his post back in 2009, which is how we reported it. then there was some -- there was -- after that bowe bergdahl said himself in a video he lagged behind on a patrol. the pentagon is not saying anything about how he disappeared they are waiting to ask him himself when he's ready. >> let me ask you also about the circumstances of his recruitment. he comes from idaho, home schooled and family didn't have a television and lots and lots of books.

it's an unusual background. i read somewhere and it may have been your reporting, that he initially thought it was sort of joining the peace corps, that he was going to be helping the afghan people, that maybe he didn't really understand because his disillusionment came so quickly. >> there are several things going on. one is that he was very much as you described an outdoorsy free spirit in this rural part of idaho, lived down the road from sun valley. but haley was not like that where he lived. he had an adventurist spirit and series of odd jobs and turned to the military to get focus in his life, which is not that unusual. his parents were not happy he joined the army but supported him. he did have some romantic notions from based on what i've heard from his friends and father, that this was going -- he was going over to afghanistan to help the afghan people. those views were quickly dashed

after he got there. he arrived in may of 2009. it was a rough period for the war, american troops are spread very, very thin. president obama just announced the initial surge but most of the troops had note gotten there. there was -- there was reports of morale and discipline problems in his unit. it was a very small outpost on the border with afghanistan, tough time for the war. he saw things that his parents said his first e-mails home were very euphoric and he was going to be helping afghans as military recruiters told him. pretty soon he told that war is ugly and bloody and he became very disillusioned. >> elizabeth, if you can hang on for a moment, ayman is joining us where they have released an update on his condition. >> reporter: that's right, for a

second day in a row health officials are updating the health condition of bergdahl. they continue to say he is making his reinteg ration process, but perhaps more interesting is that he's participating in that care. that is the first time that there's an indication officially from the military that perhaps he is cognizant and aware of his surroundings and now that they are using the term participating in the health care, there may be an engagement taking place between him and the medical personnel around him. the next stage of the process involves hundreds of people from attorneys to lawyers to health officials and all kinds of experts who will accompany him as he returns to the united states at some point in the coming several days. there are also indications from the update that was given that he is still in stable condition and that his condition does still require him to be hospitalized. and in the earlier statement we got yesterday, there was an

emphasis being put on dietary and nutritional needs, giving us a sense he was fatigued or malnourished from being in captivity so long. that is the latest update. >> ayman and elizabeth rkz thanks. i'm joined by josh courter who served in the same platoon and part of the search mission to find him. thanks for joining us. if you can take us back to what bowe bergdahl was like when he first joined the service and how you saw what happened to him, the dis illusionment that is described. >> honestly, i feel there's a different story than the one that is framed. i'm not exactly sure if the story came from his hometown, but once he came to alaska and joined our unit, i mean the first thing bergdahl said to one of the squad leaders can i put

the face of the first taliban i kill as a mask. that is not somebody who wants to go there to help the afghan people. >> very, very interesting. you have the real information. all of this is coming to us in bits and pieces and frankly from the administration, i think there's been a real attempt to spin initially and try to reframe this trade with the taliban, the five taliban leaders. tell me what happened and what happened when he left post? >> well, when i was in basic training, i was basic training at the same time as bowe. and the drill sergeants told us, while you're there, if you walk away from basic trining, they are not going to try to find you. but if you walk away and you're carrying a weapon, they are going to search the ends of the earth to find you and chapter you out of the army for having stolen a weapon. when bergdahl left, he took all of his gear off. he left his assigned weapon and he walked away. and i think that maybe those words were ringing for him and

he just thought that they are not going to try to find me. >> why do you think he left? >> i do seriously think he wanted to go on an adventure. he thought that afghanistan was going to be exciting, maybe he could reach china, see how far he goes. but basically, it went really bad for him. >> do you think he realized that this -- there's a range of options that the army has once they complete this inquiry and decide whether there should be a formal investigation. there's a stage to us. you know this better than i. but the bottom line is it can go all the way to desertion, depending how they interpret the evidence. >> i think no charges should be off the table. if they determine in the investigation that he was giving information willingly to the taliban, if they find out that attempts were becoming more sophisticated based on knowledge

that bergdahl willingly gave to the enemy, this could be something like treason or him being a traitor. there have been comments by family members of six soldiers and six troops who die during that period. do you think they died because they were out searching for bergdahl? >> absolutely. deployment is planned a long time in advance, usually before you even get there, every move you're going to make is written down on a piece of paper and understood. they take a look the precautions to make sure soldiers are safe. as soon as bergdahl disappeared, the entire mission changed and we just went by the seat of our pants basically trying to find him. and a lot of decisions were made on the fly that could have prevented the loss of life if we had had the same plan in place prior to him leaving. >> thinking back, did you think at the time and did your commanders at the time think that he had been captured that he had been taken unwillingly by

the taliban? >> i think that it was a very clear from the time he was gone exactly what was happening. that's probably why in 2010 they said that he had walked away and it was never questioned because from the beginning everyone kind of understood what happened. they weren't really talking about why. >> and how do you feel now about the trade that has been made, the five taliban to get him back? do you think that should have been done? >> i don't necessarily agree with it. i think there was a lot of other things we could do. with my unit over there, we captured a lot of insurgents while we were there on my deployment, but each one was hard fought and hard won. and afghan justice system is hard to navigate. those guys might be back out there and trying to hurt soldiers now and we just put them away a year ago. it's all a matter of timing and this is not good because these guys are very high ranking and very powerful. >> and do you think we should

have just -- the u.s. government should have just left bergdahl behind? >> i don't agree with that. i think it's important that bergdahl came back. i really do think that bringing every soldier home is an obligation that we have to each other and bergdahl deserves the same as everyone else, however, he needs to answer for the things he did. and i just don't necessarily agree with these five high ranking individuals returning to the fight because it's just going to cause more problems. >> sergeant korder, thank you very much. thanks for joining us today. >> thank you. the manhunt for the san francisco man accused of stock piling explosives in his home came to a dramatic end yesterday near the golden gate bridge. they are looking into what 42-year-old ryan chamberlain may have been planned, that he was experiencing a moment in crisis. >> this suspect, mr.

chamberlain, was a very dangerous and desperate person. i think you could tell from facebook and social media posts attributed to him yesterday that was only escalating.

[paintball noises] the annual company retreat. planned, as usual, by this guy. nature lover... people person. ♪ and you put up with it all... because he also booked you a room... at this place. planet earth's number one accomodation site: booking.com booking.yeah! ♪ 800,000 hours of supercomputing time, 3 million lines of code, 40,000 sets of eyes, or a million sleepless nights. whether it's building the world's most advanced satellite, the space station, or the next leap in unmanned systems.

at boeing, one thing never changes. our passion to make it real. ♪

if it's tuesday, voters are heading to the polls in eight states for primary day elections but all of the national buzz is on two rebels in mississippi. joining me now for the primary prognosis s prognosis, chris cillizza and nbc political reporter casey hunt, where all of the action is in jackson. you've seen a big change, casey, in the momentum, haven't you, in the last couple of days or weeks in this race? >> reporter: absolutely, andrea.

when i was here a month or two ago, chris mcdaniel was far behind and clawing his way up. up until a few weeks ago or so, the sort of conventional wisdom was that he actually was probably likely to win. then of course the nursing home scandal broke with chris mcdaniel supporters breaking into the home where senator cochran's wife is bed ridden. people on both sides say it's a true tossup and there's a real sense that senator cochran could lose this, to the point that some of that nit picking over how decisions are made in the campaign are starting to emerge a little bit. mcdaniel's supporters and mcdaniel himself, very clearly seems to feel as if he has momentum on his side. he's switched from trying to litigate this nursing home scandal to just saying it's a distraction. and senator cochran is trying to pull it out. the question all along was

whether or not he was up to a real sustained intense campaign. and at this point it's not clear he was up to that task, he is especially with the money that poured in from outside groups like the club for growth. >> this could turn out to be a run-off because there is a third party candidate, they've got to reach that level. chris, that would put more pressure on thad cochran. this is the appropriator, that's his skill and his calling card is that he brings home the pork. he is the establishment republican, supported by haley barbour and these mississippi major figures. but here you've got this younger generation and a tea party challenger campaigning against bringing home the pork. >> two things, one on the run-off. if it goes to take runoff, thad cochran is not going to win. a runoff will be in july and will be a smaller turnout. mcdaniel has the core conservative support that cochran lacks. i'm not sure it will, but if it

does. the other thing, it's fascinating, this is someone elected in the late 1970s, chaired the senate appropriations committee and was considered untouchable because of how much money he brought back to the state for that very reason, which throughout the 80s and 90s and early 2000s was a valuable thing to do. it turns out now the idea of sort of bringing money from washington, getting washington to spend even if it's in a state like mississippi, is less popular. i think casey is right. a week ago i would have said cochran, a month ago mcdaniel. >> what say you today? >> i think it's really close. the assumptions people have that cochran will pull it out, i'm not convinced of. we've not seen a lot of competitive senate primaries in mississippi so we don't know. >> my first election night assignment for nbc was in jack ston, mississippi, the night he was elected. that's how back in the '70s.

>> that's how young you were. >> how young i was. casey hunt, you spent a lot of time in iowa. let's pin down that open seat, the senate republican primary joni ernst, how is that going to turn out? >> reporter: this is something of a sigh of relief for a lot of republicans in iowa. it looks like she's leading in the polls and could cross the 35% threshold that would prevent it from going to convention. a lot of establishment republicans in iowa, those worried about the rest of the party being too far to the right to pick an electsable candidate, they've been focused on changing the ground out there. they've altered what that convention might look like. that sort of let's them post up what they think is the strongest candidate against bruce braley, sort of being the shoe in as the democratic nominee. it will be a tough fight against braley, but he also made early

mistakes. at this point if ernst can pull this out cleanly, it's still probably on track either way. >> thanks very much. chris cillizza. voters are also heading to the polls in what they call an election in syria, assad and his wife cast their ballots at the school in damascus, in an election widely expected to easily give him another term and embolden his fight against insurgents in the brutal civil war. voting is only taking place in government controlled areas and although it's the first presidential election ever held with more than one candidate, the other two were vet and approved by assad. opposition groups are calling this a blood election. britain and france and turkey all joined the u.s. in calling this illeg willlegitimatillegit take things over♪

♪fame, lets him loose, hard to swallow♪ ♪fame, puts you there where things are hollow♪ the evolution of luxury continues. the next generation 2015 escalade. ♪fame you wouldn't have it she any other way.our toes. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away

for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about experiencing cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. when we arrived at our hotel in new york, the porter was so incredibly careful careless with our bags. and the room they gave us, it was beautiful. a broom closet. but the best part, / worst part, was the shower. my wife drying herself with the egyptian cotton towels, shower curtain defined that whole vacation for her. don't just visit new york. visit tripadvisor new york. with millions of reviews, a visit to tripadvisor makes any destination better. looks like we're about to board. mm-hmm. i'm just comparing car insurance rates at progressive.com. is that where they show the other guys' rates, too?

mm-hmm. cool. yeah. hi. final boarding call for flight 294. [ bells ring on sign ] [ vehicle beeping ] who's ready for the garlic festival? this guy! bringing our competitors' rates to you -- now, that's progressive. it says here that a woman's sex drive. increases at the age of 80. helps reduce the risk of heart disease. it seems that 80 is the new 18. grannies, bless your heart, you are bringing sexy back! eat up. keep heart-healthy. live long. for a healthy heart, eat the 100% natural whole grain goodness of post shredded wheat. doctors recommend it.

do you think the u.s. government should have just left bergdahl behind? >> i don't agree with that. i think it's important that bergdahl came back. i really do think that bringing every soldier home is an obligation that we have to each other and bergdahl deserves the same as everyone else. however, he needs to answer for the things he did and i just don't necessarily agree with these five high-ranking individuals returning to the fight. >> the criticism of bowe bergdahl's service and the price paid by the obama administration for the release is raising questions on capitol hill and in homes across america. tony blinken joins me now from the white house. tony, what do you say to sergeant josh korder who served with bergdahl and went out on those patrols and said it completely changed their mission and he has no doubt that six of his fellow soldiers died as a result of those forays trying to

find bowe bergdahl? >> i think he said it very well, what i just heard, which is a sacred principle. if you put on the uniform of the united states, we bring you home. you heard the chairman of the joint chiefs marty dempsey distinguish between the sacred principle of leaving no man or woman behind and evaluating what their conduct was. that's where we are. we made a commitment and president made a commitment to the men and woman who put on the uniform. he'll bring them home and that's what he did. >> let me play a bit of the national security adviser, susan rice said on sunday on abc about this. >> this is a very special situation. sergeant bergdahl wasn't simply a hostage. he was an american prisoner of war, captured on battlefield. the point is that he's back. he's going to be safely reunited with his family. he served the united states with honor and distinction and we'll have the opportunity eventually

to learn what has transpired in the past years. >> why did susan rice say he served with honor and distinction? it was clear to the military, as soon as he left, what had happened according to his former fellow soldiers? >> andrea, as chairman dempsey said this morning, we need to give sergeant bergdahl an opportunity to tell his story. he hasn't even spoken to his family yet. there's a whole transition process that goes on. keep in mind, he spent five years in captivity in the most horrendous conditions possible. we want to bring him home and reunite him and get him well and have an opportunity to tell us what happened. >> we've seen video of the greeting that those taliban detainees received in qatar. i know the white house says you have agreements from qatar but they are living in a beautiful enclaf and have access to telephone and other

communications. what makes us think they won't be engaged in command and control immediately, if not already? >> we have commitments from the government of qatar and personal assurances fr assurances to president obama we'll maintain a tight check and movements of these five. under the previous administration, hundreds of prisoners were released from guantanamo without any restrictions on travel or activities we have strong -- >> with all due respect, these were listed as forever prisoners and these guys not ever cleared for release because of their high rank. >> they've been in guantanamo and were in guantanamo for 13 years. again, precisely because we have the assurances that we need from the government of qatar, on their activities, on their travel, on what they do, we felt and the secretary of defense determined that it was in the national security interest of the united states to get

sergeant bergdahl back and that the risk had been sufficiently mitigated. >> and the government of qatar is the same government that supports islamists in syria and same government that supported that the muslim brotherhood and supports hamas. so the government of qatar does not exactly have clean hands in all of this, according to some of its own neighbors in the region. >> andrea, we'll be watching very carefully. we have an agreement and we have a commitment. we'll be making sure it's upheld. >> tony blinken from the white house, thank you very much. the deputy national security adviser. >> the u.s. announces it will work with the palestinian authority's new unity government. we'll get reaction from the ambassador of the united states. you can guess what that is. [male vo] inside this bag exists over 150 years of swedish coffee experience.

that's 150 years of experience in refining and perfecting the rich, never bitter taste of gevalia. and we do it all for this very experience. this very second. this exact moment. [woman] that's good. i know right? cheers to that. gevalia. 150 years of rich, never bitter coffee. how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪

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

the u.s. said on monday it will work with the palestinian authorities new unity government, the government formed yesterday even though it includes representatives from hamas held gaza. israel is raising immediate objections to what it sees as a dramatic policy shift by the u.s. an hour ago i talked to the ambassador to the united states. i'm joined by ambassador ron durma, thank you for joining us to talk about this new palestinian unity government. tell me about israel's very angry response to the inclusion of hamas in the government? >> we were obviously disappointed by what was said at the state determine yesterday. hamas has not changed one iota. it is a terrorist organization and dispatched scores of suicide bombers and fired thousands of

rockets against our cities. it's an organization to condemn the united states for killing osama bin laden. so what we were hoped we would hear yesterday, the day this government was established, when the state department spokeswoman got up, we hoped we would hear very strong opposition to a government that was being established with this unreformed terror organization. unfortunately that did not happen and what we heard was more like it's business as usual. that's why we were disappointed. i will say, however, that we were pleased that we received very, very strong statements from congress, bipartisan, for -- strong bipartisan support among democrats and republicans alike, condemning president abbas, we think it's a huge step backwards from peace. >> let me tell you what the state department is saying that president abbas formed this government without any ministers who come from hamas, that some

of them come from gaza but some of the same players are part of this new palestinian government. as long as there are no ministers involved, that's the distinction the state department is making. why aren't they correct? >> it's splitting hairs. you have technokrats in the front office and terrorists in the back office. it's not the same thing as yesterday. a new government was established by the palestinians and it's a government backed by hamas. now, had hamas changed and hamas recognized israel's existence, had it abandoned terrorism, then it would be complete a different story. then you could see that was unity for peace. it's a unity established with technocrats but with terrorists in the back office. >> the administration says it's not going to cut off aid to this new palestinian government, but the suggestion seems to be that you're going to work with allies in congress for republicans and

democrats to make sure the money does not flow to the palestinian government. >> i think we'll have to look at all issues closely. our concern was on pt day the government was established, the very first day within hours, the united states essentially became the first government to recognize a palestinian unity government that's backed by a terror organization and we don't think that is the right step. if we want to advance peace and israel does want to advance peace, we need to send all countries around the world have to sends a very strong message to president abbas that joining up with hamas is a step backward. that's what we hoped to hear yesterday. as for the questions of assistance and fundsing, that's something my government back in jerusalem will have to look ats and weigh in. there's a lot of concerns that a unity government with hamas brings to the surface. are we going to have terrorists infiltrating palestinian security services? what do we do with tax moneys we collect for the palestinians? do those get transferred?

to whom are they transferred? there's a lot of problems. what we were hoping for in first day is a strong statement that a palestinian unity government backed by an unreformed terror organization is a big mistake. >> wouldn't you be cutting off your nose to spite your face to cut off security operation? what would be the point of that? >> i didn't say we were going to cut off security operation, but this unity government poses a whole series of questions. the security cabinet in israel empowered the prime minister to make his judgments in the days and weeks ahead. that's something we'll have to take under advisement. 25 years ago when the peace process began or 20 years ago when the peace process began. there was a certain standard for what would make something legitimate. they had to abandon the right to terrorism and hamas did none of those things. they are committed to israel's dees instruction and will not

abandon the path of terrorism. it's very important for us that the world send a strong signal to the palestinians, a world that is asking israel, make courageous steps for peace. we're saying you should also act courageously and make clear to a palestinian government that you expect them not to make a pact with a terror organization, you expect them to sit down for peace negotiations with israel. >> ron dermer, the ambassador from israel to the united states. thank you very much, sir. >> thank you, andrea. >> and how is this for a buzzy flyover. it happened in germany, an unassuming sunbather was soaking up rays and the pilot misjudged the landing. the plane comes within inches of man. one propeller just missed his head, presumably he's found a safer place to sun bathe. wondering what that is? that, my friends, is everything. and with the quicksilver card from capital one, you earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase.

not just "everything at the hardware store." not "everything, until you hit your cash back limit." quicksilver can earn you unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you could possibly imagine. say it with me -- everything. one more time, everything! and with that in mind... what's in your wallet? it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing™. ♪ zzzquil. the non-habit forming sleep aid from the makers of nyquil®. say "hi" rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews. whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line,

even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. [ barks ] nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. look at what i put together. cheddar and honey nut chex mix. get outta here! i made this belt with traditional, bold, and peanut butter chocolate chex mix. you guys are cute! i've got trail mix, peanut lovers, chipotle cheddar, dark chocolate, hot n' spicy... turtle, cookies 'n cream, italian herb & parmesan, sour cream 'n onion, and brownie supreme chex mix. and it rotates.

20 flavors, lots of pieces. chex mix pick your mix. now try popped in white cheddar and sweet and salty. stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare as the company that's all about printing. but did you know we also support hospitals using electronic health records for more than 30 million patients? or that our software helps over 20 million smartphone users remotely configure e-mail every month? or how about processing nearly $5 billion in electronic toll payments a year? in fact, today's xerox is working in surprising ways to help companies simplify the way work gets done and life gets lived. with xerox, you're ready for real business.

democrats in washington have been fighting a losing battle to raise the minimum wage but cities across the country are taking a stance and seattle is raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. the highest in the country. mr. mayor, thank you very much. explain how this is going to work. is a seven-year phase in with companies with 500 employees or more, is that correct? >> that is correct. thank you and good morning from seattle. we're doing 15 but we're doing 15 smart. we're raising wages for workers who need it because of the income inequality in this quality but we're phasing it in over seven years so businesses have a chance to adjust their business model and we don't do it particularly too fast in our smallest businesses. >> what happens to the small -- what you really define is a

small mom and pop kind of family business. are they affected at all? >> they are, it takes seven years to phase in. if they offer health care or restaurant, if they have tips, they are allowed during that fiz phase-in period to count that towards it that it will phase out once we get up to $15. >> what is the chamber of commerce saying about the age-old argument that it will cost jobs, especially in low income jobs? >> well, i pulled together a task force of business leaders, labor leaders and non-profit leaders and all but three people of the 25 member task force signed off on this agreement on this deal. there are business owners who support it. there are business owners who don't. the chamber currently is neutral. i think the most important thing is, again, we have gone through 34 years of an economic model that is -- basically decimated the middle class. the federal government is not

move and states are not moving. it is up to cities to start to change that conversation when it comes to this huge issue of income inequality. >> mr. mayor, what is your message to other cities and message to washington which can't seem to get anything passed? >> my message is first of all, we used a collaborative process, that's very important. this does not have to be business against labor. second, often cities lead the way. this is a city that was the first in the country to integrate public housing, one of the first in the country to pass legislation in the '70s for gay and lesbian rights. often it's cities that lead the way. i would tell my fellow mayors it can work and you can lead the way and we can help change this country. >> and seattle is leading the way. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> it was remarkable moment in portsmouth, where 80 world were ii veterans gathered in the same british port they assembled in

70 years ago to prepare for the normandy invasion. the comradery between british and american allies was very much alive. many of the veterans head next to normandy to mark the 70th ab versery on friday. we'll be there for a special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." we'll be right back. (mother vo) when i was pregnant...

i got more advice than i knew what to do with. what i needed was information i could trust on how to take care of me and my baby. luckily, unitedhealthcare has a simple program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get the right care and guidance-before and after the baby is born. simple is good right now. (anncr vo) innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

i don't want to see these five prisoners go back to combat, you don't want -- there's a lot that you don't want to have happen. on the other hand you also don't want an american citizen, if you can avoid it, especially a soldier, to die in captivity. i think we have a long way to go before we really know how this is going to play out. >> well, that was a very careful assessment by hillary clinton last night of the bowe bergdahl controversy. which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? chris cillizza is back and i

suspect this story will escalate. there are a lot of questions about qatar and what they are doing. we expect by the end of the week bowe bergdahl will be reunited with his family in san antonio with the medical facility there. but with all due respect to him and his service, the administration is really caught offguard with the angry reaction to this by many men and women from the military. >> as you heard on the top of your show, many of the people that serve with bowe bergdahl are coming forward and talking about him and painting a -- i think with anyone, a complicated picture of him. >> what about the way hillary clinton juggled this hot potato? >> this is fascinating. the most important part is the end, there's still a lot to come out and we're not totally sure where this will go. aka i'm leaving the door open to going whichever way -- she has been in politics long enough and knows that we are still in a developing situation.

we just are. we don't know everything just yet. he hasn't -- they are leaving open the possibility of military trial. hillary clinton wants to make sure she does not commit herself to a policy statement or just a statement on him, that can later be shown to be not false but less than well thought out. >> and not politically correct. the president tomorrow, major speech in warsaw, this is the rallying, nato front line countries that are so concerned about putin and about russia's moves against ukraine, taking the of crimea. then we head towards d-day. russia, this is the first time putin has invited himself or invited by president hollande to france. russia was one of the allies and suffered grievously in world war ii. he has meetings scheduled with prime minister cameron with the u.k. and president hollande and with angela merkel and not with president obama. president obama was asked about that and said, well i expect

we'll run into each other. >> running into each other, he know the diplomatic world better than anyone. it is better than sitting down on your schedule and having a meeting. this is clearly a different thing. at some level you have president obama doing the meat and potatoes with the speech tomorrow, reassuring allies setting out the foreign policy, then the more symbolic things later in the week thursday and friday. particularly with the anniversary of d day. >> it's so interesting, hagel is at the nato defense ministers meeting in brussells and john kerry is with the president on this trip. this is a big rally around the new president of ukraine who is going to be at d-day. ukraine was not part of that coalition but suffered in world war 2. >> i'm interested to see what president obama has to say tomorrow because my guess is this is a speech he spent a considerable amount of time. >> this is the centerpiece. we will be here and chris, i hope you will as well. >> that does it for this edition of quts andrea mitchell report.

tomorrow, john walsh and retired captain wes moore among others. follow the show, online and on facebook and twitter. "ronan farrow daily" is here next. i'm meteorologist bill karins and the big concern this afternoon into this evening is going to be a severe weather outbreak that could include a few strong tornadoes and area of greatest concern is nebraska, also northern kansas, southern iowa and later tonight through northern missouri and central illinois. it will include areas to the north of kansas city and widespread wind damage and tornadoes possible. where villages floated on water and castles were houses dragons lurked giants stood tall

and the good queen showed the boy it could all be real avo: whatever you can imagine, all in one place expedia, find yours here you go. good catch! alright, now for the best part. ooh, let's get those in the bowl. these are way too good to waste, right? share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes® they're g-r-r-reat!tm mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. [ bottle ] ensure®. hoall we do is go out to dinner.

that's it? i mean, he picks up the tab every time, which is great...what? he's using you. he probably has a citi thankyou card and gets 2x the points at restaurants. so he's just racking up points with me. some people... ugh! no, i've got it. the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn 2x the points on dining out and entertainment, with no annual fee. to apply, go to citi.com/thankyoucards hey. you said in a focus group that eliminates odors andave doesn't just mask them." could you give us access to maybe the smelliest room in your house? yeah. the trash is bad... oh yeah. ...and we just took it out. it smells really nice. like fresher. don't just mask odors; eliminate them with febreze air effects. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ]

[ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ the army announces an inquiry into the disappearance of bowe bergdahl. wait? now? they are doing that now? i see questions being raised. did we do the right thing? >> not in this case, no. >> we either bring him home to a ticker tape parade or court-martial or whatever, we bring them home, or both. >> she has an extraordinary amount of credibility on national security issues. >> i grew up castrating hogs on an iowa farm. >> i can't wait to serve with her.

joni ernst. >> passed an ordinance that bumps the minimum wage up to $15 an hour, the hide highist in the nation. >> the west is referring to this as a sham election. >> beyond the syrian regime, nobody in the region is taking it seriously. >> bergdahl's freedom wasn't free, obama negotiated bergdahl's return in exchange for five detainees held at guantanamo bay. he can't release these guys, we're this close to charging them with something. >> when an american soldier deserts, should that change the lengths we go to to save them? that's the question from capitol hill to the pentagon to the ranks of men and women defending our country. president