critical condition. that's the latest word on actor tracy morgan after he was part of a six-car crash. now more details. new word on the bowe bergdahl release. president obama talks more about defending the deal. the mystery man behind all that hidden cash. he has been revealed to the world and now we will tell you. >> whatever i tell him to do, he's ready to do it. i think he's going to run big. >> the jockey says he's ready but california chrome faces some serious hurdle, in his run for a triple crown. a live report trackside next.

hello, everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." actor/comedian tracy morgan in intensive care after a serious car accident on the new jersey turnpike. authorities say the 45-year-old was riding in a limousine bus involved in a multivehicle accident. it happened around 1:00 this morning local time. nbc's ron allen outside the hospital where morgan is being treated. good afternoon to you. what's the latest you're hearing about his condition? >> still critical is the bottom line. we just got a statement from morgan's agent. some detail he shared with us. we have a graphic of it. tracy remains in critical condition. he sustained these injuries in an accident that occurred early this morning as one of several passengers in a chauffeured suv returning from a tour date in delaware. we don't anticipate much of a change in his condition today but we will provide more information once that information becomes available.

this was a very, very, very serious accident. his vehicle was hit from behind apparently by a tractor trailer truck. traffic had been slowed. the vehicle that morgan was in turned over. there are some pictures that show is to be in very, very mangled shape. there are three other people who were in that vehicle who are in critical condition. there was one person, a 63-year-old man, who was killed. so a multiple car accident, six vehicles involved. this a part of the new jersey turnpike, of i-95 in other parts of the country where the traffic is moving slowly. there's a lot of construction happening in that area over the past couple of years as they've been doing lane changes. i know that because i drive that area quite a bit myself. so we understand from the drivers of the limb zone that traffic is slowed. they say they were hit from behind. and that's what happened. conditions were so serious that morgan and the others were helicoptered to the hospital here from a distance of about probably a very short flight

away. and the accident was so bad, there was so much damage that the turnpike, this major roadway, was closed for about five hours, which is very rare. but it gives you an idea of the severity of the accident and the conditions there. again, his family is here with him. he was returning from a tour date, heading home from delaware to new york, about halfway, when this accident happened about 1:00 in the morning. there are some speokespeople hee saying they might have an update in a couple of hours. again, very intensive condition, in intensive care. >> i live in the region, but weather would not have played a factor, right? there wasn't any rain. there wasn't any fog or anything like that in the wee hours. >> as far as i know, it was a clear night. the variable, the factor, seems to be that the traffic had slowed and that the car was hit from behind by a tractor trailer. that's according to the drivers

and other employees of this limb zone company that were employed, that morgan was in, that morgan was in. it was a modified hybrid suv mercedes. there were six passengers in it. again, several of them were critical injured. not sure where morgan was seated in the vehicle. but one of the passengers was killed. not the two drivers who were in the front. all that obviously the subject of the investigation. the concern here is the hospital where tracy morgan and several others are in critical condition. >> the carnage looks pretty severe there on the turnpike. all right. nbc's ron allen, thank you very much for standing post there in new brunswick, new jersey. an emotional memorial service is under way for author, poet and activist maya angelou. it is being held at wake forest university where angelou was a

professor. the first lady explained why she was so inspired by angelou. >> her message was very simple. she told us our worth had nothing to do with what the world might say. she said each of us comes from the creator trailing wisps of glory. find our own value. announce it to the world that is our pride and joy that is our birth right as members of the human race. >> the loss i feel i cannot describe. it's like something i have never felt before. she was my spiritual queen mother. and everything that that word

implies. >> nbc's sarah dullop was there. some pretty powerful sound we heard from the first lady and from oprah winfrey. let's talk about that, those who were inside and others. >> well, alex, it's been an extremely powerful service. you heard oprah winfrey and first lady michelle obama just a few minutes ago. later in her eulogy, first lady michelle obama said it was maya angelou's poem, "phenomenal woman" that carried her from the streets of south chicago all the way to the white house. said it gave her pride in being a woman and taught her just how powerful she herself could be. former president bill clinton also spoke earlier in the services, sharing his remembrances of dr. angelou. he said the last time he met her, dr. angelou cautioned him not to count her out, she was still mobile and she was still very active.

that is something people here on wake forest university's campus are very aware of. she was actually planning to teach a class this fall. her students who had her in previous years remember her very fondly. she was known to have them over to her home to cook for them, even give out her personal phone number. she told one student to reach out in the future, that she was now his professor of life. and it really speaks to her character. that she will live on not only in the memories of former presidents and first ladies, but also in the minds of the community and those she taught here at wake forest. she had been a professor here for years. she had honorary degrees from numerous universities. and a body of work that was extensive and award winning. about 30 best-selling titles. today's memorial service is not a sad occasion. it is a celebration of joy, a celebration of life. you saw there inside of the choir. and the service surrounded by black and white photos of dr. angelou at stages throughout

her life as well as some quotes. she was obviously well known for encouraging people to have courage, to speak their minds, but, also to be kind while doing so. reminding people, we'll not only be remembered by how we said but how we made others feel. back to you. >> to say she was remarkable, certainly an understatement. thank you very much. we'll speak with you a little bit later on. let's go now to washington, you saw right there. we'll be going to the white house. because in a revealing new interview of president obama defending the exchange of five taliban detainees for the release of sergeant bowe bergdahl. the president spoke exclusively with nbc's brian williams. >> we had to act fast in a delicate situation that required no publicity. >> let's go to nbc's kristen welker at the white house for us. >> president obama delivering a robust defense of the prisoner swap and saying that he would do it again if he was posed with

the same decision. of course, this past week, the obama administration came under sharp criticism from democrats and republicans because officials here didn't notify congress. by law, the administration is supposed to give congress 30-days notice before releasing key detainees from guantanamo. the administration pushing back saying, look, they didn't have 30 days, in part, because bergdahl's health was deteriorating. the administration shifted its story later in the week, adding that they believe that bergdahl's life could be in jeopardy if details of the deal leaked out. president obama, as you heard him there at the top of his remarks, saying it was necessary they acted swiftly and the deal not get publicity. here's a little more of what president obama told brian on friday. take a listen. >> we have a rule, a principle, that when somebody wears our country's uniform and they're in a war theater and they're

captured, we're going to do everything we can to bring them home. i make no apologies for it. it was a unanimous decision among my principles in my government and a view that was shared by the members of the joint chiefs of staff and this is something i would do again. >> we're getting an interesting poll today, alex, according to reuters. 78% of those polled said the united states should make every effort to recover our prisoners of war but, get this, only 29% said trading taliban prisoners for bergdahl was the right thing to do. so americans sharp lly divided there. secretary of defense chuck hagel will testify on capitol hill this week where he will get tough questions. >> thank you so much. kristen welker. let's turn now to the weather. southwest missouri is starting to dry out after severe

flooding. it happened after 2 and 4 inches of rain fell in the span of a few hours on friday morning. ahead the running of belt momon stake, alex wallace has the picture for us. >> the focus is in the middle of the country for a risk of storms. we have a boundary stuck in place. not really a whole lot. a cold front coming in from the north as well. that will enhance the risk as well. some storms could be strong to severe. anywhere in the red, including oklahoma city, we have that risk for today, tomorrow as well. maybe shifting a little further south to now include spots like dallas. so you could be in line for those storms. damaging wind, hail. isolated tornado. can't rule that out, along with the heavy downpours. the other story, the heat building across the western half of the country. it is going to be very warm out there for us across the central valley of california, into the desert southwest.

some areas certainly no strangers to triple digit heat, but, i tell you, it's not going to be fun as you walk along the strip in las vegas. 103 today. tomorrow, 104. look at the triple digits from california. bakersfield. 103. redding, up to 105. the hot spot, yuma, up to 108. >> thank you, alex wallace. the erosion of thursdaying cursive handwriting in public schools and the impact it could have on your child's brain it also, speak with the reporter about how bergdahl acted when he was captured and how his release has become an inspiration to them. and we go back to belmont as california chrome tries to make history. we'll talk about the one horse that could standness way. the clean air act stops polluters from... poisoning his air with arsenic, lead and mercury. now the loop hole that lets them pump unlimited carbon... pollution into his air is closing too.

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now to new york and what

could be the horse race of the century. to witness california chrome in his bid for horse racing's triple crown. for perspective, nbc racing expert bob newmyer is joining me from new york. what do you think are california chrome's chances of winning? >> i actually think they're very, very good. he has a good style for this kind of race. it's a mile and a half. which pushes the longest race he'll ever run. most 3-year-olds have never tackled this kind of distance. he'll be in the race early, which is important, assuming he breaks well. i think he'll have a nice leisurely gallop through the first half mile. he'll be challenged by the likes of, early on, tonalist and samrot, maybe general arod. he'll be in good position. it is the belmont. anything can happen. we've seen crazy long shots win over the years. i would give him an excellent chance to take down this year's triple crown.

>> all right, that's good to know. what about the owners who have spent about a little more than $10,000 to breed this horse and now chrome wins the kentucky derby and the preakness. how unusual is that, just 10,000 bucks? >> it's a hollywood fairy tail is what it is. typically, these triple crown winners are born in the bluegrass state of kentucky with fancy bloodlines. this guy was born in the other side of the tracks. let's make no mistake about that. the fact he's run a derby, somewhat of a miracle. the fact he run the preakness, even more so. now if he wins it s the triple here with modest breeding as he is, it will go down as one of the great racing stories of all time. >> just perspectivewise, how much might an owner spend at this point try to get to where california chrome is? >> you know, if he wins, and i think even if he loses, i think this will give an incentive for maybe the owners to buy horses in the business.

you know, even a 20, a 30, a $40,000 horse doesn't sound like much for the layman, but it's really not a lot of money in the horse racing business. so i think that the fact that california chrome has been so successful, it will open the door perhaps for the little guys to move in for 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, hoping they get a chrome, you know, one day. >> bob, i mean, haven't some spent millions on their horses? >> yes, absolutely. >> wow, okay. >> there's a great story about a horse called the green monkey. and i want to say they bought him for like $14 million. and he never won a race. and i think they tried to breed him because he had magnificent bloodlines. just goes to the mystery of racing itself. you can have the fanciest bloodlines. i'm sure he looked good in the sale. but did nothing. so it is interesting that in this year's belmont, the top two horses in the race are -- the

second horse ride on curlen and his trainer only has four horses in his stable, he's the little guy as well. so you've got two little guys, at least in the morning line are one-two for these belmont stakes, very unusual. >> this is very exciting. bob, thank you for your expertise. enjoy it. i know you're going to. great place to be. we're going to give you live coverage from belmont park today at 4:30 eastern on nbc. let's go back to give you the latest bergdahl news. doctors say he's showing signs of improvement. the military says bergdahl is talking to doctors and becoming more engaged in his treatment plan and landstuhl medical center there in germany. two top taliban commanders telling abc news when they found bergdahl in 2009, he was walking alone, acting abnormally and cursing his countrymen. in an exclusive interview with "time" magazine, taliban leaders

say since the exchange of bergdahl for five of their leaders, they've now been inspired to kidnap other high-value american targets. joining me now via skype, the reporter who spoke with those top taliban commanders, erin baker. exactly what critics have said, they were most concerned about, the 1 for 5 swap. they pretty much concerned that's what they're thinking. >> absolutely, but on the other hand, you have to keep in mind that they've been trying to do this for years and it probably would have happened, they just never had the opportunity to get an american soldier. so i think it's the combination of wanting that, knowing he would be worth something, having the opportunity. so, while, yes, the taliban is saying we're going to go out and get some more soldiers if we can, the chances of them being able to do it again are still the same as they were before. >> okay. who were these commanders and how did you conduct this

interview? >> these are two commanders "time" has been talking to for several years. we first wrote about bergdahl in 2012. through my contact in peshawar, afghanistan, we've been in contact every few months. i had him give another call to the commanders and ask a list of questions and one of them of course was, would you do it again. >> another key part of your article, erin, a top taliban commander says, here's the quote, i cannot explain how our people are happy and excited over this unbelievable achievement. this is an historic moment for us. today, our enemy, for the first time officially recognized our status. again, something that critics have said they did not want to have happen. are your surprised by that, though, that they are saying? >> no, they have been seeking status and recognition since they lost power in 2001. so i think this has been in the works. they tried to establish an

office in qatar in 2012 when the first negotiations for bowe bergdahl's release happened. that office turned into a sort of semiofficial-looking emirate and embassy. it was shut down very quickly because it was a threat to the afghan government. just because it looked like an embassy with its flags. >> i remember that. >> they've been looking for this. this is the first type, especially with the video they've put out on their facebook page, showing them on equal turf with american soldiers who have been doing the handoff with bowe. they've got their soldiers up in the hills above with guns holding positions for defense. so that in itself shows that they are on equal turf almost. for then, that's a huge coup. >> despite the celebrations we see, i also understand some of the members were disgruntled because didn't they want a ransom payment for bergdahl? >> there were some who did want

a ransom payment. there were also others who were saying, hey, what about the guys who got bergdahl in the first place? nobody's congrat lating them. no one's giving them any rewards. so there's a little bit of sniping going back and forth. >> what's the most interesting thing you learned from this interview? is there anything that surprised you? >> i think it's really interesting, the commander said very clearly and at the very beginning that it was important for them to give a parting gift to bow bergdahl. they made him a hand tailored suit which is a traditional sign of respect in the tribal areas of northern pakistan. and so this in itself was interesting. they wanted him to leave with good memories, which is kind of ironic, considering he'd been a captive for five years. i think they wanted to make a differentiation between, like, war, and the friendship that develops no matter the circumstances. >> all right. interesting. "time" middle east bureau chief erin baker, thank you so much. the handwriting is on the way. a new study looks at the affects

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welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." it's now time for headlines at the half. flames shooting through the roof of a midtown manhattan building last night. t tgi fridays has a basement in the building. fortunately, no injuries were reported. two top u.s. diplomats will

hold direct talks with iranian officials next week in geneva. melanie griffith and antonio banderas are ending their marriage after 18 years. they have one child together. the fallout vourndi isurrou bergdahl trade intensifies. the detainees are now in qatar where they will spend the next year under a travel ban. where are they being held? who's responsible for them? both of those questions, what do you know on both fronts? >> we know that the qatari government, which brokered the deal between the u.s. and the taliban, have effectively given the united states government assurances that these five individuals would not violate the terms of the agreement, would not be involved in any type of military incitement, nor

give media interviews. there will be a ban on their travel outside of qatar, prohibiting them from afghanistan or anywhere else where they could pose a threat to national security. the qatar government is insisting these individuals are free to move about within the country as they wish. they are also making available the family members of some of these individuals. they're give them the ability to reunite here in doha. so on one hand, the country's government certainly playing an important role in guaranteeing the success of this brokered deal. at the same tie, they're saying these individuals are free individuals to roam about the country freely as they wish. >> aed med, do you get a sense how the qatari people feel about having these five members of the taliban held in their country? >> this is part of a larger policy of the qatari government, certainly something a lot of the local nationals here feel confident in. the government has over the course of the several years kept

open communications with some of the united states government, if you which, adversaries in the region, hamas, now the taliban. certainly qatari citizens have expressed support for the government's approach, that they're not perceived to being in one camp or the other. for the time being, it seems that the country here certainly has no problem with the presence of these five individuals. after all, they did allow the taliban to open a political office here. so long as any of these individuals try not to destabilize the country or participate in any kind of violence or acts, i think you can safely say the qatari people would welcome this policy. because the way it is being perceived in the region is this is a break through in kn negotiati negotiations, perhaps a chance ofreconciliation talks in afghanistan. >> joining me now is the daily

beast's kimberly doziedozier. she covered the afghanistan conflict for the associated press. thank you for being here. few westerners know afghanistan and this war as well as you do. did it surprise you sergeant bergdahl's release came now? >> not so much as a surprise because of what's going on in afghanistan now. with u.s. troops shrinking their policean presence. i was in afghanistan and went out to the east where what u.s. troops are doing is pulling away from the border. every time they shut down a base, they essentially lose some visibility into pakistan. and that was the way they were keeping track, at least loosely, of where bergdahl was being held. with every passing month, they had less of a chance of tracking hem down and rescuing him, which made negotiations a far more attractive option. >> what can you tell us about

these taliban members who were releaseded? are they considered high risk still? is there legitimate fear they could return to their positions in the battlefield? we have to keep in mind, they've been behind bars for 12 years. is there any evidence indock ringation at all? >> the officials i've spoken to, current and former, say they don't think they'll be so valuable in terms of their role on the battlefield. they've been out of the action since 2002. but it's the pretege value some of the detractors of this deal are complaining about. the propaganda reward the taliban got just by getting five of their senior people released. will they return to the fight? possibly. some special operations officials and intelligence officials i've spoken to said fine, let them return to the field of battle and commit acts of violence, then we'll help our

afghan partners take them out. the problem is, once you melt into the wilds of afghanistan, that promise could be hard to follow through on. >> absolutely. there's an article in "the new york times" in which it is written that this trade deal has offered insight into the taliban's inner workings. what does the success of the negotiations tell you, kimberly, about the state of the taliban and its chain of command? >> there had been some real rancor between the military and the political side of the taliban over whether to proceed with negotiations with the afghan government. now this has, in some ways, strengthened the hand of those who have negotiated this deal. they've said, you know, we have stuck with the fight, we've gotten our guys back, so now is not the time to move forward with talks. they're holding fire. of course, you talk to of course officials, and they're hoping this will create warmer

relations between the afghan government and the taliban. the afghan government wasn't happy with this deal, especially the fact they were cut out of it. >> is there a tangible trail or tangible evidence that this might help broker a peace deal between the two? it's certainly just speculation at this point. >> you know, at this point, the taliban is reveling in what is for them a pr victory. will they feel empowered by this to turn to the political side of power versus continuing the fight on the battlefield? a lot of the folks i talk to in the intelligence world think they're going to take this as a sign that they should just keep up the fight. that they will hold fire until u.s. troops draw down to the point that they're not much of an opposition force and do just like they've done several times before. first, take the countryside. then take the smaller urban areas and eventually threaten government. it's going to be years before we

know which way it goes. >> so we have, if i'm not mistaken, 9800 personnel scheduled to be in that country by the end of the year. cut that number in half, by the end of 2015, leave just a smattering of those to protect u.s. buildings, embassy consulates, that kind of thing in 2016. once the united states is gone, does that open the door for terrorism to be back on the rise? for insurgents to increase? and for western targets to be, once again, front and center? >> now, al qaeda is definitely building. they're planning towards that time. they have a small presence in the qunar and nuristan region of eastern afghanistan. they are laying the groundwork for eventually having training camps and things like that. will there be enough afghan capability to keep that from threatening the united states? some u.s. officials i speak to say, hey, that's what the

predator plan is for. we will be able to keep those camps small enough that they're too busy engaged with just surviving, like they are now, to threaten the united states. again, this is something we're going to have to see towards the end of this year and towards the end of next year. it's also something the administration will factor in when they think how many people to leave there in the end. they go down to a small 100-person military cooperation office within the embassy or do they leave 2,000 to 3,000 troops to continue to work with the afghans and essentially stiffen their counterterrorism program to hunt these potential terrorists. >> we will see. with your help. the daily beast's kimberly dozier. thank you so much, good to see you. >> thank you. the connection between writing with pen and paper and using your computer keyboard. there are some details to share in a new report. and back to belmont. a live look. it is a perfect day in new york for a try at the triple crown. we'll hear from the jockey of california chrome ahead.

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a remarkable matchup up against the clock this morning on msnbc. 20-time "jeopardy" champion took on challengers. it was not even close. the final scores. jonathan, with a minus 100 points. evan beat them all with a whopping 2,900 points. he won a gift certificate to a nearby food court. julie still has her winnings from "jeopardy." is cursive writing dead? a battleground in america's schools. cursive writing. common core standards call for cursive writing in kindergarten and first grade and then educators shift their focus to keyboards. some experts say it is costing our children's development.

our guest's piece recently appeared in "the new york times." i guess we'll ask the question, is cursive writing dead? >> well, cursive writing is dying in the curriculums. what we know from new studies in neuro science and psychologist is that when children learn to write by hand, whether it's printing in the earliest stages or cursive later on, they are learning skills that go far beyond what they can learn when they're just typing on a keyboard. >> except, you know, we live in a society dominated by technology. when you're writing your pieces, i'll bet you're doing it on a keyboard, right? >> i am. >> that's what you're doing. okay, so with kids learning how to use a tablet or keyboard, that seems like a positive thing. what do we think is the real downside here? >> we've learned when we look at children who don't yet know how to read is that when they learn letters by hand so basically when you type them on a keyboard or write them free form, that's not the same thing.

you're going to be learning to read much better and much more affluently later on if you first learn to write those letters by hand. >> so you're saying that cursive writing has an impact on the brain beyond childhood? >> absolutely. so not only impacts your reading fluency in childhood, but it later on impacts your memory and your cognitive flexibility. so one recent study i find just fascinating looked at college students and adults. people who are well beyond the age when they're first learning to read and write. some took notes on their lapt laptops, others took notes by hand. those who took notes by hand were able to remember the information much better and they understood it better so that processing and their memory were both improved simply by writing this down. >> you know what, i actually agree with that, just from personal anecdote. when i write things down, it does seem to drill it in the mind much more intensely. that's so interesting you say that.

other than writing thank you notes by hand, don't know how much we all do use. are their examples of what kids do with cursive handwriting that they don't do on their laptops any longer? >> well, i think that now almost everything is shifting to the laptop. but that doesn't need to be the case. i mean, you can still take notes by hand in the classroom. we have this push in the classroom towards more laptops, more tablets. instead, why don't teachers say, okay, for these lessons, you're only allowed to take notes by hand, you're not actually allowed to use the laptop in my classroom? that could go a long way toward making sure these skills stay alive and that we're able to maintain the cognitive flexibility that comes with handwriting. >> well, it is an extraordinarily study. i thank you for bringing it to us. maria carnocova, thank you. a live report at the top of the hour on the crash that landed tracy morgan in the hospital. he's in critical condition. er p. ...and a choice take 6 tylenol in a day which is 2 aleve for...

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the hidden cash guy is no longer hidden. reporting that he's jason buzzy, the man who triggered a frenzy by hiding cash across california and getting clues on twitter. he has been a very generous mystery man. the hidden cash twitter account says it was a social experiment for good. made a lot of people happy. back to washington. for the first time, former secretary of state hillary clinton publicly is sharing reaction to the release of five detainees at guantanamo bay in exchange for sergeant bowe bergdahl. >> i think this was a very hard choice. which is why i think my book is so aptly named. if you look at what the factors were going into the decision, of course there are competing interests and values. our value is we bring everybody home on the battlefield as best

we can. >> joining me now, white house reporter from "the washington post" david mcnamara. two of my favorites, thank you for joining me. let's get to your reaction to hillary clinton's comment. any surprises, or is this what you expect to hear? >> i think not a surprise. she didn't endorse the terms of the deal. i assume she'll get questions about that as she goes on her book tour. the idea she said we bring people home. it doesn't matter at that point. whether it was desertion, captured in another way, we'll look at that down the road. i think she'll take the tone on this and other issues where she is loyal to the administration but not necessarily pledging allegiance to every single decision that was made and the follow-up questions that will come. >> senate majority leader, david, harry reid, he was asked about whether he was the only

law maker who got a heads up the day before it happened. >> i'm not sure eye ti'm the on one. a big deal over nothing. whole deal, is it friday or saturday, what difference does it make, you know, what difference does it make. >> david, do you think democrats are accepting the reasons the administration is giving for not informing congress or do you think there's more fallout to come? >> there might be some more fallout, depending on what happens. democrats are circling the wagon and making the point reid did. whether he makes the point about what difference does it make whether it was friday or saturday and whether he was the only one who knew technical ahead of time. the administration is now saying, look, these general terms have been on the table for several months. there was talk about exchanging the five taliban prisoners as far back as january and february and doing it all at one time. where previous years, they talked about maybe doling out the different taliban members,

you know, at a slower rate rather than releasing them all at once. i think now that the president's taking a lot heat, you see reid giving a forceful defense, clinton not criticizing either. so i think they're safe there. the question of course is what happens with these taliban prisoners, if there's evidence they are able to leave qatar, those are going to be bigger problems going forward. >> someone who is getting a bit of criticism, let's talk with you, susan, about national security adviser susan rice. she spoke about the reaction to her comments. here's what she said last sunday. >> 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. >> and yesterday, here's what she said to reporters. >> it wasn't meant to gloss over anything. i'm well aware there have been those who criticized those comments. what i was saying is sergeant

bergdahl served honorably because he chose to volunteer in a time of war. to serve his country. that in itself is honorable. >> any sense of regret there do you think, susan? did her original comments originate from the white house? was there a director to say what she did? >> there are those of us who have been on live tv who wish we could go back and retritweak wh said. i think for susan rice this is the second big public case in which that is probably the case. because you can say he's an american, he volunteered to serv serve. we want to bring him home. without saying with honor and distinction. if that is still in question. we don't really know the circumstances. before officials, as high ranking as susan rice go on sunday talk shows, there is a big effort to brief her and shape what they know the questions will be so yes, i assume she was reflecting

talking points she had, but i wish -- i bet she wishes for the second time in the past few years she could go back and maybe tweak the words she used. >> and even the optics from the white house, david, let's talk about that. we saw the president. he was there in the rose guard within sergeant bergdahl's parents. look, we've had a week to absorb everything. given the chance to do that picture, that scene over again, the president would have done it the same way? >> i don't know internally if they think that but they're not saying that publicly. it's obviously taking a lot heat, you know, not just with the father, what he said on twitter that he sort of erased where he seems to be communicating directly to the taliban, talking about he'd like ton release more prisoners from guantanamo. the president, sort like susan rice, is now saying the reason i stand with these parents is because they reflect all parents who send their children into war and they've created a sacrifice and i am responsible for those young folks who do go into war, to bring them home and keep them safe. that's why i did it.

he's taken a lot of criticism. platoon members who served with bergdahl are questioning the terms of how he ended up in the hands of the taliban and if there's more to come out on that, that could create more problems. right now, the white house is saying they were comfortable with that decision. >> i'm out of time, but i'll forge through quickly with this question. this new article in "the washington post" by your colleague is titled the bergdahl boomerang, gop law makers who long urged a rescue now sour on the deal. he told a crowd back in february the u.s. should, quote, do everything not to leave any members of the armed forces behind. specifically references an interview that senator mccain did. i don't know if we have time to talk about that. let tea let's talk about that, because it's mixed messages. >> you'd think politics was somehow involved. >> you'd think. >> i think some republicans were going after the administration when he was in captivity.

they wanted to get him free. they looked at the deal. they looked at -- i think this is a case in which -- they say the details of the deal matter. the politics of this issue matter as well. >> david, last thoughts from you. >> i think also the fact that although there was some information that sergeant bergdahl had, you know, potentially walked off on his own, i think more platoon members have come out and doubted him and talked about he was not a good soldier. that's creating some of this firestorm, democrats and republicans who hailed the deal initially are backtracking because there are questions about bergdahl himself so i think that's a problem as well. >> good to see you both, susan page, david mcnamara, always a pleasure. the latest odds on california chrome ahead of today's belmont. who can beat him and take away his triple crown dream next. [ whispers ] that boys start to smell. mom! what? you're becoming a man. this bag filled with his baseball clothes... let's just say it's got a powerful scent.

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turnpike leaves a popular actor in critical condition. a wave of immigrant children have entered this country without their parents. a major effort is under way to find them a place to stay. >> is the loss i feel, i cannot describe. >> oprah winfrey remembering a legend and a friend, maya angelou, a moving memorial service. and the release of bowe bergdahl, one week later. president obama answers tough questions about the rationale for the deal. and one more to go. california chrome could be just a mile and a half from galloping glory. >> good day to all of you. we're running a bit late, a couple minutes past 1:00 here in the east. here's what's happening now. we do have this breaking news. actor/comedian tracy morgan in critical condition right now in a new jersey hospital after a

major car accident on the new jersey turnpike this morning. what's the latest you're hearing from officials there? >> the latest word, alex, comes from morgan's agent who said a couple hours ago he's still in critical condition, that his family is here with him, that he's getting excellent care here at the hospital, and that they, for whatever reason, don't expect much change in his condition today. we're unclear exactly what kind of treatment he is getting or the severity or extent of his injuries other than he is in critical condition. there are also two other passengers in the car who are also in critical condition. there was one fatality. the car, the vehicle, it was an suv that was modified, a mercedes. a significant vehicle. the drivers have said they were hit from behind by a tractor trailer truck. the car looks mangled. it's flipped over. it was the only vehicle of about six that were involved in the accident. that did flip over. so very serious accident.

the passengers, morgan and the others, were liairlifted to the hospital. shows you the urgency the rescuers used when they got there. the turnpike was closed for five hours. a major roadway, like i-95 in other parts of the country, where there has been construction work going on for years, a long project, a widening. they were just rear ended. at this point, a lot of possibilities as to why this happened. it sees to be a rear-end accident. passen germs in the car hit without any warning. whether they were wearing seat belts or not, unclear. morgan and the others were on their way from delaware back to new york. new jersey where we are now is about halfway. about an hour from new york, about an hour or so from delaware. again, the vigil continues. serious condition. critical condition, i should say, and no word on just whether

he's improving or what's expected in terms of his care in these hours. alex. >> i'm just reading some information coming to us from the new jersey state police. much of which you have clearly gotten. the way they're describing it, it's like that tractor trailer didn't see the slow moving traffic in front of him or her. swerved and then hit that limo they were traveling. that is the car that hit two other cars and just caused a chain reaction. is there any talk about alcohol being involved? >> one of many questions the investigators will look into. i've not heard the theory of a tractor trailer swerving. we really didn't have any information about exactly -- other than that the vehicles

were moving very slowly at that hour from the drivers of the limo who escaped uninjured. that's the only information we know precisely about what was going on on the roadway. all the focus of the investigation obviously. >> sergeant greg williams, the new jersey state police, uses the terminology, swerving, hitting vehicle two. that's the limousine in which tracy morgan was traveling. that overturned and hit two other vehicles. you've been standing there, getting the information from there. this just came in to us as you were reporting. i thought i'd add a little bit to the story. thank you very much, nbc's ron allen for that. let's go now to an urgent humanitarian situation on the southern u.s. border. hundreds undocumented immigrant children who crossed the border alone are being brought in by the department of security. by sunday, their numbers could swell to over 1,000. our guest join us now by phone with more on this.

where are all these children coming from? >> it's my understanding these are undocumented kids coming through mexico being apprehended in the rio grande valley of south texas. where there's a humanitarian crisis because so many kids have come across. up to 50,000 kids have come in the last several months. it's created a humanitarian crisis in south texas. they don't have a place to hold them all. and the manpower to process them. so the government is in the process of transporting these kids to military bases in other parts of the country. in the meantime, they're bringing them through arizona. there's a large detention facility. they're holding them there. they're doing medical checks there. then they'll be transported to other facilities around the country, california, texas, oklahoma. >> dan, when you say they're coming and crossing the border, do we know how they're doing it?

is it in cars? are they being smuggled in? is it by foot? >> what happens is they get on buses in their countries. a lot of them either ask people how to get here or they pay smugglers in their own countries. when they get to nosa, mexico, based on interviews i did previously here in arizona over the last week, they get to the border of mexico and pay a smuggler to bring them across in these little small inflatable rafts. it's not a long distance. a lot of them are just turning themselves in to the border patrol and asking for help. >> dan, we're talking what ages here? some of the pictures we're seeing looks like, you know, toddlers being held by people with their, you know, little feet. how old are these kids? >> we don't have a good sense of what the unaccompanied minors who are coming across. i don't think they're infants or little kids. they're probably teenagers or,

you know, 10 -- maybe as young as 10 years old. there are a lot of -- this is happening in addition to a lot of parents, mostly women, who are also crossing the border in that same part of the country with young children. i interviewed people earlier this week that were being dropped off at the greyhound bus stations here with children as young as 2 months old. the kids who are crossing on their own i don't think they're that young. i think they're either older children or teenagers. >> yeah, all right. from the arizona repun, dan gonzalez, thank you for your time. >> sure, thank you. more now with brian williams exclusive interview with president obama. the president addressed the controversy of the prisoner release for sergeant bowe bergda bergdahl. what is the president saying now? >> president obama defending the prisoner swap, saying he would do it again, making the argument

that the u.s. doesn't leave an american on the battlefield. of course, a lot of the criticism that the administration has gotten is for failing to notify congress 30 days prior to releasing those detainees. the administration has given a couple of different reasons for why they didn't notify congress. one, they say, bergdahl's health was deteriorating. so type w so type wime was of the essence. they also suggest his life could be in jeopardy if details leaked out to the public. that's the point the president reiterated to brian williams on friday. he also defended the broader terms of the deal, saying, look, the afghanistan war is drawing to a close. take a listen to a little bit more of what president obama told brian williams. >> the fact is is we are ending a war in afghanistan. we have released, both under my administration and previous administrations, a large number of former taliban fighters.

some of whom will return to the battlefield. but by definition, you don't do prisoner exchanges with your friends, you do them with your enemies. >> the president hoping to shift his focus back to his domestic agenda this week but that's going to be tough. secretary of defense chuck hagel testifies on capitol hill on wednesday, alex. >> thank you, kristen well beke the white house. a memorial service at wake forest university where maya angelou was a professor. michelle obama speaking about angelou's inspiring legacy. >> for me, that was the power of maya angelou's words. words so powerful that they carried a little black girl from the south side of chicago, all the way to the white house. >> nbc's sarah dallap is on the campus outside of that church.

sarah, what moved you most today? >> well, good afternoon, alex. i think what moved me most was that everybody here seems to have a personal story of dr. angdr. an dr. angelou. it didn't matter if you were a president, it didn't matter if you were an ordinary person. she made you feel like you were the center of her attention and she left you with a very personal memory. everybody here has been sharing those over the last two days. now, part of the service today obviously to celebrate her life. you heard michelle obama talking about how the poem maya angelou wrote, "phenomenal woman," took her from the south side of chicago to the white house. she also spoke about how when she met dr. angelou, she was so nervous, she doesn't even remember what the poet said to her but she does remember how she made her feel. that is something dr. angelou encouraged people to do, to be kind, to reach out to one another, and still to speak your mind and be strong in your beliefs. we also heard from oprah who

encouraged the crowd to pass on the poetry of courage, saying that's what dr. angelou would have wanted. >> the loss i feel i cannot describe. it's like something i have never felt before. she was my spiritual queen mother. and everything that that word implies. >> another emotional -- another emotional eulogy from dr. angelou's son, guy johnson who said of today, quote, there is no mourning here, we have added to the population of angels. despite all the fame and the accolades dr. angelou received, she remained open and accessible. she held some of the classes here at wake forest university in her own home and was known to cook for the students. one student said when the

semester ended that dr. angelou gave the class her home phone number and encouraged them to call if they ever needed her. saying that she was there professor for life. alex, back to you. >> extraordinary, what a brilliant life that's gone out, but we'll always have her words to inspire us. we'll have them forever. sarah, thank you so much from wake forest university. what a former prosecutor at gitmo told me about those five released taliban members. it may raise more questions who they are. y nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... oh yeah, and frosted! what's your most favorite of all? hmm...the kind i have with you. me too. olive garden's latest iyou!ration? you told us your number one olive garden dishes. now they're part of our 2 for $25 guest favorites! featuring for the very first time your all time favorite dish, creamy chicken alfredo. and our seductive shrimp mezzaluna you loved so much we brought it back.

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susan rice is defnding her remarking about bowe bergdahl. >> i realize there's been a lot of discussion and controversy around this, but what i was

referring to is the fact that this was a young man who volunteered to serve his country in uniform at a time of war. that is itself a very honorable thing. and -- >> but honor and distinction. >> jim, really, this is a young man whose circumstances we are still going to learn about. >> now, rice goes on to say, like all americans, sergeant bergdahl is innocent until proven guilty but first he must recover. larger diplomatic questions have been raised about the bergdahl handover and what it means as the war in afghanistan winds down. the reporter is covering the story in detail for "the washington post." with a welcome to you, you just heard susan right dependi indef previous comments about bergdahl. do you think there's an element of regret? using the words of "honor" and specifically "distinction" in her original statement? >> well, she might choose different words now. i think she explained, as you heard there, what she really

meant was that by signing up, volunteering for combat duty in afghanistan, he had performed an honorable act as a soldier. she's leaving out whether he then desseerted his post and potentially renounced his american citizenship or ties to america in various communications home, communications to other soldiers in his unit. the criticism of bergdahl himself has centered on who he was, how he left his unit, the kinds of things he said about afghanistan, about service there, about america. and that is where the white house has really had some areas of vulnerability this week, is trying to simultaneously say he is american soldier. he had been taken prisoner by the enemy, period, we have to get him out, that's what we do. and also trying to sort of say -- to skip ahead and say, we're going to have to deal with

who he was and whether he was a deserter later. this morning, i spoke with the former prosecutor. here's what he had to say about the five detainees. >> when i saw the names of the five individuals when they were reported last weekend, my first reaction was, who are they? i had never saw the names before. which meant there was not enough information to even make it on to our lists of potential prosecutions. when you hear people talking about these guys being the hardest the hard core and how dangerous they are, we prosecuted osama bin laden's driver and we couldn't even bring charges against these guys. >> so the colonel says they're not high risk. the white house seems to agree with that. what are you hearing? >> well, there are a couple of important things to remember about these guys. they are incredibly important to the taliban and to the taliban high command. they were a big part of the

taliban high command at the type of the u.s. envision in 2001 and in a couple of courses shortly thereafter. they've been locked up in guantanamo for more than ten years and some longer than that. they've been off the batt battlefield. they've been out of communication with other taliban figur figures. they are much older now. so their departure from guantanamo is not the same thing as their return to the bosom of the taliban. but to say that they are insignificant, no, they're not insignificant. they're very significant to the taliban itself. >> diplomatically speaking, what's the read on capitol hill? is there a lot of backlash there? is it purely political? or is there real anger there? >> there's real anger. mostly on the point of congress being cut out of this. which the administration acknowledges they did and they say it was because the --

bergdahl's life might be as risk if they didn't move quickly. the back story of that, as i've learned it, is basically this. the taliban didn't issue an outright death threat that said we'll kill him if these talks don't move swiftly or leak, but u.s. intelligence believed that to be a significant risk. it wasn't like there was some, you know, we got to have him out by tuesday or he's dead kind of threat. but nonetheless, u.s. intelligence told the white house we have to move quickly. we cannot wait 30 days from the time that we shake hands on a deal or whatever the verbal agreement was in qatar until he walks out. during that 30 days, he's at too big a risk. so that's one thing. congress is mad about that. then there's this whole other separate issue of was this a bad deal. did we trade a trader for terrorists, and that's -- >> well, as you ask these

questions, do you think we're in for a summer of hearings called for by the gop to try to answer these questions? >> at least, at least some june and july of it, yes. and during that time, we may actually get some answers from bergdahl himself. he will eventually recover well enough to leave the hospital in landstuhl, germany, go to texas, an army base there for further recovery, and at some point, the army will decide whether he is -- left his post dishonorably and what to do with hip. >> here's something you write in "the washington post." it goes, bergdahl's return is not, as originally envisioned, a step forward. instead, it represents the last piece of unfinished taliban business for the united states as it winds down 13 years of combat. once the u.s. is gone, ann, does the situation there return to a pre-2001 scenario, where the terrorists run the show?

>> well, certainly the elected afghan government hopes not. and the united states, as its friend and supporter, hopes not as well. during the time that the u.s. military has been the sheriff in afghanistan, we've had ten years of elected government and there's now a peaceful election going on to replace hamid karzai as president. the taliban will have a harder time arguing that it is fighting the infidels when they have -- the situation they will face in afghanistan next year. which is an elected government and the departure of u.s. combat forces. they are not going away as an insurgency, but certainty their political argument and their political circumstances will be very different. >> is it plausible these 149 detainees that remain in guantanamo bay will, despite president obama's campaign promises and promises throughout his administration, he will

leave office after eight years with some of these guys still behind bars? >> i think the white house is worried that that's a possibility. they would like to resolve this, but the closer you get, maybe below 100, you get down to the people who are just such hard cases. either because they are unprosecutable or they are functionally homeless. there's no country in the world that will take them. and those are the -- we've been getting to that hard nut and we're really almost upon it now. one funny thing that's come out of this whole situation is that these five guys were among the unprosecutables and now they're out. i don't think the white house will make the same deal for anybody else but at least they're down five. >> yeah, okay, ann garrett with the "washington post," thanks so much. california chrome is getting ready to shine. a look at what's at stake when belmont park gets going there. there's a live look. we'll be right back.

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america's most famous horse is making a bid for the triple crown today after win the kentucky derby and preakness. nbc's kristin dellgen is in belmont. talk about the atmosphere at the racetrack. >> yes, hey there, alex. a lot of women wearing halts. the accessory to have is anything that says california chrome on it, #chromies is trending on twitter. people are so excited about the prospect of our first triple crown winner since affirm did it in 1978. now, why such a long dry spell? it's not easy to do. this is why. take a look. this is such a long track. a mile and a half. so much longer than the

preakness, the kentucky derby. it's difficult for horses to win all three. they need to have the stamina bred into them. so that's the big question today, will california chrome pull it off? and if he does, it will be such a cinderella story. this is a horse bred for just about $10,000, up against horses that can cost into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. you see his owners where they come from. they're so excited about being out here today. and about the possibility of winning the crown. they're expecting a record crowd. we've seen a lot of people get here early. they've set up shop. they're right along the rails here and ready for this race later on today, alex. >> my goodness, i'm listening right now to the eagles, the ultimate california group there. and we can hear them singing. people are saying "take it to the limit." this is so spirited, i love it. hey, what about the jockey, what's he saying about california chrome's chances? >> yeah, you know, with the odds

right now, 3-5, so a lot of people betting on california chrome and his owner, his jockey, his trainer say that is the way to go. they're feeling really confident. we've heard from his jockey earlier. here's what he had to say. >> whenever i tell him to do, he's ready to do it. i mean, if he's -- after i work him, i got a little more confidence. i think he's going to run big. >> so they're feeling good today. we did see california chrome out on the track this morning. just took one relaxed track around, looks like he was in good spirits, feeling good. so we'll wait to see. we keep hearing over and over about this horse is he's really cool, nothing flusters hip, nothing gets to him, so we'll see how he's feeling today, alex. >> it's all i'm feeling, i got a bad gig today. i should be there with you. thank you so much, kristin. live coverage from belmont begins at 4:30 eastern on nbc.

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we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." it's time for the big three. a little earlier than usual. today's topic, defebruarying the deal, flip-flop and best week/worst week. goldie taylor. republican strategist and former campaign press secretary for rick santorum, alice stewart. and executive editor at blue nation review.com jimmy williams. good to see all three of you. >> great to see you, alex. >> we'lldef defebruary fend defending the deal. talk about the details regarding the exchange of bergdahl, give me a sense of how the administration has handled it. >> i agree with the deal, i agree we don't leave anybody

behind. we shouldn't leave any soldier behind. he didn't go to the enemy camp, they captured him. at the same time, i think the white house probably could have handled letting congress know about this a little bit better. they could have kept them more informed. they didn't call the speaker's office until 30 minutes before it happened. they didn't actually tell them it had been done. my bigger problem with this entire thing isn't so much he made the deal. this guy will be tried in a military court of law. he will probably be found guilty of desertion and be discharged dishonorably. we'll see what is to come. my bigger problem here is the republicans are running around saying barack obama put five -- the board of directors of the taliban out into the public. well, george bush released 520 people when he was president from guantanamo bay and their return rate to the battlefield to taliban and al qaeda was 30%. i have a bigger problem with the hypocrisy that's going on. >> i love getting your perspective in particular. you're a former marine.

people may not know that. despite all these details not being out yet, from what we now know, what is your take on the rose guaarden ceremony a week a with bergdahl's parents? you think the president, if he could change things, would? >> i agree with everything that jimmy said except for the fact that we don't know if he's going to be convicted desertion because we don't know what his state of mind was, whether he was under duress. i think that we've got some answers, some fact finding mission to undertake, and that, you know, let the facts fall where they may. whether or not he gets an honorable discharge, let's let the military, the uniform code of military justice figure that out. as for the white house -- >> i also want to say it's my understanding you can't be officially charged with desertion unless you've been off base for 30 days. it's something in the realm of that but i don't think you can be charged with desertion, can you? if you haven't been off base 30 days -- >> he was captured by the

taliban within nine hours so they would have to prove he put himself in the hands the taliban so there are some real legal questions here as to whether or not the president should have invited this family to the white house, absolutely. i would never apologize for that. these parents endured much over these last five years. they were welcoming their son home. they did nothing wrong. so absolutely, it was our responsibility to bring him home under whatever circumstances. and the very notion this president decided to give comfortable to these parents in this time of transition, i'm all for that. >> okay. lots of republicans, alice, have come out against this deal, but conservative columnist david brooks has a new op-ed in "the new york times" entitled, president obama was right. it doesn't matter if bergdahl abandoned his post or not. the debt we owe to fellow americans is not based on individual merit, it's based on citizenship and loyalty to the national community we all share. do you agree? >> well, david brooks is

entitled to his opinion. i agree more with what jimmy and goldie have said. certainly, we don't leave any soldiers behind. we also don't negotiate with terrorists. we have the top five taliban members in gitmo now out. it's not a question of if they will return to fight against american but when. and the fact they didn't have conversations. there's bipartisan frustration in d.c. by the likes of dianne feinstein and other democrats and independents as well as republicans about the fact they didn't have the conversation with congress about releasing these top level terrorists out of gitmo. and that's the concern there. and there's certainly republicans joined many democrats in the way this was handled from the very beginning. the president was nice to bring bergdahl's family to the rose garden. certainly would be nice if he brings the families the six soldiers who died looking for him to the white house and expressed his appreciation for them. >> i want to stay with you, as we move topics. senator nugent has certainly

criticized the deal. however, he told the press the u.s. should do everything possible not to leave a soldier behind. here's what mccain said in february. >> obviously, i'd have to know the details, but i would support ways of bringing him home. if an exchange was one of them, i think that would be something we should seriously consider. >> senator mccain called this exchange a, quote, mistake. do you thing republicans are try to have it both ways? does anyone believe this is anything more than politics at play? >> when he said back in february to seriously consider it, he also said we need to look at it in the full context. certainly never wanted it to be considered with the top five members of the taliban. that's his main concern, is is his fact that, let's get bergdahl home, let's get him back to his family, but let's not do it where we open up the back door of gitmo to the most serious offenders and certainly notify members of congress. >> yeah, go ahead, jimmy. >> alice, i have a problem here, because what about the 520 that were released when bush was

president? again, i'm not blaming bush. i just don't know that the republicans and the democrats criticize bush for doing exactly the same thing. 520 versus 5. i don't care about the degree of their hatred towards america. either they were detained at gitmo for a reason, for gosh sakes but 520 and no one said a word, not one word about the aprobation of that, but now we're upset about five. barack obama could rename his dog reagan, declare war in 16 countries and the republicans are going to hate anything he does. why don't ya'll come out of the closet on that and admit he can't do anything right in ya'll's opinion? that's the problem here. >> there's bipartisan concern about this. when bush dealt with gitmo, there was coordination and communication with the senate intel committee. it wasn't done under the cover of darkness. they were fully -- >> that's not true -- >> one of those 540 -- >> that's not true --

>> -- participated in benghazi so i want to know who will take responsibility for that. at the end of the day, these five were not among the remaining gitmo detains who were going to be charged with a crime. if they did return to the fight, the fight is now different. we're drawing down out of afghanistan. there are going to be fewer american soldiers on the field, fewer in harm's way. are we going to monitor them once they're in qatar? absolutely, we're going to monitor them. i have confidence we can monitor people across that region unlike we've ever been able to do before. these five were scheduled for release anyway because the war was ending and we had no means by which in the 13 years in which they were held captive to which to charge them. >> here's something interesting, too, jimmy, to you. last weekend, i spoke with josh rogan of the daily beast and he made the point we're up in arms about the fact we're negotiating with terrorists when we've done it in the past. people don't like to talk about it but it has been done.

>> well, george bush obviously negotiated with iraq, with iran, with north korea. >> sure. >> all of that's out in the public realm but no one's talking about it. i'm not one of these democrats who are going to run around and say george bush was wrong. george bush's record is his record. he gets to own it. the bottom line is i deplore hypocrisy. i'm not calling alice a hypocrite, i'm just simply saying if we're going to hold bm barack obama to a standard, shoents shouldn't we hold everybody else to the standard? >> back to the age-old question, how much of this is politics? the fact is george bush did have to deal with enemy combatants and the like and have to deal with the taliban and/or terrorists to try to, you know, get things done. >> politics is a big part of this entire situation. without a doubt. and the key component here is the fact that senate intel committee members were not notified and kept in the loop and in these conversations. that's the big concern. that's the difference with what

we had in the bush administration. that's why i know that jimmy continues to say it is the republican frustration, the republicans calling foul here, but there's just as many democrats and many independents also concerned about the way this was done under cover of darkness because there is the fear that many believe the administration knew folks would say no. >> last word, quick. >> you've got to stop saying "under the cover of darkness." i agree the congress should have been notified. i've said that now three times on tv. but there was no cover of darkness. just because the congress -- listen, the president of the united states told the congre congress -- did he do it as directed by the law? no, he didn't. if that's the bigger problem, that should be the investigation. not these five taliban guys. five versus 520. let's talk about it. >> i would love to keep going but nick's going to keep telling me in my ear, got to go, got to go, so we'll see you again soon, thank you. her student loan is an

economic nightmare. she went to congress to talk about it and join us next. if i can impart one lesson to a

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the problem with student loan debt is set to take center stage next week in washington. the full senate could vote on a measure put forward by elizabeth warren this week to help student bow roars as soon as wednesday. students like brittany jones. it is an issue college grads struggle with long after graduation. i'm joined now by the woman in that video. she's in denver. we're also joined by rothit topra from the protection bureau. what do you think the government can do to make the loans more manageable? >> thank you, a lex. i would say with the refinancing bill that elizabeth warren, senator elizabeth warren is proposing, it would definitely take the burden off the students as far as the increase in the

student loan rates for which we are paying interest and it would help ease the transitioning towards becoming a participant in the economy. >> we should say previously the rate for undergraduate loans had been a fixed 6.8%. those who didn't come under that 3.8%, it would be retro being an tim, right? >> well, there's lots of different proposals for borrowers to refinance their loans. unlike mortgage borrowers, student loan borrowers tend to have few options to refinance those loans. we're seeing that 40 million americans owe about $1.2 trillion in debt. this can have a broader impact on the economy, from first-time home purchases to small business starts to saving for retirement. and we need to take steps to make sure we stop this potential

student debt domino effect. there are so many americans who are in the prime age to be investing for future but they're really being drag down by a lot of there. brittany, what's your story? where are you standing right now? >> i actually graduated from virginia commonwealth university. at the time of the graduation, i had upwards of $70,000 in student loan debt. currently, i owe roughly $50,000 for new undergraduate degree. i'm actually in a position of trying to pay them back, trying to pay down the principle so i don't get the compounded interest as far as my undergraduate degree. >> how long ago did you graduate snrch . >> i graduated in 2011. >> okay. so you've gotten $20,000 paid in the last three years. i'm sure you wish you had it for present tense use. are lenders preying on students, in your mind? >> well, you know, it just doesn't seem like there's an efficient market. interest rates have gone down so

much, and many borrowers are unable to take advantage of those rates. brittany, when she started college, the economy was actually doing just fine. but then by the time she graduated, like so many others, the economy had cratered. and i don't think brittany or anyone like her was trading subprime mortgage-backed securities. she was studying to be a teacher. so many people have been caught up in a bad job market and had a lot of student debt. in many cases, while they were in school their own parents lost their jobs. their family home went down in value. all of that meant taking on more and more debt. >> yeah. i'm glad we're bringing this conversation to light. i hope we can continue it with you both. brittany jones, thank you very much. rohin, many thanks. they are tributes to men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. a new book provides a touching personal look at these fallen heroes.

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in the 13 years and counting

of war in iraq and afghanistan, more than 6800 u.s. troops were killed. now a new book gives life to those faces in stark black-and-white photographs of their bedrooms. joining me now is photographer ashley gilbertson, whose book "bedroom of the fallen" comes out later this month. i'm going to apologize in advance for the brevity of this conversation, so we're going to have you back. what sticks out in your mind the most? >> i think the -- what i'm always left with is the love that, you know, i heard so much about between the parents and the kids in this book. i'm sure the kids felt it, except it was, you know, very emotionally troubling, i think, to hear how hard this grief and this loss was to the parents. but i was always inspired by that sort of love that existed between them that inspired me. >> what's also interesting, you look at these rooms, and sometimes it looks like a room of children.

you've got teddy bears. you know, stuffed animals and things like that. it puts it into perspective. >> well, a lot of the kids were really young, yeah. the average age, i think, in the u.s. military is 19. it could be a little older now. except when you're growing up, you have this one space in the family home where you can express yourself. like you and i have a whole house through which we can design and decorate, but our kids have this one room which is their safe place. so they've got stuff in there from when they were 5, from when they were 10, from when they were 15 and 18. >> i was mentioning during the break, i have a son. if something were to happen to him, i don't know that i could go into -- i wouldn't want to change anything. you'd want to shut the door and keep it as if to best preserve what you can. how common is that mentality? >> it's very common. they say the first thing that you forget for some families is the voice. people keep outgoing voicemails so they can call their son and say, i miss you. the second thing is the smell. in some of the rooms, like jack

sweet's room, his laundry is still there. then the actual keeping of the room itself, like, it becomes a shrine. it becomes a place of remembrance. i think for a couple years for a lot of families, it's a place maybe they'll come back from some sort of secret mission and return. >> well, it is a remarkable book. veterans of the fallen. we're going to have you back because i want to hear more stories about what you learned. it is remarkable. thank you. >> thanks, alex. >> that's a wrap of this show, everyone. see you back here tomorrow at noon eastern time. actually, i won't. someone else will be in my place. but up next, we have craig melvin. have a great day. what are you doing? uh, well we are fine tuning these small cells that improve coverage, capacity and quality of the network. it means you'll be able t post from the breakroom. great! did it hurt? when you fell from heaven (awkward laugh) ...a little.. (laughs) im sorry, i have to go. at&t is building you a better network.

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[ 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. ♪ news right now. actor tracy morgan is in intensive care after a six-vehicle pileup. one person in that crash was killed. three others are in the hospital. we'll have a live report and new details. controversies that are whipped up in washington. >>