ground in iraq, fighting rages on for control of iraq's main oil refinery. we're now hearing from a critical voice, the former commander of coalition forces in iraq, general david petraeus who was behind the surge in 2007. he spoke at a conference in london. >> this cannot be the united states being the air force for she ya militias or a she ya on sunni arab fight. it has to be a fight of all of iraq against extremists who do happen to be sunni arabs. in washington, the iraqi blame game is in full swing with even former vice-president dick cheney now clammislamming the president and his administration. he wrote, quote, rarely has a u.s. president been so wrong

about so much at the expense of so many. also in a video launching in a new group called alliance for a strong america, here's what he said. >> the policies of the last six years have left america diminished and weakened. our enemies no longer fear us. our allies no longer trust us. >> also today in an exclusive interview with savannah gutherie, john kerry said no final decisions on action in iraq have been made. >> there are some senior officials quoted in various news accounts today saying that air strikes are off the table, that the u.s. is no longer considering that. is that true? >> nothing is off the table. all options are still available to the president. the president has not made a decision on those options. we are very intensely vetting each of the possibilities. >> nbc's peter alexander joins us live from the white house. we have also with us michelle

cabrera in northern iraq. peter, we've gotten word that we'll hear from the president here shortly. what else can you tell us. >> reporter: that's exactly right. we're going to hear from president obama here in the brady briefing room at 12:30 today announcing, we believe, some decisions in terms of the situation in iraq and any potential u.s. military intervention in that country. right now president obama is still wrapping up a council meeting, basically a trade meeting that's taking place across the block from us. in a matter of moments our cameras are watching the road between the white house and that building. we expect president obama to walk across to the white house for a meeting that will take place in the situation room with members of his national security council. we're told that in attendance will be secretary of defense chuck hagel, the chairman of the joint chiefs, martin dempsey and it's expected that secretary of state john kerry will be among those in attendance as well.

john kerry is presently with the president in that trade council meeting taking place right now. as evidenced by the president's conversations yesterday, we were read out on the conversations with congressional leaders who were here yesterday. president obama made it very clear that he did not -- he didn't believe he needed new congressional authorization to act in terms of what's taking place in iraq which would seem to be the clearest indication right now that this white house is leaning away from any large-scale type of air strikes and instead considering more seriously what we have heard from other administration officials which is the idea of potentially sending in special forces to iraq. those on the ground that can help advise the iraqi military but also help pinpoint targets in that country. that's one of the real challenges that exists right now, one of the concessions that members of the administration have made is the ability, really, to nail down that the targets that they would be looking at, it's anticipated

that one of the announcements could be the decision that they will have more pinpointed targeted strikes, drone type strikes like we've seen in pakistan and yemen. i've been told president obama has still not yet made up his mind on exactly what decision he will make. it's likely that that decision will have to be made in the course of that meeting to take place very shortly. >> also, peter, as we understand, as the president weighs those options there's also a focus in d.c. on malachy's future and whether or not there will be cause for his regular nation. >> reporter: that's right. i asked an administration official this question a matter of minutes ago and they pushed back on the idea that the suggestion from the iraqi government that president obama or this white house is in any way suggested that malachy must go for the u.s. to go forward with any air strikes of any sort in that country. the administration official told me, they said, this is a sovereign country, iraq is right

now. it's not u.s. territory. that's a decision the iraqi people and the iraqi leaders will have to make for themselves. i think what's very clear, at least from this white house, is the idea that the obama administration believes they tried this once with saddam hussein. that didn't work out very well. there's a lot more nuance that will need to take place for this to work. >> as i mentioned we have with us michelle cabrera standing by. we know there's fighting raging on right now for the control of this oil refinery. there's great concern regarding the military response but also what this might do to the world markets, especially as it relates to oil. >> reporter: yeah, so iraq is one of the largest producers of oil in the world and that's why there's a big focus from the oil markets on what is happening here in iraq. there's still alack of clarity

of what is happening with the refinery which is about two hours west of where i am. in the last two days we've seen reports that there are battles raging there between the government and the militants. there are times when the government says they have control and then there are times when the associated press for example reports that eye witnesses say that there are black flags the hanging at the refinery suggesting that the sunni militants are in control, competing claims and a total lack of clarity. we know that the refinery is off line so it's unable to produce gasoline and that's had a ripple effect across the country. here in kurdistan, there are huge long lines at the gas stations because so many people have been displaced from the central part of the country. the population has risen and yet they don't have gasoline to supply to them. it's really become a very intense situation. especially since remember, it's 109 degrees in the middle of the day. if you are in a car for four or five hours, if it runs out of gas and you have to push it, it's a really, really brutal

situation. certainly not as brutal as war, but we are seeing the effects. down south in boz ra is where the majority of oil production is in iraq. they're producing 3.5 million barrels of oil every day because of militants aren't down there. the production has been unaffected. there have been reports of nonessential workers being evacuated, ex patriots being evacuated and keeping the locals working. therefore, the supply to the oil markets in the world has not dropped in any way. however, oil prices are at a nine-month high because there are fears for the possibility of future disruptions so a lot of traders are pricing that. that's probably going to affect gas prices in the next couple of weeks. now let me bring in congressman gregory meeks of new york, a member of the house foreign affairs committee. thank you so much for your time. >> good being with you. >> as you well know, we're expecting to hear from the president an hour and a half from now regarding the crises in

iraq. do you support air strikes? what do you see as the priority option, the option that should be pursued first here? >> number one, i agree with general petraeus that we don't want to be in a situation where it looks like we are the air force for the shiites or we are against the sunni. it's got to be something that's a collaborative event where the iraqis, both the kurds, the shiites and the sunnis have got to come together there. therefore, there needs to be some demands on malachy to show that there's going to be an inclusive government. otherwise, just to bomb for the sake of bombing is not going to be the solution. i understand if you have a certain target that is important for us and we're doing it in a

regional way because other countries are involved also and i think it's very important and i've been listening for that, if there's an agreement or a point of talking, i would listen to the president as i did previously. i think i'll be open ears. i don't see just going in to drop bombs to drop bombs. that's not the way to go. >> to your point and peter alexander in washington d.c. discussed the fact that within washington there's great concern about malachy's future and whether or not there will be a push for his resignation. richard engle reported that malachiy priority was military and not reconciliation or a government of inclusion, that his focus was perhaps military support from the united states and not doing some of the very things that you outlined. so what would be the consequences? how do we push this partner if he is that to these things that are necessary to quell this violence? >> when you do that, then you

got to look at what's in america's national interest? clearly it's not in our national interest to be involved in a sectarian war. that's not -- if there's no danger to america and to americans in that regard, there's no -- and i don't see an immediate danger despite what an individual who used to be the vice-president of the united states has said, led this country down a road with his irresponsible decisions when he was in office and try to take us right back there, when clearly we lost 4,500 lives as a result of those bad decisions. how dare he come and raise his ugly head at this time. i'm sorry, i'm upset about that. but the president, i think, is doing something in a calm way. he's checking all of the intelligence and trying to make that determination. i will be carefully listening to what the president has to say in regards to what his plans are and be judged accordingly. i will attend, for example, as

many classified hearings as i possibly can and meetings so i can obtain knowledge. i'm not ready to sha ridgeink am making a decision. i was back in 2002 and 2003 i was in congress on the foreign affairs committee and i listened and i gave president bush and then vice-president cheney every opportunity to convince me there was a connection to 9/11 or weapons of mass destruction. they did not show it because it wasn't there. i voted no and i'm ready to do what i think is the right thing. >> obviously i see your frustration and quite honestly, your anger, regarding former vice-president's words, this op-ed in which he says that rarely has a u.s. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many. i want to play when this question was posed at the daily

briefing with jay carney and his response. >> he said rarely has a u.s. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many, talking about the situation in iraq. >> which president was he talking about? >> that drew laughs but caught a lot of attention. which president is he talking about. do you believe he's attempting to erase history and decisions that he pushed and at one point were decisions that we know george bush did not support? >> sitting here and listening to that and listening to the laughter, at least he's being consistent. he was dead wrong then and dead wrong now and he's never been right. i just wish that we stop covering him. all the evidence is in. everything that he said back in 2002 and 2003 -- >> what do you believe is motivating vice-president cheney? what's the motivation here? >> i have no clue.

the guy should just go stay retired, take care of his health and just keep his mouth shut. senator mccain said something about firing people. if anybody should fire anybody, cheney should fire all of his people and mccain should fire all of his because they haven't been right on anything. >> congressman meeks, thank you so much for your time. we greatly appreciate it. thank you, sir. in about an hour and 15 minutes we should hear more from president obama regarding this crises in iraq and the battle over iraq's main oil refinery is fueling another spike in prices today on world markets. the world benchmark price for oil surged more than a dollar today to over $114.50 a barrel and partly because of turmoil in iraq, gas prices here in the united states are up two cents a gallon in the past two days. joining me mandy drury. i see the dow is down 25 points but obviously we're bracing for

the potential for much worse. >> reporter: if anyone was thinking they would have a reprieve this summer, think again. the potential for significant disruption in oil's production, that potential could push gas prices here in the united states, tamron, much higher. whether or not they would match or even exceed that record that we saw of $4.34 a gallon back in july of 20008 remains to be seen. remember back then crude prices briefly touched $140 a barrel so we're not there yet. but a regular oil guest on cnbc says that if we do see a significant disruption of iraqi oil exports, you could see crude spike up to maybe $125 a barrel which could place the national average retail price for gasoline above $4 a gallon. now we're $3.67 for regular. that's already about 7 cents higher than a year ago.

so not huge but nonetheless we've got to keep on eye on this and whether or not they'll start creeping higher. back to you. >> mandy, thank you very much. in just a few hours house republicans will meet behind closed doors to elect a new leader. it's described as a mad house over the fight for key leadership positions. we'll have a live report. plus this -- >> the man has a right to run the team and the title. >> this is a change that i think really needs to be made. >> new reaction to the u.s. patent office canceling the trademark for washington's football team, calling it a racial slur and, quote, disparaging. we'll get the latest from the "washington post" reporter who has been covering it for years. plus i'll talk live with a texas father who is being denied parental rights from his between sons because he is gay and he and his husband are not legally recognized as a couple in texas. join our conversation on twitter. find me @tamronhall.

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in a few hours at 2:00 p.m. eastern house republicans will hold a secret vote to elect a new majority leader, that vote comes just nine days after eric cantor's shocking loss in the virginia primary. right now all signs point to california's kevin mccarthy as the man who will become the second most powerful republican in the gop-controlled house. if mccarthy wins, republicans will have to elect a new majority whip as well and that race has become a more unpredictable battle with three contenders for the position. the capitol is, quote, in mad house yesterday with louisiana congressman steve scalise, peter roskam and marlin sutsman

lobbying for the position. joining me with more, perry bacon at the faith and freedom conference in washington d.c., a gathering of conservative activism and lawmakers. it seems at least regarding the majority leader things appear to be tidying up quickly but as mentioned by politico, other leadership issues follow. >> two big stories today. the first is a lot of continuity in terms of the number two job. kevin mccarthy is similar to cantor in terms of political views. they're actually really close friends. so this is a story in itself that cantor lost and we thought it was a big symbol of something, but the republicans in the house said we're going to pick somebody cantor-like. the other race is between roskam and scalise. the contention is there is the republican leadership right now has a person from ohio, boehner,

cantor and somebody from virginia. they say they want someone in leadership to represent them because right now it's too much from the north and too much moderate states. that's the core of the debate between scalise from louisiana and roskam from illinois. >> with that said, perry, you know as well as i do that there was a lot of talk regarding infighting would have ultimately hurt republicans as they head into this mid-term election, there's concern that there would be battles between the tea party and the gop establishment. are you seeing rumblings of that there today? >> not in this race particularly. i think you're going to see that on the campaign trail. next week there's a big race in mississippi between cochran and mcdaniel. that's where it's really playing out, the tea party versus conservative fight. right now most of the candidates running for leadership in the republican party in the house have fairly similar views. the key question will be tactics. in terms of do we see some kind of push for immigration reform in this next six months, in this

next year. it's very likely to be no, but if it's a case where mccarthy and roskam both in leadership are more moderate candidates, there's potential for them to push for immigration reform as a vote before the fall campaign ends. >> thank you very much. greatly appreciate it. washington's nfl team vows to fight the newest ruling that its name is offensive to native americans, what this could mean for that team and some are asking what about the blackha s blackhawks, the braves? as the summer travel season begins there's a new bipartisan plan to raise the federal gas tax for the first time in two decades. what do you think of that? it's our news nation check. here's a look at what is happening today, thursday, june 19th. president obama will award william carpenter the medal of honor for his core ageous actions in afghanistan that saved a fellow marine and left him gravely injured. msnbc will bring you live coverage at 2:00 p.m. in about an hour we will hear

from president obama regarding the crises in iraq. we'll carry those comments as well live. [ woman ] i've always tried to see things from the best angle i could. it's how i look at life. especially now that i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. i was taking warfarin but wondered, could i focus on something better? my doctor told me about eliquis

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♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ welcome barck. the nfl has not commented on the decision from the patent office so cancel trademarks for the redskins. an attorney for the team tells reuters both he and the team's owner, dan snyder, are optimistic about the case to appeal the ruling. >> basic civility, respect and moral decency would tell us that we should do the right thing and change this name. >> as a course of lawmakers of also hailing a decision, a

debate is playing out over the team's fan base over what should ultimately happen. >> obviously the lawyers have spoken, the patent lawyers have spoken, and maybe it's time for a change. >> there's no malice intended by the redskins name and i think the people that are bringing this up are using it as a cause to perhaps force the change. >> i've been a fan for many years and i identify the team as the redskins. however, this is a change that i think that really needs to be made. >> and joining me now, "washington post" editor of the early lead sports blog, cindy bourn. good to see you again. >> hi tamron, how are you. >> great. let's talk first about the fans before we talk about dan snyder and the team. are you seeing a transition or a change within the hard core washington redskins fans, or have people pretty much picked their side and are sticking to it? what are we seeing? what's the feeling?

>> i think it's the latter. we did some extensive polling a year ago and of course a lot can change in a year, but the fans were adamantly in support of the nickname and don't really want to see it changed. we'll see if that changes. we've got another few months to go here and we'll see how this -- we'll see what happens over the next few months. >> what is fueling dan snyder's fight here? is he the kind of owner that says, listen, i'm right, i'm not bulging, i have enough money to wait them out. what's fueling the fire? >> i think it's more elementary for him. i think he grew up a redskins fan. he speaks about that. he loves the team, loves the nim name. there's something else at play here as well. i think the redskins are fundamentally opposed to change and they dig in and pefr change to come on their terms as opposed to being dictated you have to change this right now. >> in 1992 the patent and

trademark opposite ruled similarly as noted by dan snyder's attorney. what do you make of the silence? >> i think they want to -- they've vowed to fight. they're going to do what they did in 1992 when another group of native americans took their case to the patent office and got a similar result. they're going to turn around and head for court, district court in d.c. the last time this happened it took 17 years for the case to sort of wind its way through the courts. it ended up the courts overturned the patent and trademark finding and it went to the supreme court and the supreme court in 2009 declined to hear the case. another group of native americans brought it again to the patent and trademark office and here we are again. the difference now is a whole lot more people are paying attention. >> you know that senator harry reid led the charge. he spoke about this on the senate floor.

other lawmakers now are chiming in saying that it's time to move on from this nickname for this team. the politics of this and the relationship that these lawmakers have, whether they're attending a game, whether they have needed a slap on the back here and there from redskins fans in the city, that's an interesting relationship as well. >> in the last month we've seen some rather interesting developments. we have had 50 members of the senate, the democratic senators, sending a letter to roger goodell, urging him to push sni snyder to change the name. that was -- that got a lot of people's attention. you also have the tv spot that appeared in the nba finals in seven markets. that was very effective as well. so the fight is sort of intensifying. i'm just not sure that that won't cause the nfl to dig in a little bit more right now. >> thank you very much. great reporting as always. good to see you. >> thanks. we're going to go back to

the breaking news of the day. president obama will speak in just about an hour from now about the u.s. response to the crises in iraq as fighting continues there right now. nbc senior political it had ter mark murray is next with the president's option on the table. we're learning more about that truck driver and what he was doing in the moments leading up to that deadly accident involving tracy morgan. as you well know, tracy morgan was seriously injured, one of his friends killed. we've got new information on that driver. it's one of the stories we are following around the news nation. ne of the most amazing things we build and it doesn't even fly. we build it in classrooms and exhibit halls, mentoring tomorrow's innovators. we build it raising roofs, preserving habitats and serving america's veterans. every day, thousands of boeing volunteers help make their communities the best they can be. building something better for all of us. ♪

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mark, we heard that was a possibility earlier in the week when we got the information that some 200 or so, nearly 300, would be sent there to secure the embassy. we were just talking about congressman meeks of new york, and he strongly believes, like so many others, that this government, the administration, has to look at maliki and what role he will play in the future. you pointed that out today. >> that's right. that's the linchpin in all of this. if the united states is going to intervene there has to be assurances that the maliki government will be one that will incorporate the minorities, the sunnis, to be a much more inclusive government, one that has a functioning military which we've seen has been a very big problem there. it doesn't do any good for the united states to launch air strikes or send additional thousands of troops on the ground if all you're doing is propping up a government that's going to collapse once the

united states decides to leave, whenever that is. so that has been president obama's top goal, to say that any assistance has to be linked with some type of political resolution and political reassurance. the big question is it doesn't look like that's going to be on the horizon at least in the short term. >> what's also at least some see it as short-term conversations that -- i shouldn't say that. this is a long-term conversation and it is the finger pointing regarding iraq. i guess where i was going with the short-term, i think it is for some people, the short-term way to get the headline to criticize the administration in the way that we're seeing, particularly with vice-president cheney here. mark, it does muddy the waters when you see members of congress and former leaders attacking the president in this way without options being put on the table to legitimately debate here. >> we're currently in a political environment, tamron, where everything seems to be on the table as far as political

tax go. it was interesting there were so many holes in the bowe bergdahl prisoner swap release. when you take a step back and look at how quickly that got politicized and the capture of one of the benghazi master minds when he was arrested recently. everything is fair game. everything is controversial. there's no one issue where everyone now agrees upon. you can add iraq into this and it has been striking that so many of the architects of the 2003 iraq war have been coming out to criticize the obama administration. it's nothing new when former vice-president dick cheney is criticizing president obama. he's done it time and time again. instead of people almost rolling up their sleeves, okay, what do we do in this situation. as you kind of pointed out, it becomes finger pointing, who can get one upsmanship five months from now. >> thank you, mark. greatly appreciate you joining us. >> thank you. when american apparel fired

its founder and ceo following serious claims of sexual harassment, it's one of the stories we're following around the news nation today.

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there was like an i haderuption on my skingles. and burning. i'd lift my arm and the pain back here was excruciating. when i went to the doctor his first question was "did you have chickenpox?" i thought it was something that, you know, old people got. how can a tablet replace your laptop? start with the best writing experience. make it incredibly thin. add an adjustable kickstand, a keyboard, a usb port, and the freedom of touch. and, of course, make it run microsoft office, with the power and speed to do real work.

introducing surface pro 3. the tablet that can replace your laptop. we have new information on the crash that seriously injured tracy morgan and killed one man. it's our look the stories around the nation today. preliminary reports by federal investigators indicate that the driver of the tractor-trailer that slammed into morgan's limo was speeding at the time of the crash. the report found that the driver, the truck driver, kevin roper, was driving at 65 miles per hour despite a sign advising drivers to slow from 55 to 45 an hour because of construction. american apparel's bored of directors is firing the company's controversial ceo. the bored says the decision to remove dov charney stems from alleged misconduct. he has been at the center of numerous sexual harassment

lawsuits. two gay fathers are fighting the state of texas because it is refusing to acknowledge them as dads. jason hannah and joe rigs have twin newborn baby boys. each dad biologically fathered the twins. a judge denied their petition to put their names on their children's birth certificates. the judge also denied to cross-adopt each other's boys. they're afraid if something happens to one father, the other won't be able to keep the husband's biological child. joining me now is one of those dads, jason hannah and gabriel plow, executive director of the family council. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> take me through the process, i know you and joe decide that you want -- i'm so sorry. jason, you and joe decide you want to have a child together, you want to father two beautiful

babies. you get your dream. did it ever cross your mind during those nine months of waiting to meet your own children that you would be in this situation? >> to be honest, no. even on the day of the court last week, i went into it very optimistic and had a couple friends ask me if i was concerned about the adoption not being granted. to be honest with you, i didn't. we are the biological dads. we have the paperwork. there's no reason why we should not have full adoption rights to our own children. >> when you heard the judge's decision that the petition was denied, what went through your mind? i know part of it was the concern that if something happened to joe, what would then happen to your children. >> honestly, we were kind of in shock as the judge was speaking. obviously some legal jargon that we don't necessarily know, but after, in speaking to our attorney, he explained exactly

what happened, we were in shock. we expect a family court to act in the best interest of our children. two parents versus one parent is obviously in our opinion not in the best interest in our children. >> gabriel, jason and joe legally married in d.c. last year. texas law -- and i love that you said all the legal jargon because i think a lot of people would certainly be able to identify with that. according to texas law, without a legally recognized marriage it's almost impossible for same same sex parents to adopt. it's clear as to whether lgbt parents can legally adopt meaning it varies from judge to judge or county to county which is a level of uncertainty no parent should have to endure. >> there's a patch work of laws in this country governing families. the only people who suffer are the children. right now we have two newborns in texas, jason and joe's children, who are not legally protected by having a

relationship with their own parents. the patch work itself is a problem. marriage itself does not solve all the issues. we need to ensure that there's access to joint adoption for all families across the country. this is not just for gay and lesbian families but for all families. children need that kind of protection. frankly, we think in this case the court ruled in way that's incorrect morally, ethically. >> what are the options? >> they have a number of options. i'm going to leave it to them and their lawyers to decide what's best for them. there are judges that we understand in texas who will grant an adoption potentially. they can go back to this judge and refile their petitions. each of these issues has to be considered for the family situation and for that state. that's one of the problems our millions of families are facing across the country. it is so individualized by state, by judge, and by family

story. >> jason, do you know what you plan to pursue, the option that suits both you and joe the best at this point? >> as gabriel mentioned, we do have a couple different options that we're reviewing with our attorney this afternoon. our main priority right now is to ensure that our boys are protected. we are doing that the best way that we can. we're hoping and will continue to fight this until our adoptions are granted. >> quickly here, what does it mean to be a dad? we just had father's day. what does it mean to be the father of those beautiful babies? >> it's absolutely a blessing. as they get a little older and they're interacting and smiling and cooing and looking at you, it's an absolute blessing and we wouldn't trade it for the world. >> jason, since i am a texan, if you and joe need a babysitter, when those kids know how to make a margmargarita, i'll come back when they're old enough, 21. >> we will take you up on that.

>> thank you. we wish you the best of luck. there's a new push fo give workers flexibility on where and when their work gets done. it would allow you to care for your child or a sick parent and work. i'll talk to an individual who is behind this move that could go national. the federal gas tax could be raised for the first time in 20 years. how does that pump you up? we'll be right back. get it? [ mom ] hi, we're the pearsons, and we love chex cereal. so we made our own commercial to tell you why. chex makes seven gluten free flavors. like cinnamon, honey nut, and chocolate. when you find something this good, you want to spread the word. [ all ] we love chex! you want t♪ spread the word. they lived. ♪ they lived. ♪ they lived. ♪

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researchers at johns hopkins have just released a new study finding more and more young mothers are single. the study looked at women between 26 and 31. those younger single moms are among the most likely to benefit from a new bill being proposed in new york city. that would push businesses to offer more flexible work

schedules. the measure would guarantee workers the right to ask for schedule changes to care for family members while ensuring that they are not being punished for asking. the measure is being backed by new york city's comptroller who also released a report with stunning facts about the city's workforce, including 75% of employees don't even have enough time to spend with their children. it's an idea that, if passed, in our nation's large oast city, could gain traction across the nation. john stringer joins me now. >> great to be back. >> you have a 2 1/2-year-old and a 1 1/2-year-old. this hits home as a politician and as a dad. mirchlths wife and i start scheduling and strategizing about how we move our kids around starting at 5:00 in the morning. and we both work for a living. so in order to keep the household move, we do need a little help sometimes. and what flex time is all about is just giving that little flexibility in the workplace to

be stronger at home. and the report that we issued showed some really, i think, important statistics. here's another one. 51% of low wage workers are also head of household. single parents. so they definitely need some help at work. and what our legislation, our proposal, which is right to request is to create a safe place where you can sit with your boss and say, look. can i have a little flexible schedule? can i come in a little later, work a little later, so that will get me the opportunity to care for my parent or grandparent or our little babies. >> right now if that happens, if someone goes into their employer and says i need that time, my mother is ill, my child is ill and i need this time, they can be punished for that? >> i think people are afraid to go to their employer because somehow because you may have a child you have to take care of, you may be a single parent that somehow you're going to be off the fast track. oh, they have family or personal issues so maybe we'll go look at

someone else for career advancement. now part of this is companies are starting to understand that to be competitive, working flexibly is also good for business. we've talked to the business community in new york and the response has been very strong. we do not want to go back to a place in the mad men economy. we want to become the 21st century workforce. >> if a worker feels supported by their employer, if they are happy and able to attend their child's graduation, they're going to put more back into that company. but part of this right to request would not actually, as i understand, force employers to grant the schedule but they could not fire, reprimand or deny a promotion at the heart of this. this could actually leave new york's borders and be a national idea. >> congressman carolyn maloney is carrying this bill nationally. we think what happens in new york does have an impact in

other major cities. look. let's be honest. big cities are compete with each other. people want to attract the best and the brightest. people care about open space, they care about schools and also some flexibility because they want to raise families where they work and i think this is going to be one of those 21st century economic issues that will bring people to think about new ways to engage corporations. >> thank you for coming on. despite having a 2 1/2-year-old and a 1-year-old, you need your sleep. there's a lot going on this morning. here some are things we thought you should know. former congressman gabby giffords threw out the first pitch at last night's congressional women's softball game. she had played herself before being critically injured in 2011. she actually tweeted 50 cent saying bet you my first pitch will be better than yours was. well, 50 was ridiculed for this pitch. you might recall at the mets game back in may. love seeing her there.

love seeing her play baseball. good game there. that's just something we thought you should know today. a pair of senators are proposing a bipartisan plan that would raise the federal tax on gas for the first time in 20 years. the proposal by senators bob corker and chris murphy would raise the tax from 18.4 cents a gallon to 30.4 cents a gallon over the next two years. that, by the way, a hike of 12 cents. the senators say the higher tax is nose prevent the federal highway trust fund from running out of money this summer. that fund of federal money pays for about half the country's transportation projects. the senators say congress has been passing the buck since the last time they raised the tax, 1993. conservative groups denounce the move. they say states and not the federal government should be responsible for infrastructure projects. what does your gut tell you? do you agree with the bipartisan plan for a 12-cent gas tax increase to pay for highway transit programs?

i can't wait to see the results of this. go to newsnation.msnbc.com. we'll have the results for you tomorrow on that one. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. tomorrow, actor eric dane enemy tnt's "the last ship" will join us. we're following the breaking news, hearing more from president obama regarding the crisis in iraq. my colleague andrea mitchell will take over. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. 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.

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with john kerry. >> there are some seernl officials quoted in various accounts saying that their strikes of off the table. that the u.s. is no longer considering that. is that true? >> nothing is off the table. all options are still available to the president. the president has not made the decision on those options. we are very intensely vetting each of the possibilities. good day. i'm andrea mitchel in washington. as iraq continues to unravel, president obama will be making a statement shortly after meet with his national security advisers. secretary of state john kerry defended the administration's handling of events in an exclusive interview on "today" with nbc's savannah guthrie. >> did you act too slowly? maliki was asking for help with air strikes in the