plan, a good way to lose weight by not being able to keep my breakfast down. if it's way too early, it's "morning joe." right now we've got "the daily rundown" with kristen welker. see you tomorrow, guys. solemn movement. this morning as the remains of two-star general harold greene are coming home to the u.s., we'll go live to dover air force base in delaware as family, friends and the military pay their respects. meantime, what will happen as the final minutes of a 72-hour cease-fire tick down in the middle east? we'll go live to tel aviv and we'll talk to white house deputy national security adviser ben rhodes. plus, it's an unusual thursday primary day in tennessee, as lamar alexander tries to hold on to his senate seat and hawaii braces for twin hurricanes landing just as their primary is set for saturday. and a very good morning from washington. it is thursday, august 7th,

2014. this is "the daily rundown." i'm kristen welker in for chuck todd. developing news this hour, a solemn movement at dover air force base this very hour. the body of army two-star major general harold greene is being brought home two days after his killed in kabul in an insider attack by an good afternoon soldier. greene is the highest ranking member of the u.s. military to die in the line of duty in afghanistan. we're expecting to see the dignified transfer live and we will bring that to you when it happens. we want to turn now to the latest on the cease-fire between israel and hamas. talks continue in cairo with just under 16 hours left until the three-day cease-fire is set to end. israel withdrew its troops from the gaza strip on tuesday after declaring it had completed its mission to destroy the cross-border tunnels built by hamas. on wednesday an israeli government spokesperson told nbc news israel has no problem with an unconditional extension of the cease-fire and another israeli source said they already

passed on their approval for an extension and were just waiting for a response from hamas. but a member of the hamas delegation in cairo on wednesday tweeted that there was no agreement on extending the truce yet. the month-long war has killed over 1800 palestinians, 67 israelis, including three civilians and wounded almost 10,000 more. joining me now, nbc's jim maceda in tel aviv. so, jim, what is the very latest on the talks? we're getting a lot of conflicting reports about where they stand right now. >> reporter: hi there, kristen. well, you're right, there is a lot of conflicting comments coming out from various sources, always unnamed. we know this. we know that the diplomatic activity has been fast and furious with israeli delegates shuttling between cairo and jerusalem and u.s. and u.n. officials scurrying between the egyptian mediators in cairo and both the israeli and palestinian representatives there, trying to get at least something down on

paper. even just a basic outline of an agreement that would allow for an extension of the cease-fire. it all seems to boil down to this. the egyptians are trying to persuade the israelis to postpone any discussion at all on their key demand, which is the disarming of hamas and other militant groups. what they're calling the demillization of gaza. israel would agree to at least some of the palestinian demands. including the big ones like the complete lifting of the block aid. also the opening of the border crossings. but the israelis have been holding firm so far on that demille demilitarization issue. and this deal if it is in fact true would not go down well here

in israel with the public. it would be seen -- israel would be seen to caving into hamas' demands and getting really only the promise of peace in return. meanwhile, we're hearing on israel radio quoting an unnamed political source saying that the cease-fire will indeed be extended. so we're just going to have to wait and see, the old cliche, kristen. if it doesn't happen, i can tell you that hamas and islamic jihad have already pledged to launch rockets as soon as the deadline passes. back to you. >> jim maceda as always, thank you for your reporting, we really appreciate it. president obama said wednesday that the u.s. supports the peace talks in cairo but longer term efforts must address the deepening humanitarian crisis in gaza. >> i think we've got to let the science guide us. you know, i don't think all the information is in on whether this drug is helpful. >> and wrapping up a summit with african leaders, the president said the u.s. is sending first

responders to west africa to help control the ebola outbreak. you heard him just addressing that there, but said it's premature to send in a new ebola drug. in geneva this morning -- >> let the science guide us. you know, i don't think all the information is in on whether this drug is helpful. in geneva this morning, the world health organization held an emergency meeting to determine whether the ebola outbreak now qualifies as a public health emergency. the public also responded to president putin's announcement that russia will ban food imports from the west in retaliation for new sanctions. the president said he's concerned about russian troops massing on the ukrainian border but rejected the idea of providing arms to ukraine. take a listen. >> we don't know yet whether sanctions are working. sanctions are working as intended in putting enormous pressure and strain on the russian economy. now, if you start seeing an invasion by russia, that's

obviously a different set of questions. >> back at home, president obama is grappling with what kind of action he can take on the border without congress. asked if he plans to grant work permits to undocumented immigrants, the president said he has to make choices about how to allocate resources. >> if i'm going to, for example, send more immigration judges down to the border to process some of these unaccompanied children that have arrived at the border, then that's coming from someplace else and we're going to have to prioritize. that's well within our authorities and prosecutorial discretion. >> ben rhodes joins us now from the white house to break it all down. ben, thanks for joining me, appreciate it. >> good morning, kristen. >> let's start with the mideast peace talks. you heard jim maceda reporting

egyptian mediators are trying to get israel to postpone some of their demands. would you support that? would the administration support that? and what is your level of optimism at this point that a broader truce can be brokered? >> well, first of all, kristen, the short-term cease-fire has held. we see that as a positive development. israel has been able to complete its operation in destroying those tunnels, which is a significant achievement for them. now they are negotiating these long-term issues around gaza. what we believe is the issue of hamas being able to stockpile rockets, the armaments of hamas must be addressed as part of that process in terms of getting a sustainable solution so we support the notion that there has to be a clear part of this proposal that gets at hamas' ability not just for fire rockets but to stockpile those rockets. at the same time, there needs to be improvements for the quality of life in gaza. that's going to take some time to negotiate so it's quite likely there will have to be some type of extension of this

short-term cease-fire while they negotiate those longer term issues. >> ben, just to be specific about the question of what israel should do, do you support israel postponing some of their demands to move forward this these talks? >> israel is entirely right, that the long-term goal here has to be the demilitarization of gaza in exchange for significant improvements in the quality of life in gaza. how that is sequences, what the timelines are, what the modalities are, that's what's being discussed in cairo right now. of course israel has to be focused on that question and they're going to continue to be in the negotiations. the united states has a team on the ground working with israelis and palestinians. so the sequencing and implementation of those objectives, that is going to be something that is done over time. but in the meantime i think it's important that this cease-fire hold so that we can give space

to these negotiations to go forward. >> and, ben, obviously there has been broad condemnation of the high civilian death toll in gaza, also reports that prime minister netanyahu told secretary kerry not to ever second-guess me again when it comes to dealing with hamas. has the relationship between the u.s. and israel deteriorated in the wake of this latest round of fighting in the middle east? >> reporter: no, kristen, what we have is a foundation with israel. the foundation of that relationship is we support israel's security, we support their right to defend themselves and those bonds are unbreakable frankly between the united states and israel. they span administrations. they include, of course, a deep affinity between our peoples. however, we did have differences around making sure that care is being teen avoid civilian casualties. we were very clear when we thought that there were incidents where there was not appropriate care taken and we had deep concerns about, for instance, shelling of some of those u.n.-run facilities.

those are, again, differences that we can articulate publicly and we did, but on the basic foundation, the relationship, we continue to support israel's security, their right to defend themselves, and that will endure. >> ben, i want to get to two other topics on russia. president obama said it's too early to tell whether sanctions are working and yet president putin doesn't seem to be deterred. he is moving forward with these bans on agriculture and food imports. isn't the best measure really to determine if these sanctions are working what putin's actions are? he doesn't seem to be slowing down here. >> well, i'd just make three points, kristen. first of all, the sanctions are working in that they're having a significant impact on the russian economy, which is grinding to a halt and seeing massive capital flight. the second point is these types of actions by putin only further cut him off from the global economy. when you look at the economy of the united states and europe against russia's, there's no question which is stronger. putin just digs a deeper hole for russia.

but the third point is absolutely, what we want to do in the long term is affect the calculus of russia as they make decisions about supporting these separatists. we're going to send a message to russia that is consistent, which is we're going to keep ratcheting up the costs if you do not pull back and de-escalate the situation. >> ben, i want you to clarify something president obama said yesterday in that press conference on immigration and the crisis at the border. he said if i'm going to send more immigration judges down to the border to process children, then that's coming from someplace else and we're going to have to prioritize. what specifically does that mean? does that mean that we're going to see more people issued work permits? that more people here illegally are going to be allowed to stay? >> well, kristen, i'm certainly not going to get ahead of any particular announcements or decisions in this space. the one thing i would say is in the absence of congress taking action to provide additional resources, that leaves the president to make decisions about how he's going to apportion the resources that we

have. so if week going to extend the resources, we have to deal with this situation on the border, that's going to take congress acting. >> ben, really quickly, it seemed like the president is saying he's open to doing something big when it comes to this executive action that we anticipate he's going to announce at the end of the summer. is that a fair way to characterize his thinking at this point in time? >> well, again, kristen, i've got my hands full with lots of international crises. what i will say is what the president is going to be focused on is how can you look at the situation that we have in the country, the immigration system that is broken, the failure of congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform or to put forward additional resources that deal with the situation on the border. he as an executive will have to make decisions about what to do with the resources we have available and what he can do with the powers he has available to fix parts of our immigration system. >> all right, ben rhodes. we know you've got your hands very full so we really appreciate you taking time to talk to us this morning. thank you. >> thanks, kristen. coming up later this hour,

the dignified transfer of major general harold greene, killed in afghanistan on tuesday. we will have live and complete coverage just ahead. but next, naacp president cornell brooks in his first live television appearance. today president obama signs the va reform bill into law and later a house hearing on ebola. i'll speak to the lawmaker leading that hearing. they'll have lots of questions in that hearing. more tdr in just three minutes. stay with us. [ female announcer ] it's simple physics...

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democrats believe drawing president obama's 2012 coalition young female and minority voters to the polls in the states that count can save their senate majority in the fall. the question is will

african-american voters who were key to the president's success in 2008 and 2012 turn out in a midterm year where enthusiasm is down all across the board? in 2012 black voters turned out at a higher rate than white voters. 66% of african-american voters showed up at the polls. but the rate of african-american participation has fallen off in every midterm election since 1998. in 2010 just 40% of black voters turned out. there are worrying signs for participation this year as well. in our nbc news/wall street journal poll just 45% of black voters called themselves very interested in the fall elections, fewer than the number of white and hispanic voters who said the same. they are worried about new restrictive voting laws in 22 states. 49 years after president lyndon johnson signed the voting rights act into law, a new report released wednesday by voting rights advocates details

discrimination that has continued to occur over the last two decades. the supreme court's decision a year ago to invalidate key parts of the voting rights act was a primary topic at the naacp convention just last month. new president cornell william brooks said when he hears questions about whether the organization is still relevant, his answer is "are you serious?" >> we have state after state after state after state pursuing and passing these voter i.d. laws. mom, forgive me for being personal, but i've just got to go there. when your daddy fought to secure the right to vote and you marched in the late '50s and '60s, when you've got to walk around your apartment with a walker trying to find the form of i.d., that's not right. >> brooks has a background as a minister and a civil rights

attorney. he ran for congress in virginia in 1998 and nine years later became the head of the new jersey institute for social justice which worked with governor chris christie on criminal justice reform. he takes the helm of the naacp at a time when the fatal chokehold on new yorkers eric garner raises new questions about race relations and police brutality. >> when we have a young man on the streets of new york subjected to an illegal chokehold, forced to the ground, a knee placed on his neck, his lungs compressed, stretching and straining for oxygen, it was called lynching then. it's lynching now. >> joining me for his first interview on national television since starting as the president of the naacp, cornell william brooks. mr. brooks, thank you so much

for joining me this morning, and congratulations. >> good morning. thank you, it's an honor to be here. >> well, let's just start right there with those impassioned words that you had about the death of eric garner. i know that you met with the new york police commissioner, bill bratton. are you satisfied with the results of that meeting? are you confident that there's going to be a full and swift investigation into mr. garner's death? >> i can't speak to you the progress that has been made thus far, but i believe that commissioner bratton is headed in the right direction. to the degree that everyone is committed to a full accounting, a full and thorough investigation, we're satisfied. but given the tragedy of mr. garner's death, given the expectations of the citizens of new york, the country and indeed the world, we await the outcome of the investigation with a great deal of anticipation. >> let me read you something

that you wrote specifically about the larger implications of the death. you wrote garner's death is not a symbol, his death is a heart-breaking symptom of the untested and overaggressive policing culture that has become common place from new york to california. it is part of a sequence of tragedies that have seared the names of rodney king. i'm going to have to interrupt this conversation for one minute and i apologize, mr. brooks. we're going to go to dover air force base where we are watching the dignified transfer of major general greene. the remains of the two-star general, harold greene, are now back on u.s. soil. we want to bring in jim miklaszewski, our pentagon correspondent. what do you make of the fact that this is being broadcast live, mik, and what more do we know about how he was killed? >> reporter: well, since 2009 on the agreement and permission from the families of the fallen,

live coverage, video coverage of the returns of the remains of america's fallen from the wars in iraq and afghanistan has been permitted at dover. general harold greene's family agreed to allow media to cover the return of major general greene, who was killed in afghanistan on tuesday, kristen. >> mik, he was killed by an afghan soldier. there's a tragic irony to this. he was, of course, charged with training these afghan forces in how to take over, because the u.s. is drawing down its troops there. what more do we know about the soldier who killed him and the broader implications of that? >> reporter: well, according to military officials we talked to this morning, there's really nothing new yet on the investigation at least that they can report. we know that the shooter was a

two-year afghan military veteran who had no record of any kind of self radicalization, no record of any kind of contacts, communications with the taliban. they believe it may have been just a one off, somebody who suddenly snapped and opened fire on that contingent of americans, isaf forces and afghan forces at the afghan military academy. the investigation, as i said, is ongoing. of the eight who were wounded, they're all said to be recovering. none of their wounds are life threatening. as of this morning, they know who pulled the trigger, they know the circumstances, but they still don't know the motive. and since the shooter himself was shot and killed in return fire, they may never know what drove him to pull the trigger on u.s. forces there in afghanistan. >> mik, i want to bring in

colonel jack jacobs who is watching this somber dignified transfer. colonel jacobs, what are your thoughts? what is the symbolism behind what we're witnessing right now? >> well, we've always talked continuously about treating our men and women in uniform with respect. that's why it was interesting that it took such a long time for the defense department to come to the agreement that we need to be able to show the return of our heroes, our fallen, because they are treated with respect. it's important that we do this so we don't forget what they have done not only for us but for other people who are seeking freedom. we should keep remembering what they have done for the united states of america. as you can see, they call it a dignified transfer. it is very, very dignified and

it brings to light the somberness with which we accept the fallen. >> and we see general odiarno there. this is a military family. this is moments ago, by the way, what we're witnessing. we're just replaying this dignified transfer. in fact let's just watch for a few seconds. the dignified transfer of major general greene who was killed by an afghan soldier.

>> and you are watching the dignified transfer of the remains of major general greene, the highest ranking official in afghanistan to be killed. we will continue with our coverage after a quick break. major greene referred to as a hero by family and friends. we'll be right back. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location.

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more of our exclusive first national interview with the new president of the naacp, cornell william brooks. we had to take a brief break due to some really important breaking news. thank you for your patience, mr. brooks, we appreciate it. >> of course, absolutely. >> i want to pick up where we left off, which is on the larger kp implications of the death of eric garner. you wrote in an op-ed, quote, garner's death is not a symbol. his death is a heart-breaking symptom of the untested and overaggressive policing culture that has become commonplace from new york to california. talk about that culture, mr. brooks. what can be done with it, because there's been a lot of discussion about community policing, and yet it's 2014 and you still have instances like this. >> yes. we believe at the naacp that based upon the best research, the experiences of people in communities all across the country, that police departments

can best serve the public when they both protect and respect the communities that they serve. community policing makes it easier to protect communities, but also protect the lives of police officers who serve those communities. and so it's a matter of demonstrating fairness and proportionality and not punishing people for small quality of life crimes. >> you have talked about the need to improve those processes. critics would say when you look at a place like new york, we've actually seen crime statistics go down. it has been criticized for being overly aggressive in its methods, but what do you say to those critics who say, wait a minute, new york might be doing something right? obviously the eric garner situation a tragedy, but is there something to be learned in what's happening there? >> when we look at cities all across the country, there are cities that protect their

communities in ways that are more responsive to the community, that ensure that there are fewer instances like the tragic loss of life in terms of mr. garner. where crime rates have also gone down. so the point being is we can both protect and respect the communities and ensure that the lives of both citizens and police officers are actually safer. there are better ways to do this. even commissioner bratton conceded as much or he made that point as well. >> and i want to just talk about the midterms. >> yes. >> obviously democrats trying to hold on to the senate. they believe that the votes of african-americans will be critical to achieving that. so where are you going to be directing your resources and what is your message to african-american voters about why they should turn out to the polls? as you know, they like the rest of the country are feeling pretty frustrated right now when they look at the inaction in congress. >> i think one of the things that's important for us to do is

to note that today represents the anniversary of the voting rights act. nearly 50 years ago, a band of americans demonstrated both physical courage and moral bravery to secure the right to vote. here we are nearly a half century later in the wake of the shelby versus holden decision which gutted the voting rights act. so we have a generation of people who have grown up in the wake of the civil rights movement who have an opportunity in this upcoming election to send a message to congress that we want the voting rights act restored. we want the kinds of protection that protect not only african-americans but also latinos, also people with disabilities and the young. one of the ways that we can motivate and inspire people to turn out and vote in record numbers is by reminding them that there are those who take for granted your right to vote. there are those who would take

your right to vote away from you. one of the best ways that you can protect your right to vote, your right to make decisions, your right to participate in this democracy is by turning out to vote in record numbers and sending a message to congress. we want the voting rights act restored. >> all right, cornell brooks, thank you so much for your time and your patience also in dealing with the breaking news. we really appreciate your insights this morning. >> thank you, kristen. it's a delight to be here. and we have some more breaking news. nbc's andrea mitchell confirms that secretary of state john kerry is in afghanistan to mediate election disputes there. senior officials traveling with kerry said the u.s. wants to see the ultimate winner inaugurated before the upcoming nato summit in wales september 4th. we will continue to follow his visit there and we'll be back after a quick break. vo: this is the summer. the summer of this.

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the tea party is on the vernal verge of getting shut out in senate primaries this year. when the 2014 midterm cycle began, seven republican senators, including two of the gop's top two leaders, faced primary challenges. but if tennessee's lamar alexander wins tonight, it means the tea party will end 2014 down 7-0. alexander is up against state representative joe carr who has done his best to campaign against alexander's nearly four-decade tenure in washington and his habit of reaching across the aisle. carr has been endorsed by sarah palin and radio host laura ingraham who campaigned for him last month, attacking alexander. >> in 2012, he voted with obama 62% of the time. he is ranked by national journal as the sixth most liberal republican in the u.s. senate. he's been beaten out by people

like john mccain. >> that left alexander defending his voting record, particularly on immigration. >> i voted in 2013, last year, to double border security, to end perpetual amnesty of the 11 million people illegally here and create a legal imization system. i think if anybody has a better idea, they should offer it. >> alexander known for hiking a thousand miles across the state in his first campaign for governor in an iconic red and black checkered black shirt has left nothing to chance, crisscrossing tennessee on a 35-stop bus tour. his campaign has distributed mailers that ask "can we trust joe carr in the united states senate" and attacked carr on common core which carr has argued alexander supports. the state's political establishment is backing alexander who has also the support of former presidential candidates fred tauhompson and

mike huckabee. >> lamar alexander is a conservative united states senator who's earned re-election. he's also my friend of 44 years. >> for anyone who wants to pick a fight with lamar for supposedly not being conservative enough, well, you might want to pick a fight with me first. >> moving on to the unusual saturday primary in hawaii, where two democratic incumbents are in the fiercest dem on dem matchups of the cycle, right now the biggest question is how back-to-back hurricanes barreling towards the islands will affect saturday's vote. congresswoman colleen hanabusa is challenging brian schatz who was picked by the governor to fill the seat of the late senator daniel inouye. though neither side is explicitly talking about race and ethnicity, the issue hangs over the contest. if he wins, schatz would be the

first white senator to represent hawaii since john f. kennedy was president. in her closing ad, hanabusa says she worries hawaii is becoming more than everything else and less like the place we always loved. schatz is featuring his own family. governor ann abercrombie also f a challenge. now, in a closing radio ad, president obama says anner kr n abercrombie is like ohana. he was one of the first people anywhere to step up and support me for president. >> and we will be watching all of it for you. up next, a house committee is holding a special hearing on the ebola outbreak in west

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been reported just this week. the world health organization reports the west african ebola outbreak has killed 932 people and infected at least 1700 others so far. spain is now reporting the first case in europe. two americans, dr. kent brantly and nancy writebol contracted the ebola virus while doing volunteer work in liberia. they are being treated in atlanta. i'm joined now by republican congressman from new jersey, chris smith. he's the chair of the house subcommittee holding hearings on the ebola outbreak this afternoon. thank you for joining us, i appreciate it. >> thank you very much, kristen. >> what is the number one question you want answered today in those hearings? >> well, the number one question is are we doing enough both to contain it in western africa, in the countries that have been affected and for the victims there, but also what precautions are being taken. we had a scare right next to my congressional office in new jersey where a man was in

isolation and believed that there was a risk that he might have ebola. and so we've got to separate hype and concern as to how it's transmitted and what the risks are there. people coming in from airplanes, whether it be newark international or anywhere else, make sure that there's enough surveillance to n suensure thats not passed on and we don't go from 1700 deaths to more. >> i think that's such an important point separating the hype from what we actually know. there was a case in europe. people are being screened when they're coming in from these countries like liberia. are you satisfied, based on the information that you have right now, that the screening procedures that are in place are sufficient enough or do you have some concerns? >> that's a great question. the reason why i called this emergency hearing of my committee is the africa global health human rights committee was to ask those very questions

and to ensure that we have enough personnel, enough of a mobilization. we know w.h.o., the world health organization, is working overtime on this, as is cdc and nih. but we want to make sure questions are answered and whether or not there is a need for additional u.s. funding. is there a policy issue that needs to be addressed. i've been working on what we colony glekall neglected tropics for the entirety of my tenure in congress. this infectious disease while not technically in that grouping parallels it. these diseases are, as we all know, so incredibly lethal that this could break out. i was in legos a number of years ago. it is heavily populated, 21 million plus people. now there is a situation where there are cases in nigeria, so other times it's been way out in

very rural areas and it burnt itself out is probably not the way of putting it, but it ended. but in flare-up, this outbreak has very serious, you know, possibilities of exploding even further. >> and, congressman smith, i just want to get your reaction to something that president obama said yesterday in the news conference that he had held. he said it's too soon to think about fast tracking some of the experimental medications that we know are helping those two americans who are being treated right now in atlanta. do you agree with that assessment? what are the ethics for you behind these experimental medication that's being used? >> another great question. i watched that press conference. i do believe, and that's some of the questions i'll ask dr. frieden from the head of cdc when he appears at 2:00 at my hearing. i am concerned that zmapp, which is what has helped apparently nancy writebol and dr. -- the doctor from samaritan's purse

who has also been affected, dr. brantly, they seem to be improving. now, this has a 50-plus percent fatality rate. other times it's been as rate, other times it's been as high as 90%. there's also a very promising substance of chemical out of a firm in, that was contracted by the department of defense in canada. that has been halted. i will be asking questions as to why it's been halted. remember, fda does first safety and then efficacy, when you have faced with the very high prospects of dying, it seems to me that we need to accelerate efforts, and if people like dr. brandtly want to take the risk of a new medication, they need to be able to take that risk. >> congressman chris smith,

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tennessee rising stars, first up mayoral candidate jeremy cane. our experts say his work in education makes him a standout in the state's political playing field. next up is jeff yarborough. he spent five years of detroit's

mass transit metro. our local experts says harwell -- amy winerich appointed by the governor in 2011. our experts say she's gained a fair amount of democratic and minority support in her time in office. she has focused much of her work on child advocacy and community growth. before we say goodbye for today, a very important programming note, chuck todd is back tomorrow for an hour on the resignation of richard nixon. chuck is talking to prominent

figures, including former senate majority leader bob dole whose close ties date back to 1968 the same year nixon captured the white house. also nixon's white house counsel john dean who spent four months in prison for his role in the watergate cover-up. long-time congressman john conyers the only congressman who voted in favor of impeachment. all that and much more from the daily rundown resignation special at 9:00 a.m. even tomorrow. you do not want to miss that show tomorrow that's for sure. jose diadiaz-balart maps out th president's executive orders, he'll have a live report from hawaii as not one but two storms approaches the hawaiian islands.

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card putin is playing as a war heats up against russia and the west as putin bans nearly $1 billion in american imports. by land and by sea. i'll ask one stake holder in congress exactly what the president needs to do to address the immigration crisis. and we'll take a closer look at desperate attempts to enter this country by raft often in haiti and cuba. plus along same iselle, with julio on her heels, creating a one-two punch heading for the hawaiian islands. good morning, we begin with a -- john kerry has -- mediate election disputes including new