to break the psych cycles of conflict especially sectarian conflict, that have become magnets for violent extremism. countering violent extremeism begins with political, civic and religious leaders rejecting sectarian strife. we have to confront the warped ideologies espoused by terrorists like al qaeda and isil especially their attempt to use islam to justify their violence. i discussed this at length yesterday. these terrorists are desperate for legitimacy, and all of us have a responsibility to refute the notion that groups like isil somehow represent islam because that is a falsehood that embraces the terrorists' narrative. >> as the president mentioned in his keynote address just yesterday, he defended his refusal not to call terrorists muslim orris lick extremists and he warned america must quote, discredit violent ideologies. >> nor should we grant these

terrorists the religious legitimacy that they seek. they are not religious leaders. they are terrorists. and we not at war with islam. we are at war with people who have perverted islam. >> nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker joins us live. kristen, we see two days of the president explaining the description or rhetoric he's chosen to use, but i also think that people want to know what will actually come out of this summit action-wise. >> reporter: that's the big question. critics are saying this is more of an idea summit that there aren't tangibles that are going to be produced. president obama today really gave a rallying cry to the top officials he was speaking to from 60 different countries. said it's important and critical that the international community be unwavering in its fight against isis. today he talked about two new programs to do that including

an information hub, a partnership between the united states and the uae to really combat the vast propaganda machine that we have seen by isis online through social media in terms of recruiting youngsters to come to their cause. he also talked about an exchange program aimed at steering young people away from joining fringe groups, but you're right, tamron. the question is to what extent will this actually have an impact? the president made the point that there would be follow-up summits in addition to this in the run-up of the u.n. meeting a little bit later on this year. now, of course this comes on the heels of just yesterday president obama highlighting pilot programs that exist in minneapolis, los angeles and boston that are aimed at targeting young people mostly muslims, who might be inclined to join isis. those programs include mentoring programs after-school programs job fairs, that would steer young people away from getting engaged in those types of fringe groups. now, violent extremism has been

something that this administration has been focused on for months throughout this entire conflict against isis. they estimate that as many as 3,000 westerners may have traveled overseas to places like iraq and syria to join isis. as many as 150 americans, so this is a big concern on the part of the obama administration. it will continue to be a big part of the talks here as they plan out their strategy to fight isis but tamron going back to your initial point, it is significant that we've heard president obama now address this controversy two days in a row over what to call this group make the argument that calling this islamic extremism only plays into the hands of the terrorists who argue that there is some broader western war against islam and that that coult mattingly lead to more recruiting, so it's an argument that the white house will continue to make as they continue to keep their eye on this mounting terrorism. >> let me bring in the executive director of the arab american

association of new york. she was invited to attend the summit at the white house on countering violent extremism but declined. linda's association released a joint statement with other arab-american and civil groups saying we stand united to express our grave concerns with the framework of countering violent extremism which almost exclusively focuses on muslim communities in the united states and abroad exacerbating the cultures of hostilities and back to the fact that you declined. did you feel that there was nothing there that warranted your voice in this summit? >> i didn't feel like there was going to be the platform for me to speak at a summit like this and didn't want my presence to be kind of showing my support or my approval of the framework. yes, the white house administration is using violent extremism and not saying islamic extremism, but if it's only

about muslims and only muslim leaders were invited and we're only talking about isil and al qaeda, it goes unsaid that the extremism that we're talking about is muslim extremism only so if we're going to talk about violent extremism, why are not talking about all forms of violent extremism. >> the argument would be that those acts of violence carried out have been under the guise of people who say they are acting out of instruction from islam, from paris, to copenhagen to canada. that is what's happening right now, that there perhaps will be another opportunity to talk about extremism and violence but this is what's happening now and it requires our immediate attention. what do you say to that? >> i say that as a government we don't follow the media. >> but the media is not carrying out the acts right? >> absolutely, but the media is covering these types of acts. when we don't look at glen miller who went into a jewish center and shot three people or when we look at michael paige who went into an oak creek and

killed six people. when we look at the rise of hate groups this this country who are majority not muslims, so my point is let's talk about countering violent extremism, but let's look at it all its forms and when we look at muslim community. if you want me to be your partner in countering violent extremism, am i a partner or a suspect as the government continues to have massive operations of spying and in communities across the country, in muslim communities, so while we're inviting the government through the front door they are inviting others through the back door and there's a mistrust between us and law enforcement. let's focus on building trust with muslim communities and not trying to put programs in communities where they -- in boston the executive director of the islamic center in boston wrote a report saying he's not going to be part of this program f.muslim communities won't be partners in this it is not going to work. >> i want to play a conversation that happened on our program on msnbc "hardball." you had the state department spokesperson mary harf talking

with our colleague chris matthews about what can happen and her words were we cannot kill out way out of this war, referring to the war on isis. this morning secretary of state john kerry addressed the controversy. let's play what he said just this morning. >> there's been a silly debate in the media in the last days about what you have to do. you have to do everything. you have to take the people off the battlefield who are there today, but you are kind of stupid if all you do is do that and you don't prevent more people from going to the battlefield. >> your response to this back and forth over this. >> i don't think that killing people who are in the afraid to die, is that the way that we're going to dismantle isil and how we've been able to do that by killing off people. i don't think that that's the answer, and i think it is about a battle of ideologies, but, again, muslim communities need to be partners with government and government needs to treat us as trust the partners not bring me to a summit but then you're having massive operations of spying in my communities that we

come from across the country. this is something that's been proven and shown and in investigative reports. i want to feel like a trusted partner. >> which is why your voice -- you've been on the program before. why your voice i think could have been a valuable part of the summit whether it's objecting to those who were invited or objecting to some of the language. not showing up means you're not included and in this forum with 65 nations. >> i agree, but i don't like to be invited to something that's been cooked up without me. if you're going to talk about countering violent extremism, why weren't we on the table to talk about framework, why weren't civil rights groups and muslim groups, what are best practices, we weren't part of that conversation? >> listening to the president's remarks saying that we cannot focus on religion that calling this islamic extremism legitimizes these individuals who are essentially barbians willing to lives of muslim hand non-muslim people, when you hear

the president say that does that mean that you don't trust the adminstration to be a part of this summit you don't trust at least what the intent of this summit would have been? >> i just think that if we're going to go into these communities and talk about violent extremism, let us be part of the conversation from the beginning. don't invite me and feed me a program and say this is what you're going to do in your community. i come from a community where there's 800,000 muslims in new york. how many people in new york city were involved in talking to the government about that framework? what are the best ways to come into our community and how do you talk to our young people? we know how to talk to our young people, the government doesn't know how to talk to the young people. we felt not included and expressed concerns to the government and no one has responded to us. wrote a letter in december it's february, end of february no one has responded to us so we just felt we weren't going to have the platform needed. open to the media. we were expecting a very controlled environment and we understand that it was and i felt like being on the outside and being able to say moving forward let bring in the muslim community as partners. >> and we have to wrap up but

what is the counter, if you're not going to attend the summit and you believe you know the effective ways to communicate with those in your community who may be enticed by messages online or other methods of bringing them into violence whether it is in minnesota or new york what's the counter to this summit? >> the counter to this summit is for the government to look at american-muslim communities through a civil rights lens and not through a national security lens, talk about how you're going to protect my community so my community can feel worthy enough to look at other opportunities to do countering violence. we do this every day. we have youth programs. this is something that our community has been doing forever. to say that the government is coming in and making us do something new i think is a little bit offensive to the muslim community. >> thank you very much linda. greatly appreciate you joining us, as always. >> developing us now, federal appeals court in boston is considering whether to grant a change of venue request in the dzhokhar tsarnaev trial. lawyers for the boston marathon bombing suspect have asked a judge three times now to move the trial out of massachusetts because they argue he cannot get a fair hearing there. every time the judge has

refused, and now it's in the hands of a three-judge panel in the court of appeals. oral arguments began about an hour ago, and all of this is going on with jury selection in the trial already under way. nbc justice correspondent pete williams has been following this for us. pete, "boston globe" is calling this move a hail mary pass by tsarnaev's attorneys. what else do we know about this process and if it may result in a change of venue? >> the hearing is over. it lasted about 45 minute and it seemed apparent when the lawyers filed their written motions seeking a change of venue that this court was 2-1 against that and it seems apparent after the oral arguments that it's still 2-1 against it. the one dissending judge, likely dissending judge, quoted from some of the juror questionnaires and one potential juror said what a waste of time the trial would be. he's guilty. another said that there should just be a public execution, and this judge asked one of the government lawyers what if 100% of the jurors said in the

selection proses that he was guilty, would that merit a change of venue, and the government lawyer said well it would be a factor in the calculus, but it does appear that two other judges think that a change of venue is not appropriate here. >> okay. >> that the screening process is working. no time line here for when the court will act, and the other question we don't know is when is the trial going to start with opening statements? it would seem that they are almost done here with the screening process. they don't report to us the number day to day. they seem to be about three-quarters of the way done it. does seem likely that the trial could start as early as sometime next week, tamron. >> thank you very much. up next, the superbug scare. nearly 200 patients at ucla medical center have been exposed to a deadly drug resistant bacteria and it may have contributed to at least two deaths. we'll have the very latest there. also ahead -- >> i'm my own man and my views are shaped by my own thinking

and my own experiences. >> new reaction to jeb bush's speech. our first read team asks if jeb bush is a new man, then why does he surround himself with the same team of advisers? and a former "snl" cast member reveals why eddie murphy turned down playing bill cosby during "snl"'s 40th anniversary, and just this morning bill cosby responds. plus, one of my favorites "walking dead" actor chad coleman will join me live. we'll talk about his character tyrese and his upcoming project far from his role as an actor. join our conversation online. you can find my team @news nation, on facebook twitter and instagram under my name. we'll be right back. know that chasing performance can mean lower returns and fewer choices in retirement. know that proper allocation could help increase returns

so you can enjoy that second home sooner. know the right financial planning can help you save for college and retirement. know where you stand with pnc total insight. a new investing and banking experience with personalized guidance and online tools. visit a branch, call or go online today. rma. checking your credit score is for chumps. i have great credit.

how do you know? duh. you know those change, right? tattoos don't change. try credit karma. it's free and you can see what your score is right now. aren't you a little bit curious? i just got my free credit score! credit karma. really free credit scores. really free. i have got to update my ink. welcome back. the ucla health system is notifying over 270 patients who

may have been exposed to a deadly superbug. officials say it may have contributed to the deaths of two patient at ucla ice ronald reagan medical center. seven patients were infected with this bacterial superbug. the infections were traced back to contaminated medical scopes used from october 2014 to this january. nbc's halle jackson is in los angeles with more on this investigate. >> reporter: tamron. the patients possibly exposed here at ucla are being offered free home testing kits so they can see if they have been infected with this bacteria. it's incredibly resistant to antibiotics which is part what have makes it so dangerous. it's been called a nightmare bacteria by federal health officials, a superbug that can kill up to half the people who become infected with it in their blood streams. now about 170 patients at ucla are learning they may have been exposed to cre after having

endoscopies between october and january. it may have been caused from scopes that became contaminated and two died possibly because they were infected. >> cre normally lives into the gut. if it gets into the bloodstream it may kill 50% of the people it infects. >> reporter: similar outbreaks have happened in seattle, chicago and pittsburgh, and the cdc says at least one cre case has been reported in nearly every state. >> this is unprecedented. what we're watching now in terms of patients dying, patients getting infected >> reporter: infections are linked to a specialized procedure called ercp when gastroenterologists use a duodenum scope and go down into the stomach and sometimes beyond to get a closer look at a patient's digestive system and bacteria can get trapped at the inof the endoscope. sometimes the recommended sterilization even enough to decontaminate the scope before it's used again. >> it may be that these instruments have been

transmitting somewhat innocuous bacteria to patients and now that those bacteria become resistant they are killing patients. >> reporter:? a statement released overnight the fda says about half a million of the potentially life-saving procedures are given every year with just a tiny fraction reporting problems from dirty scopes. the agency adds any risk must be weighed against the consequences of not seeking necessary treatment. so what's the advice for patients? experts say talk to doctors about how they sterilize these endoscopic instruments used in this procedure. ucla for example says it is now going above and beyond what's recommended by the manufacturers of these products and by national standards when it comes to decontamination. tamron? >> hallie jackson, thank you. the defense calls mental health experts to the stand in the american. >> reporter:er murder trial this after eddie ray routh's former girlfriend says he held her hostage. the latest from court is next and new developments in the labor dispute at a west coast

ports. a new report says cargo companies are bypassing the union and going directly to workers with quote, the last best and final offer. plus this. >> it's just out of proportion and i wish you guys would focus on all the good things. >> rapper vanilla ice, what he's saying this morning about his arrest for burglary in florida. it is one of the stories we're following around the "newsnation." and here's a look at what's happening today. it is thursday february 19th. in washington, d.c. the three-day dnc winter meeting is under way. the president will address the group tomorrow. and in havana the congressional delegation led by minority leader nancy pelosi will held a news conference this afternoon as the two countries prepare to restore ties. already 55 companies are investing over $98 million dollars and creating over 2100 jobs. from long island to all across upstate new york, more businesses are coming to new york. they are paying no property taxes no corporate taxes no sales taxes. and with over 300 locations,

and 3.7 million square feet available, there's a place that's right for your business. see if startup-ny can work for you. go to startup.ny.gov. ♪ nice! gr-reat! a shot like that... calls for a post-game celebration. share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're gr-r-reat!

(vo) for eight straight years, purina pro plan has been the nutrition of choice that has fueled each westminster best in show winner. and this year, with her strong athletic build her fluid gait and her confidence in the ring the beagle by the name of miss p became the ninth. (judge) the best in show is the beagle! (vo) congrats, miss p, on winning the 139th westminster best in show. we're proud you're continuing the purina pro plan tradition. purina pro plan. nutrition that performs. [coughing] dave, i'm sorry to interrupt... i gotta take a sick day tomorrow.

dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil. the nighttime, sniffling sneezing, coughing aching, fever, best sleep with a cold medicine. there's a gap out there. that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve. at humana, we believe the gap will close when healthcare gets simpler. when frustration and paperwork decrease. when grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home. so let's do it. let's simplify healthcare. let's close the gap between people and care. welcome back. eddie ray routh's family members continue to paint a disturbing picture of his mental state in the weeks leading up to the killings of american sniper chris kyle and friend chad

littlefield. testifying for the defense routh's ex-girlfriend recalled a violent outburst two weeks before the shooting saying he called her a demon, threatened her with a sword and told her and her roommate they could not lead their apartment. she said she did not feel threatened but her roommate called police and took routh to the v.a. hospital the night before the killings. weed said he proposed to her and she said yes. earlier routh's sister took the stand describing the day he showed up at her home confessing he just killed two men. laura blefns said quote, the person who came to my house was not the person who i know as my brother. she talked about pigs sucking his soul and that she told him i love you, but i hate your demons. joining me now is legal analyst lisa green. lisa, this story being presented by the family. >> a relentlessly tragic store

we an incredibly tragic outcome. to listen to this sister talk about the boy she knew theboro she loved and then wanted to turn him away the day of the murders, not even have him come to the house. she feared for the children, and, you know there's a heartbreaking story, of course in court. it's not an emotional decisions. the jurors have to make a legal decision. are these the actions of someone who is criminally insane or not? and i think we saw another day, tamron, where it's just not clear. >> and that is the point to -- to the point you've been making i should say all week. this is not about emotions. it is a heartbreaking story, but that's not what the jury has to decide. >> the jury is going to be listening momentarily to witnesses for the defense. mental health experts, one of whom outside the jury's hearing has been talking about a diagnosis of multiple diseases including schizophrenia and the possibility that kyle littlefield's behavior somehow triggered a violent and tragic reaction in routh, pretty strong

stuff. >> meaning kyle's behavior the description provided by eddie ray routh that he felt alienated, that chad littlefield and chris kyle did not talk to him and that maybe that somehow that triggered something it is. >> as we're talking about it you can see the flaws in the argument. sounds like a self-serving defense almost like i can't help it because i was provoked. you can be sure that the prosecution will have a lot to say to count their argument. >> and to something that we were talking about as well with the trial in the commercial trial, here you have a man who proposed to his fiancee and then went on the next day. >> the next day. >> and carried out these acts. on the one and he's looking at his future and he's aware enough to see this individual as someone he wants to spend his life with and then the next day essentially ends his life. >> within 24 hours you get the two sides of routh, right? >> yeah. >> which we've seen over and over again in this case. a loving man planning to build a family, a heartless murderer who then claims he was, you know out of his mind.

which one will the jury believe? >> and, again, we have these mental health experts who are going to testify over the next few days and i think this is to your point also where we'll see the shaping of where this might go. >> this may end as early as next week. it's been a fast-paced trial but with a lot of really ambiguous developments in a way, conflicting stories, fascinating. >> lisa, thank you very much. greatly appreciate you coming on with us. coming up, an investigation under way into the deaths of nicki minaj's tour manager that happened in philadelphia. it is one of the stories we're following around the "newsnation" for you this morning, plus an update to yesterday's gut check about umass amherst policy that bans iranian nationals from taking certain courses. well, there's an update and we're going to show you the survey results. what our "newsnation" said about this. we're going to talk about it. well eel be right back.

doers they don't worry if something's possible. they just do it. at sears optical, we're committed to bringing them eyewear that works as hard as they do. right now, buy one pair and get another free. meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil. because hydraulic fracturing technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. supporting millions of new jobs. billions in tax revenue... and a new century of american energy security. the new energy superpower? it's red, white and blue.

♪ ♪ i love my meta health bars. because when nutritious tastes this delicious i don't miss the other stuff. meta health bars help promote heart health. experience the meta effect with our multi-health wellness line. ♪ ♪ welcome back. jeb bush is facing criticism

today for what some say is a case of trying to have it both ways. on the one hand distancing himself from his brother and father while at the same time stocking his team with nearly two dozen advisers from their administrations. the group of foreign policy experts recruited by the former governor include past bush officials like former secretary of state james baker, homeland security secretary michael chertoff and paul wolfowitz, a former u.s. deputy u.s. secretary and architect of the 2003 invasion of iraq. it's written the list of advisers tells us while jeb bush may be his own man, he's still a man of the republican establishment. in other words, a bush. speaking in chicago yesterday, here's how the former governor talked about his brother's legacy in iraq. >> there were mistakes made in iraq, for sure using the intelligence capability that everybody embraced about weapons of mass destruction, turns out not to be accurate. my brother's administration

through the surge, which was one of the most heroic acts of courage politically that -- that any president's done because there was no support for this and it was hugely successful. >> and joining me now live nbc news senior political editor mark murray. the first read team put it this way, if you're your own man why are you surrounding yourself with the many same foreign policy advisers? did jeb bush in any way answer that question? >> you know, tamron he didn't. it's just not the advisers it's also the policies and the clip you played on iraq and the mistakes that were made and also about the surge. that's pretty identical to what george w. bush has said in the aftermath since his presidency that, yes, there was intelligence failures when it came to weapons of mass destruction but that the surge worked so when it comes to either the people who are advising jeb bush or policies he's taking either domestically or when it comes to foreign policy, they are pretty identical. they are identical to a lot of mainstream republican positions, but jeb bush has set this bar up

when he says i am my own person. i am my own man here that when all of a sudden people kick the tires and look at well who is advising jeb bush who are the policies he's taking and if you kind of reach the same conclusions, they are very similar, it's hard for bush to make the claim? >> if he dives in 2016 how does he balance it? dana millbank says he leads in the early 2016 gop polls because of his name but that name could bring about his downfall and contrast, that i think you did it as well yesterday, with hillary clinton. >> well, tamron i mean that is right. the thing is for both hillary clinton and jeb bush these names are an asset and also a potential liability depending on how you end up looking at it. certainly for jeb bush the fact that he is a jeb bush. he has his great donor network. he has people where at the snap of his fingers is able to put together an impressive list of advisers, a huge fund-raising network that's being called shock and awe on the campaign team that he's already starting

to put together but at the same time, too, the bush name does have some negative connotations for a lot of american voters. people are very skeptical about the aftermath, and there are even republicans, tamron worth noting who believe that they might be at a disadvantage right now if the election comes down to between a clinton -- what would you like better the clinton years or the bush years, and even some conservatives are saying that that's a debate that democrats will probably end up winning? >> mark murray thank you very much. we'll see you tomorrow. >> up next workers at west coast ports are now reviewing their final contract offer, but will it prevent a shutdown that could cost our economy $2 billion a day? we have a live report. plus this. >> this show is such a big part of who i am in my life and i'm so happy to be back here. >> well we've got a new comment from bill cosby after it's been revealed that eddie murphy refused to play the cosby

character during the "snl" 40th anniversary celebration. giving you the behind-the-scenes scoop and we'll tell what you bill cosby is saying now.

good job! still running in the morning? yeah. 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. ♪ know your financial plan won't keep you up at night. know you have insights from top investment strategists to help set your mind at ease. know that planning for retirement can be the least of your worries. with the guidance of a pnc investments financial advisor, know you can get help staying on

track for the future you've always wanted. an update now on the labor dispute at dozens. nation's busiest ports on the west coast that could end up costing american businesses millions of dollars. the a.p. reports cargo companies have now bypassed the dock workers' union and made what they call their best and final offer directly to the workers themselves. union leaders an cargo companies have been negotiating a contract for months now. the companies are hoping the workers will like the contract proposal and pressure their negotiators to approve it. joining me now john busy associate business editor and columnist for the "wall street journal." john, thank you so much for joining us. >> pleasure. >> okay. so this story has been in the headlines. not been the top story. at the core here what is the dispute? >> yeah well it's labor having a dispute with management over things like health care and wages and arbitration

procedures. a lot of that has been resolved over the last few weeks, but there's still sticking points over arbitration, that is the process by which disputes are settled. >> and now the headline this morning is the companies are bypassing the unions and basically -- not basic, they actually are going to these workers and saying this is the last best offer. >> that's kind of a proses that we've seen in the past. >> right. >> and ultimately the union has to decide do they feel the contract is fair or not, and we'll see. i mean this is -- i don't think the bypasses could real make a huge difference in this process. >> well let's talk about the impact. yesterday we talked to a couple of business owners who have already said that you know they are not getting their products in. we ear talking about export how this is affecting california the cy truss, jane wells, our reporter was out on a boat and you can see just see a line. >> it's remarkable. >> it's interesting to me that it's not being discussed more considering the impact that it's having. >> i think it's quite true quite true. if you took a helicopter you can see the sea of ships waiting to unload their cargo.

>> right. it's all a reflection of the global economy now. it's so much of it is just in time, right. we have reduced the amount of money that we want to spend on warehouseing goods and on shipping times so we get them through the ports right to our factually to build out very very efficiently, and when there is a choke point as the ports are for the vast majority of exports going out to asia and imports coming in from asia particularly, then you see this kind of phenomenon, and it slows everything down. automakers in the u.s. and retailers. >> there are parts that are being held up in some of these cargos. >> and the work around is expensive. a lot of the automakers are flying stuff in. now air freight, they are shipping them to mexico or to canada laura stevens, our reporter has this on dotcom. the work around costs money and ultimately gets passed along to the consumer. >> now you have the question of whether or not washington specifically the president, will get involved in this. what, if anything is available

as that option? >> well he sent the labor secretary out to kind of prod both sides. we want a resolution. we want the ports open before there's significant damage to the economy. mind you, agricultural shippers are worried about their customers going to some other source in asia if they can't get their product from the united states, and similarly you might find manufacturers in the united states saying, you know i'm not going to import that part from malaysia anymore. i'm going to do it here in the united states because i don't want every ten years to face this kind of problem. but the labor secretary is probably not going to move things. >> sure. >> it's going to be a resolution between management and labor. >> wow, it's an incredible story, and again, we'll continue to follow the latest developments. thanks so much for joining. great pleasure. >> nicki minaj, her tour manager was killed in a bar fight in philadelphia, and that tops our look at stories around the "newsnation" today. 29-year-old deifion pickett was in town making plans for the star's upcoming tour. pickett and four friends got into an argument with another group of men.

he and another man who worked for nicki minaj were stabbed. the second victim we're told will be okay. and vanilla ice says his burglary arrest is a misunderstanding. he's confident the charges will be dropped. the former rapper who now hosts a show on diy network is now free from jail. wednesday he was charged with burglary and grand theft for allegedly stealing property from a foreclosed home. a real estate broker says someone broke into the home three times. vanilla ice is renovating the house next door for his tv show. the diy network says it aware of the situation sand looking into the manner and gas prices jumped in southern california and may continue to rise after an explosion at an exxon mobil refinery that happened yesterday 20 miles south of downtown l.a. four contractors suffered minor injuries. the blast was equivalent to a 1.4 magnitude earthquake. incredible. up next, "walking dead"

actor chad coleman will join me live. spoiler alert. we are going to talk about tyrese. brace yourself. google what happened to tyrese in the commercial break and then we'll also talk with him about a project that he's working on six months after the riots and violence and just outcry over mike brown's death in ferguson. and be sure to like the "newsnation" on facebook. we're at facebook.com/tamronhall. if you're running a business legalzoom has your back. over the last 10 years we've helped one million

business owners get started. visit legalzoom today for the legal help you need to start and run your business. legalzoom. legal help is here. how much money do you have in your pocket right now? i have $40 $21. could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement? i don't think so. well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. ♪ ♪ you know i tried one of those bargain paper towels but the roll just disappeared. bounty is 2x more absorbent so one roll lasts longer. bounty. the long lasting picker upper

welcome back. it was one of the most talked about moments from sunday's big "saturday night live" anniversary special. now we're learning surprising new details about eddie murphy's appearance and why it may not have been quite what his fans were expecting. so over a three-hour span last night, cast member and writer norm mcdonald fired off more than 100 tweets 110 to be exact, giving behind-the-scenes details including the writing process. now he says he approached murphy to appear in the popular

celebrity "jeopardy" sketch and tried to conhins him to play bill cosby. mcdonald tweeted, quote, we talked in his dressing room for an hour. when he is over i'm convinced he'll do it. describing how murphy turned down the had you knee the laughs would bring the house down. eddie decided that the laughs are not worth it and will not kick a man when he's down and this morning we're getting reaction from bill cosby who said, quote, i'm very appreciative of eddie and i applaud his actions. we reached out toes until, eddie murphy, neither commenting and joining me now is marisa guthrie. thanks for joining us. thanks for joining us by phone. >> no problem. >> it's amazing the things we learn on twitter. >> well especially from norm mcdonald who is an avid and inveterate tweeter. >> if anyone follows him you'll learn a lot. this twitter -- this -- i don't want to call it a rant because

he really was just explaining, it's not unusual for him. he does it apparently when he watches golf but we're all interested in what happened to eddie murphy here. so the back story from norm seems to be true even if we have not received confirmation from "snl" or eddie murphy. >> yeah, and, you know i'm not surprised that eddie decided in the end not to play bill cosby. he -- he didn't play anybody on the show the anniversary show. he just sort of appeared there riffing and telling jokes and he does have a personal relationship with bill and so i mean not a close one, but he does have that relationship. they are both comedians. there is a fraternity there, and -- and so i'm not surprise that had he decided to excuse himself from that particular skit. >> let's face it. their relationship is one that's been documented by eddie murphy dating back to "raw" in 1987 when he talked about, you know being approached by bill cosby regarding his act, regarding his

language and his presentation. he's an african-american, male comedian. i would imagine he's among many others who have admired bill cosby's career, and even in some ways fashioned their career so here he is at this point, an iconoclast of his own being asked to in his words, maybe kick a man when he's down. >> yeah and -- and, look i mean i think -- it's not like "saturday night live" has shied away from the cosby controversy. >> right. >> i mean they have addressed it. kenan thompson has played cosby. tina fey actually addressed it way back -- these particular allegations regarding cosby way back in 2005 when she did a riff on it and kenan thompson was in the skit actually playing bill cosby as a live action fat albert so it's not like the show has shied away from it. >> right. >> and this scandal is still very much in the public consciousness. >> absolutely.

>> so i expect them on the 40th anniversary to do something on it, but just they weren't going to get eddie murphy to do it. bill cosby was a role model for a lot of comedians and especially a lot of male african-american comedians cosby has been accused of assault by more than 20 women, but never been charged. his lawyers denied these allegations but the headline as we were coming into the show is that bill cosby actually responded to the information revealed by norm. >> yeah exactly, well i mean look, norm is putting it out all there on twitter and nobody is disputing that. i think he has responded -- he certainly has responded to people who have -- who have come out in support of him and look, for eddie murphy to do that and for it to become public, i mean i'm sure bill probably feels like, he doesn't have a lot of

friends right now and i'm taking him at his word that he was incredibly appreciative. had eddie murphy had done the skit, then the skit would have been the headline. that would have been the big headline. >> i think you're absolutely right about that. thank you for joining us. we greatly appreciate you making it to the phone. we know things have been in flux. greatly appreciate it. >> thanks tamron. >> that brings us to today's "news nation" gut check. do you think eddie murphy made the right call in turning down the bill cosby role? now to the update on yesterday's gut check, the university of massachusetts says it will accept iranian students into science and engineering programs reversing the controversial policy is announced last week. umass said it was banning iranian students to comply with the 2012 law that imposed sanctions on iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. the university says it reversed

its decision following consultation with the state department and outside counsel. now, we ask you, if you thought the university should back down on the ban. look at that 39% said yes. 61% said no. interesting. there's a lot going on this morning and here's some things we thought you should know. president obama is announcing a new initiative granting free admission to all fourth gratders and families in national parks and federal lands for a full year. part an effort to get kids outdoors and more active. the new program will start next fall co-in siding with the 10th anniversary of the national park service. cecily will host the white house correspondents dinner she was encouraged by a lot of people to say no comedian people they are like it's the worst room you will ever be in.

we're rooting for her. she will be only fourth female to host the dinner in the 84-year history. those are things we thought you should know. our next guest is best known for his role on "walking dead", his beloved character, tyreese, something bad happens, he's killed off the show and now turning his attention to other very important projects including helping others. chad is working on a special three-day event to happen this summer in ferguson missouri laughter is the best medicine. the goal is to help foster healing and peace after the shooting of michael brown. chad as you can see with me in the studio. good to see you. >> good to be seen. >> i'm very good. let's talk about what you've got planned in ferguson. you're very busy you've got a lot of going on and attention for your great acting and now giving a pause to focus in on ferguson. what prompted the decision to

tackle this the way you've chosen? >> i got a phone call from a friend in atlanta, a pastor actually, and it was around the time where they were going to decide whether the grand jury were going to indict the officer. chad we've got to help these people, we've got to do something. and it just immediately came to mind, these people need to laugh a little bit, you know? we need to ease the tension some. so that was the initial thought. let's do a night of comedy. let's get a-list comedians to come to ferguson and their we are ferguson t-shirts to show we're all one community. to lend their support with their talents and gifts and talents, let's have this whole community lifted up in laughter. >> what was the pitch like to these comedians. i would imagine it's difficult, here you are great amount of pain, great amount of anger and you're having to go in and pitch this idea.

>> well dave chappell brought it right off the bat. most comedians are civic minded sensitive people. that's what they do -- >> it's a hard balance because we're having a major conversation about black men in america, how they are treated. the policing of urban communities and then you say, but you know what we can bring people together with laughter. >> absolutely. because that -- this is our -- a unconditional nonjudgmental open arms, open heart approach. one way that people come together and relax is by laughing. once we get them laughing the next day we'll have the healing and reconciliation activists and psychologists and putting a think tank together to create ten workshops that the community will be able to participate in that will lead towards peaceable change the third day, what disarms people more than anything, we dance.

on the third day we have a block party. >> this is going to be exciting. i hope i can make it there. let's talk about sunday night. what -- tyrese, what are we going to do? >> we're going to celebrate his life and what i hope the other characters will do will find the tyrese in them. >> when i was looking at social media when the character died the response was -- >> beautiful. >> and speaks to how you brought this character and struggle to us. >> absolutely. and robert kirkman and greg and all of the fantastic actors it was a team effort and when a person has that kind of character and consciousness and able to impact and touch people to lose him is a huge deal. it was good to see that everybody was moved by it. but i want you to move forward -- >> baseically saying, get afans chad just told us to get a life. tyrese is gone, get over it.

>> i'm getting over it because i'm moving on to something, executive producing something. >> acti >> follow chad on instagram and we'll keep up with his career. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. up next "andrea mitchell reports." check out chad's work. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome; with the microsoft cloud we can analyze 100 per day. whatever i can do to help compute a cure for cancer, that's what i'd like to do. you just got a big bump in miles. so this is a great opportunity for an upgrade. sound good? great. because you're not you you're a whole airline... and it's not a ticket you're upgrading it's your entire operations,

from domestic to international... which means you need help from a whole team of advisors. from workforce strategies to tech solutions and a thousand other things. so you call pwc. the right people to get the extraordinary done. ♪ ♪ ♪ how did i set a new personal record today? i started with a test run. then i got a solid night's rest in a great room. and before i hit the road, i hit the breakfast bar where i got my fuel for the next 26 miles. great endings begin here. and now when you choose choice twice, get a night at no price at 1,500 hotels. book now at choicehotels.com

right now, terror summit, the president speaks out against the isis threat as the state department launches an online campaign to counteract isis propaganda. >> as we speak isil is terrorizing people of syria and iraq and