and call your doctor right away. side effects include sore throat cough, dry mouth and sinus infection. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. to learn about spiriva respimat slow-moving mist ask your doctor or visit spirivarespimat.com a third attacker the hunt is now on for another gunman in that museum terror strike. there's also chilling new video. details ahead. >> we take him at his word when he said that it wouldn't happen during his prime ministership. >> tough talk. president obama is not letting israel's prime minister back away from his vow that a two-state solution wouldn't happen. there's a lot more from the president in a new interview. high drama at one resort when a ski lift gets stuck. you'll hear a witness talk about the scary moments. bone dry.

new word today from the california governor on just how serious the drought is there. could the golden state run out of water? hey there, everyone. high noon here in the east 9:00 a.m. out west. a day after the u.s. pulled its special operations troops out and friday's bombings at two mosques killing 137 people. nbc's kristen welker joins us from the white house. good sunday to you. what's the latest on this? >> well alex good sunday to you. yemen continues to descend into chaos. opposition fighters who drove the country's president into hiding months ago seized the third largest city overnight. the u.n. security council, as you point out, is planning to hold that emergency meeting later on today to discuss this latest unrest.

and in a draft of this afternoon's proposed resolution we expect the council to reaffirm its commitment to the president of yemen and to condemn the ongoing violence there. now, this comes after a deadly terror attack in yemen on friday. the obama administration announced yesterday that it is pulling out 100 special forces. so all of its remaining troops. one source telling nbc news the threat is just too high. yemen matters to america for a number of reasons, but in large part because it is home to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, one of the biggest terror threats to the u.s. just a reminder it was the training ground for the underwearyied to take down a u.s. airliner. and more recently, one of the "charlie hebdo" shooters was trained there. now the partnership has essentially been lost and a vacuum has opened up for

extremist groups to thrive like al qaeda, like isis. the concern is yemen could further become a breeding ground and could threaten u.s. security interests abroad and right here at home. >> all right. we're going to keep an eye on that meeting at 3:00. i want to change gears here and ask you quickly about the president's interview with "the huffington post" and his remarks about benjamin netanyahu. in fact, here's the president talking about netanyahu's pre-election stance of no two-state solution. >> we take him at his word when he said it wouldn't during happen during his prime ministership. that's why we have to evaluate what other options are available to make sure that we don't see a chaotic situation in the region. >> and kristen, as you know there was the backtrack after the election. netanyahu suggesting he actually was for a two-state solution. so what is the calculation on the president's part accepting only what he said the first time, the pre-election stance? >> well if you talk to senior administration officials, they say first of all that backtrack

wasn't that strong. secondly, prime minister netanyahu has shown no real desire to reach a two-state solution in these peace talks that have been going on for months now. so there's deep skepticism that he was ever in support of this. the reason why this is so critical, alex, you will recall that the united states said that it was opposed to the palestinians seeking state hood through the u.n. essentially unilaterally. now the united states is reconsidering its stance on that. this could be a major policy shift for the united states if it does in fact give the green light to the palestinians to pursue recognition unilaterally and without trying to reach a broader peace deal. >> okay. kristen at the white house, thank you so much for that. another developing story at this hour. nbc news confirms senator ted cruz is expected to announce he'll be making a run for the white house in 2016. the texas republican will deliver that news in a speech tomorrow at liberty university. he is the first high-profile

republican to officially toss his hat in the ring. let's bring in nbc senior political correspondent perry bacon. perry, a good day to you. does this immediately change the dynamic on the gop side? does it give cruz a jump in any way on his competitors? >> it does give him a little jump. we expect rand paul to announce he's running on april 7th. we expect marco rubio and a few others to announce their runs in the next month, the next six weeks. cruz will be the first major candidate, so he'll get a lot of attention for that. that helps him because he's an underdog in this race. if jeb bush and scott walker are the front runners, ted cruz is pretty far behind right now. this gives him a chance to get a big start, start raising money. he's going to need a lot of money to come back in this race and establish himself. >> that's at the start. but can you assess his viability as a potential presidential nominee, realistically? maybe a long run there. >> he's a very long shot alex. he could ultimately win the iowa caucuses, but i think it would be hard for him to win much beyond that. the reason is that he's viewed

as too conservative for people in the republican party. he was a big figure in the government shutdown of 2013. he sort of famously was doing the filibuster. he read the book "green eggs and ham." it was a great moment for ted cruz. most republicans felt like the shutdown was a mistake and he led them into a big mistake. a lot of skepticism about him. there's a view he's more out for himself than out for the party. that's going to be hard for him to overcome. it's a pretty strong field of contenders. i mentioned bush walker marco rubio of florida. those are all candidates who are more likely to win than ted cruz. >> so what's he expected to say in this speech? >> he's going to say -- cruz's big argument is, one, he's a full committed conservative. he's going to talk about he opposes amnesty. he's going to argue he won't use jeb bush's name, but he'll say i'm a real conservative and jeb bush is a moderate fake conservative. that's one argument. the second one is he's going to make this argument that he's the

person who's most committed to fighting washington. like, he's the guy that even though he's a senator and lives here, he's the most anti-washington. he wanted to shut the government down because he doesn't believe washington works. that's his core case. he's going to be the outside guy running and all the other guys are insiders. >> do you think as the primary season unfolds, could his mere presence hurt certain candidates? >> i do. i think for two candidates in particular. mike huckabee is running again. so is rick santorum. the challenge for them is ted cruz's father was a pastor. he's deeply religious, ted cruz. and he's competing for the same votes they are. those kind of tea party voters and evangelical, christian conservatives. cruz is now trying to take that vote. that vote is going to be very hard. ben carson is in that same lane as well. you have a situation where in iowa and the really conservative vote you now have four or five

people taking up that same sector of the electorate. that makes it hard for any of them to really emerge and win the primary. >> okay. perry bacon, thanks for telling it like it is from washington. appreciate that. >> thanks. real estate heir robert durst is back due in a louisiana courtroom tomorrow. nbc's ron mott has been following that case. he joins me here in studio with more. a good sunday to you. what's this court appearance for? >> well he was already scheduled to be in court tomorrow for a bond hearing on the drug and weapons charges down in louisiana. but his attorney filed a motion on friday down there in new orleans. wants to argue before the judge that his arrest a week ago yesterday in new orleans was invalid because he says it was based on an insufficient murder warrant out of california. so here's his attorney talking about the murder warrant out west in context of those new charges in louisiana. listen. >> the charges in louisiana are minor in comparison to what they've got him charged with out in california. why louisiana wants to keep him there is a mystery. we're ready to get to california

and in essence get it on. >> get it on in california. he's already waived extradition. as soon as this situation in louisiana is wrapped up, if it's wrapped up, he could be on a plane to california sometime soon. we still don't know when that might be. >> all right. and you say if. is there any chance he could walk out of that courtroom, ron, and no longer be in custody before he's extradited to california? >> absolutely. i'm not a lawyer obviously, but he is being charged now with marijuana possession and gun possession down there, a felon in possession of a gun in louisiana. on that gun charge itself it could hold a life sentence if he's convicted. it's almost -- it's not unheard of. . will be a high bar for a prosecutor to go into the court and argue that should hold him in jail until the trial no bail in effect. out west, obviously, where the murder charge is fired, that is clearly something that he could be held without bail. so if he does walk in this next week or so out of louisiana, he could be on a plane out west to go out there and hear that

murder charge. >> okay. nbc's ron mott, thank you. other news now. police say the suspect who assaulted three tsa agents in new orleans friday has died. police shot him after he went on an attack with bug spray and a machete. he was prepared for an attack that could have been much, much worse. >> what the bag revealed was six half-pint mason jars with cloth wicks into a liquid that we now know to be gasoline which you would commonly refer to as a molotov cocktail. >> police say that white's family has been cooperating with the investigation, and they say he has a history of mental illness. at least seven people are recovering from their injuries after a chair lift accident at sugar loaf ski resort in maine. it happened saturday afternoon. the lift flew backward a distance of about 450 feet forcing some terrified skiers to jump to safety. more than 250 people were

trapped on that lift until they could be rescued. it's a process that took about two hours. >> there were certainly injuries and a lot of commotion and panic. the lift line was screaming at the people on the chair lift to jump, so people were just literally raining down. >> that accident is the second chair lift malfunction at sugar loaf in the last five years. coming up a new report that claims isis is telling its followers to attack members of the u.s. military right here in the states. we'll examine that. and the terrorism preparedness manual that teaches you how to plan for the worst. some are calling it useful. others say irresponsible. i'll speak with the congressman who wrote it next.

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new today, the tunisian president says a hunt is under way for a third gunman in the terror attack on a museum there

this past week. the tunisian interior ministry saturday released an edited one-minute security video of the attack. it shows two gunmen walking through the museum carrying guns. it also shows them right there encountering a third man at foot of some stairs. 21 people were killed in the attack. the two gunmen were also killed. joining me now, congressman robert pittenger. he's just released a terrorist preparedness manual. congressman, thank you so much for joining me, sir. i appreciate your time. >> good afternoon, alex. >> i'm curious what u.s. intelligence officials can learn from the tunisian incident, specifically from the newly released video. >> i think it's a recognition of these lone terrorists throughout the middle east and frankly throughout the world. iran has had a footprint on terrorism. it continues to expand. i think frankly we should be wary of our objectives with iran considering what they have done in the past two decades in terms

of sponsoring terrorism. and this should be a grave matter, even as we consider our future agreement with iran. >> congressman, you may have heard our report onnen yemen where all the u.s. personnel are being taken out. what does that do to our intelligence there? yemen had previously cooperated with us. >> they had. the president had, i think, a false assumption that we'd had a success there. of course, it didn't turn out that way. that is the -- the presupposition is the manner in which they've gone about their foreign policy and the way they have deferred and that they've appeased has not brought about the stability that we had sought to achieve. and i think it shows us clearly that we need a clear position defined and understood by our friends in the middle east.

i've been there many times. they do not understand our positions. they don't understand our lack of leadership. and it leaves a tremendous void. >> sir, i want to ask you about "new york times" report in which it says isis is urging sympathizers to kill u.s. service members. here's the quote, whose names, photos, and purported addresses it posted on a website. chairman mccall says he's concerned about these threats. let's listen to him. >> we have a number that i can't disclose publicly that are here in the united states. in addition to that the homegrown violent extremists who can be inspired and radicalize the over the internet is what greatly concerns me to inspire them to attack our military in the united states. i think unfortunately, it would be not so difficult to pull off. >> how concerned are you about this? have you come across similar intelligence that would suggest isis is indeed calling on people to target our military personnel right here in the

states? >> yes, ma'am. fbi director comey, the homeland security secretary jeh johnson at the time that she was the chairman of the senate intelligence committee, diane feinstein, all made comments about sleeper cells inside the united states. we have had, of course fighters that have gone over several thousand from europe many from america, who have access to return now to our country with passports. so yes, this is a real concern in terms of these individuals who are sympathizers with isis and what they seek to do inside our country. and now you have an acknowledgment by isis that these individuals are here. they're posting messages to them, to be engaged. i think frankly we should make a consideration they would have further objectives. >> with respect, sir, to your manual, which i have in my hand here i also read a news report on it. there is a quote from a

university professor who studies terrorism. he says quote, to heighten all this terrorism seems pretty irresponsible to me. what is your response to him? >> well i wish him well. i think he should be listening to the fbi director. i think he should be listening to the homeland security secretary. i think he should be reading "the new york times" article today regarding the threats and the direction given by isis to their fighters here in the united states. they have -- the united states is their clear objective. we're the great satan. what we have offered in this manual are just common sense preparations for any family and small business and what they can do to take care. i was a boy scout, alex. we were taught to be prepared. let's be prepared as a country so we can go about our own lives. we shouldn't have increased anxiety or fear. that's not what this is about. but it's reasonable to assume whether it's chemical,

biological nuclear or radiological, emp, that any number of attacks that could occur on our homeland the people are here. we've acknowledged that. the former director of the cia along with the former secretary of homeland security both have quotes inside this brochure of the importance of families making preparation, recognizing the threats that are in our homeland today. so we appealed to american people to just do common sense things, to go to preparenow.com which is our website. they can look at that and make the kind of provisions that would be suitable and go about living your lives. let's don't get caught up in fear but let's make some common sense preparations. >> as i look at all of these, as you mention chemical explosions biological hazards, nuclear attacks, what is one piece of key information someone should take away from your manual? >> i think the key information

is that there's a wide range of ways that they could attack our homeland. nobody ever anticipated some airplanes flying into some buildings in new york city. so let's look at the wide range of possibilities and really just prepare. make those provisions and have a safe place in your home. whether you need water, canned food medicines, things for your children, your babies even toys to play with. in my case i have a bible. there's things that we could do and prepare for. let's just do that and lay that aside and go about living our lives. >> representative robert pittenger. thank you very much for joining me. >> great to be with you. have a great day. does an ivy league education guarantee a successful career? my next guest says not necessarily. that's ahead. i was determined to create new york city's first self-serve frozen yogurt franchise. and now you have 42 locations. the more i put into my business the more i get out of it.

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so i talked to my doctor and she prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda-approved to treat this pain. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new, or worsening depression or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. and i love helping first graders put their best foot forward. ask your doctor about lyrica. a new book is taking on the madness of college admissions. it is challenging the notion that you must have an ivy league

education to be successful in life and that for many students there are other better options when it comes to higher education. let's bring in columnist for "the new york times" and author of "where you go is not who you'll be." the word mania is absolutely appropriate. >> mania, frenzy madness. >> all of it. what is the antidote to the admissions mania? >> the antidote is reality. there are numerous paths to success. we're somehow giving kids the message that getting into the most selective school possible, the most exclusive school possible is going to be some insurance policy against failure. school is what you make of it and your life is what you make of it. school can be an assistance but it's not the be all and end all. what happens during the college admissions season is not make or break. we need to tell kids that. >> and it's so sad. you write this one woman. she'd get totally depressed, says she feels worthless after getting rejected from her top choices. if you look at the numbers, the acceptance rate, it's

ridiculous. at harvard, just under 6%. yale or columbia just under 7. >> stanford 1.5%. >> there you go. we only stayed with the ivies. >> if you're letting your kid tether his or her self-worth to a 5.1% ak semcceptance rate that is madness. >> so why is there so much pressure for these kids to push to the elite schools? is it because of a long-standing ideology or the success of previous graduates at these schools or what? >> it's not just the success of previous graduates. people become successful in all sorts of ways. i think we're on the tail end of a period of economic pessimism. i think parents want the best for their kids. i think they feel anything that might give their kids a leg up they want that for their kids. kids are being pushed in this direction because everyone is looking for an insurance policy. but this isn't an insurance policy. it's not the secret to life. we need to give kids a more corrects message. >> you point out it should be

will be something geographically you consider. you want to think about what you want to do with your life and get a school that's in that region. >> well certain schools are good for certain things. certain schools are good depending on where you're going to make your career. certain hot-house, intensely competitive schools aren't good for kids because you're not the kind of kid that's going to flourish there. we need to have kids look at college as a fit, as a tailored fit, and not just try to go to the most exclusive school they can get into. that may not be the best school for them. it's about how to choose and use college. >> how do we change the mind set? is it the parent, the kids, the college admissions counselors? >> it's everybody working together to have a truer conversation. parents need to talk to kids differently. guidance counselors need to talk to kids differently. those of us in the media need to stop telling stories about the race to get into schools and talk about people who flourish coming out of all kinds of schools. >> student debt being a big issue. parents have to think about that as well. it doesn't necessarily correlate.

there's all that. i'm of the adage degrees are worth it because of what college brings to you beyond what you learn in the classroom. >> exactly. i wish we would stop talking about college solely as a vocational school. i know why we're doing that. people want a guarantee on their investment. but it's about becoming a better human being. >> you and i were talking, one thing i've always believed is a good education and getting to a good school may allow you to evolve at the very beginning of an application process. we'll validate you. you went to yale or harvard. but after that? >> with each year that goes by, the name on your diploma matters less and less. with each year that goes by you have a work history people are going to judge you by. after the age of 25 i can't remember anyone asking me where i went to school. they ask me to show me what i'd done last year or the year before. as the years go by you're judged by who you are, what you've done by how hard you've worked. i've met few people who work really hard who haven't made a success of themselves. if you go to a fancy school and

think that's going to do it for you, you're actually going to be hurt by that fancy school because you're not bringing the resourcefulness and effort to the equation that's much more important. >> one final point. the people with whom you frat earnize at these schools, let's say the top schools, a lot of these kids do go on and make tremendous careers. but they will be connections. that's important. >> undeniably that can be an advantage. if we're telling kids they need that advantage and without that advantage they're really going to be behind the eight ball that's two simplistic and untrue a picture. >> okay. frank, thanks for telling us like it is. i appreciate that. >> thanks. now to these number ones. we start with the stock market and the three major u.s. averages approaching the new week of big gains. in fact the nasdaq closed above 5,000 for the first time in 15 years. it's now outperformed the other big two over the past year. the nasdaq up more than 16% over the past 52 weeks while the s&p 500 has gained about 12.5%. the dow doing nicely at 11%. now to what's the biggest investment for most americans, a

house. a new cheatsheet.com analysis finds homeowners in new jersey pay the highest property taxes followed by new hampshire and texas. maybe i don't look like a happy man because i'm tired, but i'm absolutely most happy man in the world now. >> so that polish stunt cyclist has just climbed more than 3100 stairs of a taipei skyscraper on his bicycle. it took him two hours and 12 minutes, which he hopes guinness will recognize as a new world record. who else would be doing that, right? and guinness needs to verify a los angeles candy shop's claim of building the world's largest peanut butter cup. they made it in a kiddy pool with more than 440 pounds of ingredients. the peanut butter cup will eventually be sold in one-pound pieces for charity. frank is laughing at that one. you're like, really? >> i love a good peanut butter cup. >> it's pretty good. those are your number ones.

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"ride away" (by roy orbison begins to play) ♪ i ride the highway... ♪ ♪ i'm going my way... ♪ ♪i leave a story untold... ♪ he just keeps sending more pictures... if you're a free-range chicken you roam free. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance you switch to geico. it's what you do. ♪ two wheels a turnin'... ♪ welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." tough talk from president obama today in a new and wide-ranging

interview. the president is not letting up on benjamin netanyahu after the prime minister talked about no two-state solution in the middle east. let's take a listen. >> i indicated to him that given his statements prior to the election it is going to be hard to find a past where people are seriously believing that negotiations are possible. >> is there any reason at this point to believe that he's serious about a palestinian state? >> well we take him at his word when he said that it wouldn't happen during his prime ministership. so that's why we've got to evaluate what other options are available to make sure that we don't see a chaotic situation in the region. >> joining me now is howard dean former dnc chairman and vermont government. also joining me is betsy woodruff, staff writer for slate. a welcome to you both. chairman, i'm going to start with you. what is the president's calculation behind these remarks, and should he

de-escalate the rhetoric try to move past the tension? >> there may be more than rhetoric here. the united states has been the only country in many instances which has used its veto power in the security council to stop condemnation of israel for building settlements, to call on israel to be more cooperative, to recognize the palestinians as a nation. palestinians are going to continue to try to do that. first of all, this president does not make idle threats. i think we've learned that over his seven eight-year tenure. i think we have to watch what happens in the united nations. the palestinians will go to the united nations to continue to enhance their status as a nation. that's when we're going to find out just exactly what these remarks meant. >> ultimately, you think the president's remarks are constructive? >> well, i think the president's basically laying out a situation where he believes and i think he's right that benjamin netanyahu has been obstructive to the peace efforts,

particularly with the settlements settlements, which he knows are contrary to international law and make it more difficult for peace. i think the president's exasperated and he's going to look for different ways of achieving what he wants, which is a peace in the middle east. and in the past when the president's gotten frustrated he acted. he used these -- for example, these executive actions to move his policies forward when he was obstructed by the right-wing congress. you know that's a possibility. the israelis should be concerned about that. >> betsy, before i get to you, i want to ask you, chairman yesterday i spoke with george mitchell, he told me he sees a two-state solution potentially in his lifetime. do you? >> well, it's very hard to say. the middle east has been such a different area. with different israeli leadership, i think we could get there. and in fairness to the israelis they have good reason to be

concerned. hamas hamas, when israeli troops were removed from gaza gaza was taken over by a terrorist group. it's not an unreasonable argument for the israelis to make that, gee f, if the west bank gets independence, they could be taken over by a terrorist group as well. that's what makes it so difficult here. that's why cooler heads need to prevail. i would not call netanyahu a new, clear head. i think he's been destructive to the process. i'm sorry he was re-elected. >> betsy, the libertarian-leaning paper "orange county register" has an op-ed titled "why can't obama be more gracious to netanyahu." do you think there's room to be more gracious? >> i think we can say without any sort of debate that the united states' relationship with israel has changed significantly under president obama's time in office. whether or not the president needs to take a different tone or be more conciliatory is absolutely a question that can be asked, but his critics on the

right has been biting on this. senator marco rubio, the florida republican who's probably going to run for president, gave an incredibly widely covered floor speech on the senate this past week arguing that obama has been way too harsh, way too uncharitable to israel and his tone is not sustainable long term if the u.s. and israel are going to maintain a close alliance. so as far as conservatives and in this case libtarians are concerned, the answer to the question about whether or not the president should be more gracious is, yes, he absolutely should be. >> okay. let's switch gears it here. i want to talk about the stalled confirmation of loretta lynch for attorney general. some democrats like dick durbin have outright said that race is a factor. in that "huffington post" interview, the president pushed back on that rationale and said it's about politics. let's listen to that. >> senate dysfunction is part of it. but part of it i think, is just a stubbornness on the part of republicans to move nominees period. >> chairman dean what do you

think is the holdup? >> i think it's just plain politics. i agree with the president. you've got an incredibly well-qualified person who's been approved by the republicans as well as the democrats on the committee, or most of them. and they're holding her up because they aren't getting their way on some anti-abortion rider they want to put on a different bill. so this is the ugly politics of mitch mcconnell we've seen for the last 4 1/2 years. until these guys are out of office, i think we're going to continue to see it. >> okay. betsy, your take, what you think the holdup is. >> two main holdups. the first is republicans are incredibly critical of where loretta lynch is on the president's executive action on immigration. she defended it. she said she thinks it's constitutional. republicans have banked hard on taking care of their base giving their base what the base wants and coming down hard on the president's executive action. loretta lynch, her confirmation is an important battle in that war, if you will. and then, yeah, as the chairman mentioned, the second major is

this question of whether or not in a sex-trafficking bill you can use fines that are leveled on sex traffickers, and those fines support sex trafficking victims. the question is whether or not you can use those fines to pay for abortions. republicans don't want those fines to be used to pay for abortions. democrats do. they're at an impasse. it's hard to see an easy way out. it seems her confirmation is being used as a political football. i wish i could anticipate how this plays out but it's tricky. >> let's go to this, chairman dean. "the boston globe" editorial board has come out urging elizabeth warren to run for president. they said democrats would be making a big mistake if they let hillary clinton coast to the nomination as the national leader. chairman, i know you've come out in support of hillary clinton. given what's been percolating about the e-mail server and foreign funds to the clinton initiative, what do you make of calls to not simply crown her the democratic candidate?

>> i don't hear any increasing calls. i mean "the boston globe" is her hometown paper. what do you expect? i think elizabeth warren is great. she's great for the democratic party, great for the country. the fact of the matter is all these so-called scandals this goes back to white water and this other crazy stuff. the right wing is going to do this. the press is going to do this. this is what the campaign is going to be about. that's the way the press wants it. that's the way it's going to do if they're not willing to do the serious work to look at this stuff. if elizabeth gets in i don't think she will and she said she won't, but if she does she'll be great for the campaign. i think hillary clinton is going to be in great shape whether somebody else jumps in or not. she's incredibly well qualified. she's by far the best qualified person in america to be the next president of the united states. and it's pretty hard to deny that, even if you're a republican. >> betsy, former maryland governor martin o'malley was spending some time campaigns

this weekend in iowa. the ap has a write up on it. what do you think his chances are of appealing to democratic voters? >> i think his chances are getting better all the time. to be fair, the criticisms of hillary clinton under her time in state department aren't just coming from a vast right-wing conspiracy group. these are pointing questions about the fact the clinton foundation took money from foreign governments while she was secretary of state. no matter how you spin it that's going to be a big problem for her. as more and more of these stories emerge it's going to make it that easier for o'malley to pitch himself. he can say, i've been campaigning, going to early primary states i have executive experience. he has a resume he can use to say, i'm your next best bet if this clinton foundation stuff blows up in a way that's troublesome for hillary. >> all right. good to see you both. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> thanks. zblnch the danger of running out of water. what's being done in california to save the water supply there.

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king richard iii is getting a proper burial in england starting today. richard's remains made worldwide headlines when they were unearthed in a parking lot back in 2012. kier simmons is live from london. this burial is going to last days isn't it? >> yeah it is. this is an opportunity for every history lover on this little island of britain to come out into the streets and pretend they're living 500 years ago. in particular one person. imagine you're an ordinary guy just living your life and out of the blue someone turns up to tell you you're related to royalty. that's what happened to a canadian man who's in his 50s and found out he's the great, great, great -- you have to say it 17 times, alex nephew of a king whose story is being rewritten today. a quiet ceremony as king richard iii's body is carried from close

to the spot where he was killed 500 years ago. richard's skeleton was found in 2012 beneath a parking lot. the search for dna proof it really was him led to a descendent of the king a canadian-born furniture maker with no clue he was related to royalty. he is richard's 17th great grand nephew. >> the idea you're related to a royal is something that takes a bit of getting used to. >> and he crafted the coffin for richard's reburial. >> making the coffin was, of course, a great honor. history is coming alive in front of me and i'm standing in the middle of it involved in it. >> richard was the last british king to be killed in battle. a royal burial was denied him by his conquerer. >> the last time he left that battlefield, he left it as, you know naked, slung over a hours. so to honor him now as a king he's making peace with the past.

>> it's the first time a british monarch monarch's remains have been taken from the ground and buried. >> i think he deserves the dignity and the honor that's being given him. >> the remains hidden for five centuries will be buried this week at leicester cathedral. once again history will be made. >> now, king richard iii has not had a great reputation. his story was told by shakespeare. he's said to have had his own nephew's murder. but now folks are saying that perhaps he's been viewed unfairly and that he wasn't so bad after all. and no one is more happy about that than his ancestor who you saw just there, who seemed so excited about all this. >> he absolutely does for good reason. a great story. all right. thank you for bringing it to us. appreciate that. let's go now to california's water crisis. drastic new rules are going into place to save water as the state enters its fourth consecutive

year of drought. here's governor jerry brown earlier on "meet the press." >> do you think before you leave as governor you're going to end up having to ration water? >> i don't want to speculate on that because first of all, mandatory rationing is a word that you have to apply to, you know 14 million homes and hundreds of water districts. >> joining me right now is the senior water scientist at nasa also professor of earth systems science at the university of california irvine. jay, a welcome to you. i know that the governor has unveiled a $1 billion drought relief plan for the state of california. $273 million for recycling. we have desalination water quality. $660 million for flood control. this money will solve the problem how? >> you know it's really important that we begin taking important steps forward.

the governor's spending i think, is quite appropriate. it includes spending relief to bring homes that have no water at this point in time. the flood control spending is actually quite important because it's being spent on the levees in the sacramento san joaquin bay delta. those levees are a key part of our water delivery system. they have to be shored up and maintained for delivering water, for managing water during floods and making sure we can deliver it during droughts. >> i read somewhere that the earth may run out of water in 15 years. pretty alarming. >> wow, that's -- that's crazy. >> that's crazy, but tell me what happens if we do run out of water. what does that mean? does that mean you turn on your faucet, there's no water there, that you can't take a shower? i mean what does it mean? >> well you know it's happening to some people already. in their case it's very simple. their wells don't reach down to

the water table that's below the ground surface. so it just means they're out of access. will california run out of water? probably not. but it will become more and more precious and scarce over the years. so i wrote an op-ed last week that really called for long-term planning, really long-term planning, looking at a few decades, thinking about what are the measures we have to take now. >> you know this is a pretty big issue. i'm going to welcome you back to the broadcast very soon to continue talking about it. thanks very your time today. >> sure. coming up the story of one dad who's teaching his son the importance of gender i quality. you don't want to miss it. can find a new frontier. there's nothing stopping you and a lot helping you. technology that's with you always. this is our promise. it's never been better to wander because wherever you go, you'll find us doing everything we can,

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called he for she. the united nations is behind it and the goal is to end gender inequality. msnbc's richard lui shows us how one ex-marine is standing up and delivering. >> jujitsu brings calm to tim brooks, a way to handle the

unexpected. >> you're a man. you shouldn't -- you can't take care of a child like a woman can. >> tim was gender stereotyped. his friends questioned his ability to be a single dad. now he's trying to change that misperception. >> if a girl wants to play baseball, is that okay? >> yeah. >> yeah? if a boy wants to play gymnastics, is that okay? >> yeah. >> starting with teaching 5-year-old son austin. >> boy can do whatever girls could do. a girl can do whatever boy could do. >> normally it's the birds and the bees. for tim, it's the hes for the shes. something he's taught his son's t-ball team and university students and soon military veterans. tim is retired military. traumatic brain injury survivor seven surgeries after two tours of duty. a marine corps veteran now an impassioned advocate a speaker, and the turning point, one speech. >> when i was watching the emma

watson u.n. speech -- >> the harry potter actress' u.n. speech has over half a million online views. >> we want to try and galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for change. >> now tim is one of ten featured stories for the u.n.'s global he for she campaign. professor dawn teaches women's studies at marshall university. >> i think it's good. i think it's a great transformation of the feminist movement, adding men in making men feel welcome, making everyone feel welcome. >> a quality -- >> he's been through a lot of losses in our family he and i both. and he counts on me a lot. and i appreciate it. >> austin appreciates it too. >> when i grow up i want to drive a train. >> for him, it's full steam ahead. all things being equal. richard lui, msnbc, west

virginia. >> he sounds like a great dad and a great mentor. that wraps up this edition of "weekends with alex witt." see you next saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. up next taking the hill with patrick murphy. ♪ turn around ♪ ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ ♪ turn around, barry ♪ ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ [ female announcer ] fiber one.

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ask your doctor about non-insulin victoza. it's covered by most health plans. ♪ welcome to "taking the hill." i'm patrick murphy joining you on the last day of st. patrick's week. on the show authorizing the mission. with isis now claiming attacks far beyond iraq and syria, when will congress make the war official? i want to ask congresswoman and iraq war veteran tammy duckworth. the next generation of leaders. rotc programs are grooming our future military officers on campuses across the nation. we have the stories of two inspiring student-athletes at duke who are joining the ranks. and today's final thought. a royal soldier says farewell.

but first, in a matter of hours, united nations security council will hold an emergency meeting on yemen. it comes just as the u.s. pulls out its special operations forces following friday's mosque bombings that killed 137 people. joining me now is nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. kristen, what do we know at this point? >> well patrick, good afternoon. we know that yemen continues to descend into chaos this afternoon. opposition fighters who drove the country's president into hiding months ago seized the third largest city overnight. the u.n. security council, as you pointed out, is planning to hold an emergency meeting later today to discuss this latest unrest. and in a draft of this afternoon's proposed resolution we expect the council to reaffirm its commitment to the president of yemen and to condemn the ongoing violence. now, this all comes after that deadly terror attack that you mentioned in yemen on friday. the obama administration announcing yesterday that it's pulling out its remaining 100

special forces. one source telling nbc news the threat is just too high. now, just to put this into context, patrick, yemen matters to america. it's important because it's home to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. that is one of the biggest terror threats to the united states. yemen's president had been a key partner to the u.s. and its counterterrorism effort, even supporting u.s. drone strikes. now that he's in hiding that partnership has been lost essentially. and a huge vacuum has opened up for extremist groups to thrive like al qaeda, like isis and major concern is that yemen could further become a breeding ground for those terrorist groups and that could ultimately threaten u.s. security interests at home and abroad. patrick? >> thanks, kristen. no doubt that yemen is really the nerve center for al qaeda. but let's look ahead to this week. the president of afghanistan is making his first official trip to the white house on tuesday. what do you expect to hear from his visit? >> well bottom line is that the troop levels will be the key

focus when president obama meeting with afghan's president ashraf ghani. ghani is expected to push president obama to re-examine his timeline for the withdraw. that's going to be the big headline. at this point, the u.s. is planning to reduce its approximately 10,600 troops by half by the end of this year. then to withdraw the rest of the troops by the end of 2016. the administration is open to considering slowing down that plan, i am told to help train and advise afghan security forces. also to help with counterterrorism efforts in the region. now, this all comes as there's growing concerns that the taliban is actually becoming more emboldened in that region. so patrick, you can expect this to be a key focus on on tuesday, but in the days ahead as well. >> thank you as much kristen. i appreciate it. despite the mounting threats from isis the u.s. still doesn't have an authorization for use of military force. on friday, i spoke about the aumf and more with democratic congresswoman tammy duckworth, one of my fellow veterans who

served as a black hawk helicopter pilot. i began by asking her about the devastating terror attacks this week and whether isis ideology is spreading faster than the u.s. mission in iraq and syria. >> i think they're a real threat to that arab coalition and to u.s. interests also both in the region but potentially here at home as well if they're left unchecked. we need to make sure that their coalition does stick together and that we help them but they should take the lead in fighting this very real threat in their backyards. >> we only have about between 1,000 and 2,000 boots on ground as advisers. we've done air strikes for several months. do you think they're working? >> i think air strikes are definitely working with our friendly forces on the ground. they've said as much. you sort of have to go with what the commanders -- you and i know this. the commanders on the ground can

give you the best assessment. i think we've not been able to get rid of sooiisis, but we've made a big difference. >> the most sacred duty of the president of the united states is to declare war. the president has said he'd need a new aumf. john boehner said okay after the summer recess then after the elections, then after the new year. we're now here toward the end of march. do you think there will be hearings, a vote on a new aumf? >> well, we've already had some hearings in armed services committee, which i sit on on the new aumf. it's long overdue. i've been talking about the need to have a new aumf since last congress. it was one of my biggest criticisms of what was happening in iraq. i really feel that we in congress have to honor the sacrifice of the men and women who wear the uniform, who are on the ground there. we need to do our job and honor that by making sure they have

real clear rules and parameters for what we want them to do and how we want them to do it. yeah, it's long overdue. >> do you think there could be any scenario when it comes to isis and syria and iraq where you'd be a champion, an advocate for more boots on the ground? >> oh boy. i would have to know what those parameters are. for me the aumf would have to be in place, and i'd have to get briefings from the commanders that are there, our military commanders. we have some of the most professional, well-trained members of the military in the world. i would defer that until i get those briefings to see if we truly need to have troops there. the number one thing, the first thing we need to do is that new aumf and repeal the 2001 aumf we're still operating under. >> just recently, lindsay graham, a veteran, and the former chairman of joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen, both have said that iran is more dangerous than isis.

what are your thoughts on their comments? >> well iran is certainly a real threat in the region. they obviously have intentions to gain nuclear weaponry. and they're a real threat to our greatest ally in the region, which is israel the only true democracy in the middle east. we need to prevent iran from developing nuclear capability. but they're certainly much more well organized than isis. i don't think you can compare an established government versus what isis is which is a band of terrorists that are pooling in folks from all over. >> congresswoman, you've given so much to our country in war, in combat personally professionally when you came back home, working in illinois va working here in washington, d.c., as assistant secretary. you know there's 22 veterans who commit suicide every day on average. what do you think -- what more needs to be done? >> well even one veteran committing suicide is a tragedy.

there's a lot we need to do. i recently was very lucky in that i was able to help pass the clay hunt s.a.f.e. act, which will do several things. it further resources the va to conduct outreach and provide mental health services to veterans, but it's also going to start several pilot projects so veterans can access health care in their communities, not necessarily at a va facility because veterans can't always get to a va facility so they can get that health care they need in the community. also, there's a central clearing house, a web page they can go to and really see what services are there. that's just a drop in the bucket. it really is. we need to educate the american public at large about the services that are there and for the veteran community, you know, you and i know this we have to tell our brothers and sisters that a wound to the brain, a wound to the psyche is still a wound. it's no different than a gunshot wound or having your limbs amputated. it's still a wound you suffered for your nation. it deserves to be cared for. >> they say the signature injury of our war in iraq and afghanistan is ptsd.

not physical injury. i was there with you that day at the white house when they signed the clay hunt bill. i saw you were right there next to the president. you know one of his comments were that this isn't just a government problem. this is an american issue and a challenge. what more do you think the private sector needs to do? a lot of folks like myself talk about the civilian military divide in our nation. what more can every day folks, every day americans do? >> well it's everything from the very basic being aware of what services theres are. i have the crisis prevention hotline memorized. 800-273-talk. put that on your refrigerator door. you never know if your grandson or granddaughter may need it one day who has served or a colleague. at the very least, that. we also need to make sure that the civilian community understands that just because someone has post that mautic stress does not mean they're so damaged that they're not productive. for so many veterans, a

successful way of dealing with post-traumatic stress is to serve in another way, to have a job and get on with their lives. hire those vets. they're so dedicated. you want someone with that dedication and level of professionalism working for you. there's a lot we can do and it's not always -- you don't always have to be the one providing the mental health services, but you need to be supportive of the men and women who sacrificed for us. >> then we talk about the select committee on benghazi. you've been on that committee. chairman gowdy chairs that select committee. he said this week that the clinton e-mails will not be a factor in 2016. do you think that controversy will last until next year? >> well, you know, i've worked on benghazi in three different committees. i serve on armed services. we've looked at benghazi there. identify served on oversight and government reform. we've look at it there. ibenghazi. my concern is to make sure we

keep our men and women who work in our embassies safe. i want to find out if there's anything we can learn that will make sure we never make those same mistakes again. i want to know it because our diplomats, our marines who guard those embassies, americans abroad going to our embassies deserve to be protected. as far as secretary clinton's e-mails, i say release them. let's release all of her official e-mails to the public. transparency is the best solution. let the american people see what those e-mails are. some of them will be classified. the ones that are classified, show them to members of congress. we have the classification to see even the top-secret e-mails. then show them to us. let's approach it in a bipartisan way and let's throw some light on the issue and let's release all of the e-mails that are official that have to do with her work at the department. >> all right. congresswoman, last question. there are 550,000 elected positions in america. 435 members of congress.

only 100 u.s. senators. you're getting heavily recruited by the dscc. do you think you might run? >> there's a real potential that i might run. i'm going through a process right now of trying to decide if this is the right thing in terms of can i bring something to table for my state, for the people of illinois. also, is this the right thing for me professionally and for my family? i have this brand new baby girl that's a miracle. i'm 46 years old, i had a baby dpirl. i never thought i would be able to have a child. i'm just blown away. so i'm going through this process because i want to honor the office. this is a big-time -- this is heavy duty, what i'm contemplate contemplating. you know this because you've served as well. for those of us who made it home and are still here we have to find a way to serve and something else bigger than ourselves. for me it's been supporting veterans and serving in congress. you were the first one of us to make it to congress the first

vet to be here. i would look at the senate as an opportunity to serve in a greater capacity in a different capacity. i have to make sure that i'm up to the challenge and that i can do something for my constituents. >> if congresswoman duckworth does decide to run for the u.s. senate, for her daughter abigail, for the people of illinois, for our country, there will be a lot of fellow veterans in her corner. after the break, the resurgence on rotc on campus and make sure you joinous conversation by using #takingthehill. [announcer] if your dog can dream it purina pro plan can help him achieve it. ♪ driving rock/metal♪ music stops ♪music resumes♪ music stops ♪music resumes♪ [announcer] purina pro plan's bioavailable formulas deliver optimal nutrient absorption. [whistle]

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hill." i'm patrick murphy. in president obama's 2011 state of the union address, he called on america's colleges to open their doors to rotc programs and military recruiters. for some this wasn't an easy sell. the nation had been in a decade of controversial wars. "don't ask, don't tell" had recently been repealed. but now rotc programs are back. even at traditionally liberal elite universitys that once so forcefully opposed them. schools like columbia harvard, brown, and uc berkeley. joining me now is tommy sowers a visiting assistant professor at duke university, his alma mater, and now the ceo of solo. thanks so much for joining us. >> good to see you. >> you are a member of the duke

ro it rotc program. how did that experience shape you? i have a great picture of you. you look about 12 in this one. >> well, it really turned me into a leader. rotc does this wonderful thing where you come in they teach you how to lead yourself first. then the next year you're leading two or three people. the next year it's five or ten. then you're leading a platoon. for those that believe that leadership can't be taught really the entire u.s. military stands in opposition. it's a deliberate approach to understanding leadership. that's what you get out of rotc. >> how about the campus culture? i remember when i joined the army rotc program at kings college, there was three cadets. so the culture before 9/11 when i was there, and when you were at duke how does that compare to how the culture is now? >> it still is an oddity to see a uniform walking around campus. one of any students decided to join rotc this semester. it's not just a benefit for, you know, savannah who joined.

it's also a benefit for all the other students to see one of their peers at an elite institution is choosing the life of service. >> i remember those same folks, my classmates, were kind of busting my chops. like, you're on the dean's list why would you join the army? when 9/11 happened and i was an army captain, they were the first to say, thanks for defending us. let's talk about other student-athletes there at duke. these two we want to highlight, they've really stood out. marshall prumley and savannah story. tell us about each of them. >> so savannah is one of my students students. in the first weeks of this semester, she knew i was a veteran and asked if we could meet and talk about rotc. she comes from a background that maybe doesn't fit the stereotype. she's a debutante, division i athlete on the field hockey team. busy. she saw she could add this to her plate and take this deliberate approach to understanding both service and

leadership. and marshall, he's busy right now. duke's on their way to win another national championship. the idea that he would take this on -- and i think that stems from really his coach. coach k. is a veteran. he instills discipline, and he focuses on teaching these young men to be leaders. so it's a natural fit that marshall would become army rotc. >> how difficult do you think it is to juggle not only the intense academics at a school like duke university but also elite sports and the rotc program? >> well, you know, when i have to meet with savannah i have to kind of work around her schedule. not only is it academics, but she's at practice a number of hours. she's traveling on the weekend. she was supposed to be on this show but she's working today. so i have so much respect for duke students in general, but then the ones that decide to add on and do army rotc and athletics, it's truly an

exceptional bumpblnch. they're going to be great army officers. >> let's talk about more serious and pressing issues. you taught at west point. you served two tours in iraq. you went came back served your country as assistant secretary at the va. it's been now almost a year since the va scandal at the phoenix hospital in arizona came to light. last week president obama and secretary mcdonald visits the phoenix facility where it all started. how much progress do you think has been made in that area? >> well i have a lot of respect for what secretary mcdonald has done. the last thing i'm going to be is some bomb thrower after i served in the administration. i especially appreciate his approach to the media. he's gotten out there. he's talked about a system that's not perfect but is still very good. so there's still a lot of work to be done with the va. i like their initial approach. >> how about our fellow veterans? we have an epidemic where 22 veterans commit suicide every day on average. how do you convince most of them 17 of the 22 that are not

in the va system that things are improving and they should get in and register with the va? >> i saw your segment with tammy. i'm glad the clay hunt act passed. but it really only addresses those veterans that are already in the va. as you said 22 veterans take their live every day, and 17 of them have never sought va care because they don't know about it. while i was at va we created an expensive, taxpayer-funded ad campaign with theed a ed aed a ed aed a ed aed a ed aed a -- the ad council that cost $4 million. it hasn't been run yet. it's time to run it and bring more veterans in. >> how about your overall assessment of secretary mcdonald in his role? >> i think he's come in and brought a lot of energy. he says call me bob. it's a much different culture. i know he's given out his cell phone number. this is a 330,000-person organization. it's a big beast. i think he's the right type of leader to come in with a lot of

energy and focus and realizing that the va can't do this alone. he's spent a lot of time talking with partner groups and the media to inform the population. it's not their va. it's our va. >> now, let me switch gears and talk about the situation in iraq. you spent a lot of time on the ground training and advising as a green beret. last week we saw this major mission to retake the city of tikrit. this is supposed to be the test case for the rest of the war. do you see us leading the charge, and what about the iranian-backed shia militias? a lot of those guys were the same guys we fought during the war. >> yeah i mean it's a mess. in the military and army rotc you learn the principles of war. one of those is the objective. i have yet to hear a clear objective here. i have yet to hear a solid argument that says after spending trillions of dollars and having hundreds of thousands of troops in iraq that spending billions of dollars and having thousands of troops in iraq will achieve a greater effect. >> you know the lesson learned,

as we know from the vietnam war, was the pell doctrine. have a clear mission, use overwhelming force to accomplish the mission. how about the u.s. air force? we've been doing air strikes for several months. do you think the plan is working against isis? >> you mentioned a perfect example. shia militia. that's the main force that's trying to retake tikrit. i spent a lot of time in tikrit. when i was there, we were going against shia militias not that long ago who were using efps to kill and dismember american soldiers. >> efps. i know what that is share it with our audience. >> they're the shape charge that's a very effective ied. so before we traipse back in we have to have a very clear objective and have a very clear sense of what it is we're trying to accomplish. >> yeah. all right, let me go back to another lighter topic here. we got to talk about march

madness. obviously the end of st. patrick's day week. but it was a pretty easy win for duke university against robert morris. this afternoon you're up against san diego state. how do you think duke is going to do in the tournament, and are they going to make it all the way? >> san diego state is a great team. the aztecs are great warrior people. patrick, you've got me in a suit on sunday in march. i figured i'll be changing back into this very shortly. so that's how i feel about not just today but what's going to happen throughout the tournament. duke's going all the way and is going to beat kentucky in the final. >> i think that's a jj redick jersey. >> i know my duke sports. come on. coach k. is a west point graduate. we both taught there. tommy sowers, thank you for joining us on "taking the hill." you're a great american. >> thanks patrick. when we come back a new effort to help veterans dealing with ptsd. you're watching "taking the hill" on msnbc.

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welcome back to "taking the hill." three days in the spring we're also at the beginning of major league baseball. little league opening is just around the corner. i'll be out there with my daughter maggie and son jack at the little league season opener just like thousands of others across the country. this week we're going to salute major league baseball and welcome back veterans. why? check out this clip and see what they've done. >> this is major robert sides of the air force. his son doesn't know that he is back from a tour of duty. >> there are those who protect the plate and those who protect home. join major league baseball in supporting the men and women of

the military. visit welcomebackveterans.org to see how you can help. >> that gets me choked up every time i watch it. to date thaifr raised more than $30 million to help veterans and their families. we salute major league baseball welcome back veterans for helping make these reunions for our troops and their families so special. next the ongoing crisis of veteran unemployment, and make sure you let your voice be heard using #takingthehill.

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so there's moisturizing relief for everyone. biotene, for people who suffer from a dry mouth. ♪ welcome back to "taking the hill" on msnbc. i'm patrick murphy. this past week the labor department released its annual veterans employment report. good news. for iraq and afghanistan veterans, unemployment fell 1.8% last year. now, that's down to 7.2%. it's still far too high and well above the national number. joining me now is one man who is working on that problem,

democratic congressman mark tacano, member of the veteran affairs committee. congressman, thanks for joining us here today. >> hey, patrick. thanks for having me. >> so congressman, we got some good news first. what do you think drove that nearly 2% decline last year? >> well i think it's the overall improvement in the economy. in california, things are looking up. you know as i talk to constituents even in the inland empire where i represent riverside county, which usually lags in the economy, things are looking up. i'd have to attribute some of that to the fact that we've seen an overall improvement in the economy. >> yeah. so, you know, i'm a big believer that veterans when they come home, they're siskcivic assets leaders in their community, but also the method of leave no one behind. the unemployment rate is a lot higher for a post-9/11 veteran than overall veterans. is that just a matter of them being younger and trying to enter the work force during the recession, or are there other

factors at play? >> when you think about an 18-year-old, sometimes even 17-year-old young person entering service, they haven't gone through the normal paces that a young person goes through, whether it's going to school having that initial job after high school or midway through university. they leave the military often without that private sector experience. that adjustment is somewhat considerable. i'm pleased that there are programs out there such as in california we have something called work for warriors which directly places veterans and service members, departing service members, into jobs. i'm pleased that a program like that can do it for $500 per person rather than the $10,000 that the other programs do. congressman paul cook and i are trying to make this california

model something that would go national. >> i know you just introduced that act. how do you convince employers that military experience is actually relevant job training? >> well many employers out there already know that veterans bring with them considerable leadership skills. they've often had training in the military that can -- that is transferable whether it's driving a truck, you know, large vehicle. that can transfer redly to many transportation vehicles like u.p.s. whether you've been trained as a medic, that could transfer into whether you're going to move into a private ambulance care or become a paramedic. these are all transferable skills. we have to do a better job of making sure that there's a seamless transition for our service members into civilian jobs and certifications. >> no doubt that certification

program would really help. let me switch gears, congressman. the most sacred duty of a member of congress is whether or not to declare war. we know isis is a terrorist organization. we know president obama's asked the congress to vote on a new aumf authorization of use for military force. when is the congress going to get after it and bring it up for a vote? >> well i can't tell you when. i'm still a junior member. i have been among, i think, those members of congress very early on to call for an aumf debate. the fact that we haven't done that i think, is an abdication of congress' duty to be involved in such authorizations. i personally believe that the aumf language the president has submitted to congress should be debated very very quickly. it is, as you say, one of our most important duties.

i'm among those who believes that the language is too broad, although the president himself would view his language as somewhat restrictive. indeed, many of the republican members think that the president's aumf doesn't go far enough. >> yeah i know congressman you've been fighting to make sure we get a vote on it. from my view point, congress needs skin in the game here. the political class of our country needs to weigh in whether or not we're going to send american men and women back into that war. >> especially when you think it could mean a protracted involvement, an involvement of billions if not trillions of dollars and american lives on the line. the american people need to have the choices laid out before them. in a democracy, we simply must have public sentiment behind whatever major challenge that we face militarily and without it history shows it's a disaster

for a country without having the american people vested in a decision of this magnitude. >> no doubt. congressman, probably my last question time wise. this week the new president of afghanistan is making his first official visit to the white house. what do you think needs to happen to repair the u.s.-afghanistan relationship? >> well i believe that, you know a good start is we have a partner in the new afghani president that doesn't view i think, the president with a huge amount of distrust. we need to build a stronger -- hopefully the president is able to build upon that beginning. and, you know, i just hope -- i wish them well in this meeting. >> so real quick, we're expecting to see a timeline for withdraw that might be significantly extended in afghanistan. do you expect the american presence to look different in the future? >> say that again. do i expect what?

>> as far as our posture, do you think the fact that we have several thousand close to about 8,000 now in afghanistan, do you think that will change in the future? will we extend it keep 8,000, still continue to decrease it? >> well i think given what we saw happen in iraq i think the president is probably being very cautious about how much -- more quickly we draw down forces in iraq. so i would expect to see, you know, a cautious posture in terms of how much quickly we draw down. although eventually i think that we do need to draw down our presence in afghanistan. >> yeah it'll be interesting to sew what comes out of the tuesday meeting at the white house. congressman, thank you so much for joining us on "taking the hill." i look forward to seeing you again soon. >> thank you. all right. up next, the story of the mighty moms of walter reed. you're watching "taking the hill" on msnbc.

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they're known as the mighty moms of walter reed. they're a group of women who live at the military hospital in maryland in order to help care for their sons and daughters who have returned from war with traumatic injuries. some of their remarkable stories are featured in a book "unbreakable bonds: the mighty moms at wounded warriors walter reed." joining me now is the co-author and julie keys, the sole survivor of a roadside bomb in afghanistan three years ago that killed his best friend and three others. she's the last of the moms featured in the book at walter reed. if it's okay let's start with you. what kind of injuries did your son sustain in that attack and how's he doing today? >> well he's doing exceptionally well today. adam was in a mounted vehicle which was hit by a very large

ied. he was critical but stable at that time and by the time he had returns stateside to walter reed an infection had taken hold, which caused some extensive skin damage internal injuries, and led to the amputation of both his legs and his right forearm. but he had a really hard road and we've been there quite a long time. but he's doing exceptionally well and hopefully we will -- he will be medically retiring at the end of may. >> that's great. what's a typical day like for you as adam's caretaker? >> well it's getting a little easier now. when he was in the hospital we pretty much worked it one day at a time. you would get up. he had so much going on medically and went through a number of surgeries. so you get up in the morning, and you decide what you're doing that day. you deal with that and each day started the same. i would go over to the hospital. i would be with him all day

long. many times i would stay overnight at the hospital. but it was as his needs dictated, that's what i did while he was inpatient. >> that's what moms do. kevin, let me go to you. how do you find out about these women? it's remarkable. >> my co-author, we've been friends for a long time and she started volunteering down at walter reed. she met one of the families the fiddlers, mark and stacy, and through them found out that these caregivers weren't just visiting or part time taking care of loved ones. they were there full time moving in for two, three, four years. so she came up with -- >> go ahead. i'm sorry. >> i'm sorry. so she thought this would make a great story and the people needed to know about the moms and the sacrifices they were undergoing for their sons and daughters and called me, asked if i would help put together a project, and i was more than happy to do so. >> yeah. you've seen the reports on the

injuries that are sustained in wars in iraq and afghanistan. just the latest from the congressional research service shows that a total of more than 1500 major limb amputations, nearly 130,000 cases of ptsd and a little over 300,000 cases of traumatic brain injury. kevin, you've heard the personal stories behind these numbers and wrote about ten families. which of these stories stuck out to you? >> it's hard to just pick one. every time i read this story, i'm overwhelmed by the story from start to finish from the time they were wounded on the battlefield and the people had the presence of mind to take care of them and stop the bleeding of these traumatic wounds and get them to care. then from there to germany, to walter reed and moms going nonstop, helping them 24/7 doing everything for them from remembering when to take their medicines, get them to appointments, make sure they get

to see the right doctors and nurses. and then even going further. they had so much -- so many of their own problems to deal with. yet, they were always there for each other and for the other sons and daughters and all the other caregivers there. every time i read the stories, i'm kind of in awe. i just think, i guess we kind of hope people will look at this and maybe, you know, do a little bit of what the moms did and help reach out to other veterans and caretakers. >> no doubt so many of these veterans coming back from our wars now wouldn't have purr vooif -- survived the past wars. and there's nothing greater than a mother's love. julie, let me go back to you. how would you describe the camaraderie between you and the other moms? >> well i don't think any one of us will forget that day we got the phone call. we're thrust into a world we really know nothing about. the medical world, the military world. the trauma of it all. we just gravitate towards each

other. we turn out to be -- because we're all going through the same thing, we turn to each other for support, and we lift each other up when we're down. it's just an amazing thing. these are people i probably would never come across in my life. we're from all different walks of life. yet, we're now family. we care for each other. >> and that's what shows through in the book. it's pretty remarkable. kevin, what would you say your biggest takeaway from interviewing these women is from the book? >> i think the big takeaway for me would be the reminder that when people sign up for the military, they're not going in alone. their families are going in there with them, and they're going to be there. they're going to have to be there for them in a lot of different ways to support them. >> yeah there's no doubt. i always say it's not just the service member the troop that's signing up it's the whole family. it's the families that sacrifice so much time and time again.

julie, what kind of advice would you give to the spouses and families of soldiers who are coming home with injuries? >> you you just have to be there for them. i really feel that a lot of these guys would not make it without the support they've gotten from their families their mothers, their wives. all the care givers. you know and you just take it one day at a time. that's the only way you can sort of get through this, i feel. and, you know, there's not -- it's also there's a lot of nonprofits that have seen the need at walter reed. so there's a lot of support and help from them. you know yellow ribbon fund tunnel to towers, trucking for troops. the foundation. these are all organizations that saw a need and they give from the heart. they're truly there for everyone. >> joy, your son was young

surviving that accident. how is he doing psychologically now knowing his battle buddies never made it home? >> adam is very, very positive. and he -- we met the other families. they are part of our extended family now. he uses them as motivation to go on. because they didn't make it. he needs to make the best life he possibly can. and that motivates him on a daily basis. >> what are some of the highlights he shared with you? and some of his favorite stories. i'm showing pictures of tom hanks on there. give us some of the folks he got excited -- i know bradley cooper was one in one of those pictures, as well. >> yeah we've met an incredible amount of caring people. i think a big one for him was -- he was very honored to meet tea

when she came with bradley cooper. that was a big moment for him. >> yeah. he's an american hero. and what they've given is pretty remarkable. well, thank you very much for writing the book two, joining us on "taking the hill." please pick it up it's on amazon and in bookstores. thank you so very much for doing all you can and telling this incredibly powerful story. >> thank you for having us. >> thanks for having us. >> of course. >> after the break, a final thought. this is "taking the hill" on msnbc. in small business you have to work hard, know your numbers, and stay focused. i was determined to create new york city's first self-serve frozen yogurt franchise. and now you have 42 locations. the more i put into my business the more i get out of it. like 5x your rewards when you make select business purchases with your ink plus card from chase. and with ink, i choose how to redeem my points for things like cash or travel. how's the fro-yo? just peachy...literally.

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welcome back. last week captain harry wales announced his retirement from the british army. you probably know him better as prince harry. in his ten-year active duty career captain wells served two tours in the middle east.

the first in afghanistan and kept secret until his cover was blown. he returned to the front lines. prince harry is retiring so he can devote even more time to helping wounded warriors and to dedicate more time to an olympic style event for injured servicemen and women. i know that veterans are assets and leaders in our community when they come home. but we have an ethic in the military. leave no one behind. there are so veterans who come home and fall through the cracks. but it is great to see captain wells continue to devote his time to our fellow veterans. it's a challenge for all of us that if a real life prince can make the time to help our veterans, we can and all should do more to breach the civilian military divide. thank you so much for joining us on taking the hill, i'm patrick murphy. up next, "meet the press."

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we've already given more than 175 million free fico® credit scores to our cardmembers. apply today at discover.com >> this sunday one time middle east success story turns disastrous. u.s. troops withdraw from yemen as the country descends into all out civil war. state of distrust. >> we have to evaluate what other options are available. >> benjamin netanyahu pulls to the right to win the israeli election. has he left the peace process in tatters and altered his country's relationship with the u.s. permanently? plus, climate catastrophe. jerry brown the governor of drought stricken california on why there should no longer be a debate about climate. >> this has to be at the level of a crusade. >> find out which 2016 contender he thinks is unfit for office. >> s