this sunday, mass murder in the air. the latest on the germanwings pilot. what medical condition was he hiding and are changes needed in the way we screen commercial airline pilots? plus, as talks on a nuclear deal with iran reach their final hours -- >> for first time u.s. officials are talking about what will happen if all of this fails. >> -- how the u.s. is becoming caught up on both sides of a proxy war between iran and saudi arabia that could rip apart the middle east even more if that's possible. and -- >> i believe in you. i believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives. >> -- ted cruz becomes the first

to jump into the 2016 race, hoping he can ride an evangelical wave to the white house. why evangelicals may be more important than ever in choosing the next republican nominee. and speaking of republican presidential candidates, why is one courting the survivalist crowd by suggesting it is time to stock up and hoard supplies? i'm chuck todd. joining me for insight and analysis are nbc's joe scarborough hillary clinton's former policy director, neera tanden kathleen parker of "the washington post" and sam stein of "the huffington post." welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. a topic that dominated conversation around the world, the news that a plane crashed into the alps with 150 people on board was horrific enough. but the story took a bizarre and even more disturbing turn when it became clear that the co-pilot had deliberately

slammed it into the mountain, turning it into a mass murder. we're learning more about that pilot andreas lubitz every day and a picture is emerging of a mentally disturbed man who never should have been allowed in the cockpit. for the latest on trying to find out about this pilot, i'm joined by nbc's katy tur, in the pilot's hometown of montabaur, germany. what more have we learned about andreas and about what happened in those final moments? >> reporter: well, even more horrifying tee inging details are coming out. a newspaper here in germany, the largest tabloid, is reporting on a timeline of the final moments of that plane. they said the pilot mentioned when they take off that he hadn't gone to the bathroom in spain co-pilot lubitz says you should go while we're in the air, the pilot doesn't respond. once they reach altitude the pilot says that he will go, gets up goes to the bathroom, next thing you here is the door clicking shut and the pilot banging on the door saying open the damn door and then him

taking an ax to the door as the passengers scream. this is being reported by a newspaper out here. nbc news has not been able to verify it. but if it is true, it is chilling details of the final moments. they're also reporting a lot on his medical condition. the new york times reports that he had eye issues that would have prevented him from flying in the future. there are also reports there was depression involved here. so far nbc news hasn't been able to verify that either. but the prosecutors office did find doctors notes, torn up doctors notes inside the home, before the day of the crash that were in the given to lufthansa ones that would have excused him from work. they're looking into all of this now and trying to piece together exactly what was going on inside his mind at the time of the crash. chuck? >> katy tur thank you very much. i know you'll keep reporting and building a profile of this pilot. i'm joined by nbc's aviation correspondent, tom costello and erin bowen, an aviation psychology expert from embry-riddle aeronautical

university. welcome to you both. tom, following up on this report this morning, you hear an ax. there are axes on airplanes? >> there is an ax we know for sure in the cockpit, that's standard procedure. but there is also according to lufthansa, they have one hidden in the passenger compartment, and only the crew members know where that ax might be. so we were a little surprised by that as well to find there is an ax somewhere hidden in the cabin, but apparently there is. now, we can't confirm the bild's reporting that the pilot was using an ax to try to get through the door. but in theory, there is an ax in the cabin. >> we're having a larger conversation about mental health and mental fitness of pilots. i think we're finding out that there isn't a lot of mental health checks done of pilots. is that right, erin? >> right. the psychological assessments that are available for use, typically at the time of new hire for airline pilots, are not the types of tools that would detect mental illness. they're primarily things like

personality inconvenientventoryies. >> interesting here according to a guide for the aviation medical examiners, the faa does not expect an examiner to perform a formal psychiatric examination, however the examiner should form a general impression of the emotional stability and mental state of the applicant. there is no mental health check? >> no because those tools just aren't as sophisticated as the medical examines and diagnostic tests you can get annually for your physical. >> you're talking about during the year, the yearly physical. >> not a mental physical. >> but there is a psychological workup that is done before and during the hiring process that is rather rigorous, but not during the yearly physical. >> not an annual thing that is done? >> well, only -- you know better than i, but as i understand it you would ask cursory questions. >> right. so your physician, when you go into your aviation medical examiner, would ask questions about your sleep, any substance abuse alcohol use personal life, stressors, but they're not

trained psychiatrists or psychological experts. they're primary care physicians. >> does that need to change? >> no, actually. i don't think it does. psychological assessments are not magic diagnostic tools that would tell us this is an individual with depression who is imminently going to crash a plane full of innocent passengers. they're just not that sophisticated. >> tom there was a time where if you had any mental health condition, you were not allowed to be a licensed commercial airline pilot. they had to ease those restrictions. >> in 2010, the faa changed the rules, essentially acknowledging that people are living with depression and certain mental health issues every single day and do so very well in this country. they take meds, they get therapy. so in 2010, the faa came out and said, listen, if you self-disclose if you come to us and say i'm dealing with personal issues, i'm dealing with mental health and depression, and what have you, i would like to seek help, the faa says fine that's all right, we'll take you out of the cockpit for a year, if you get that help and you can come back and be in the cockpit and be on

some antidepressants, for example, including zoloft, then that's all right. if you function well, if you're cleared by a doctor. >> you have to self-report. >> you have to self-report. there is an incentive to self-reporting. if you don't self-report and those meds show up in your yearly blood work, then you're talking about suspension or fines. so there is an incentive. >> erin we should be relieved here in this country mr. lubitz would have never qualified to be an airline pilot in this country right? >> not according to the restrictive atp requirements. you need 1500 hours of flight time or a thousand hours from a qualified approved school in order to be a co-pilot. >> there is no way this guy could have been a pilot here. >> i find this almost egregious that somebody who has -- lufthansa, this is not like -- this is the gold standard for airlines around the world, and since 2013, this guy had been a first officer and only accumulated up to 630 hours in total? in the united states, you can

nobt not be a first officer, but this comes after the colgan aircraft where we saw crew members not up to the job in the cockpit didn't have enough training and experience, and were subpar in terms of the captain and the performance and the testing. for lufthansa to be hiring somebody with so few hours is concerning. >> very quickly. >> i would disagree this say failure of training. this is a mental health issue. at 630 hours more than capable pilot and up to four years ago, a more than capable pilot in the united states. this is really a mental health failure and a failure for us to recognize and change the culture and industry. >> erin bowen, tom costello thank you, both. let's bring in the panel, joe scarborough, neera tanden, kathleen parker, sam stein. kathleen, you wrote about this, this week, monster in the sky. i feel like we're having -- we're about to have the same conversation we had when we talked about the shooting in

aurora or shooting in -- we're talking about mental health issues and maybe that's the conversation we should be having. >> i'm always happy to talk about mental health issues and we don't talk about it enough across the board. however, i'm not convinced that we know that this is absolutely a mental health circumstance. i mean the fact he might have had antidepressants in his daily regimen doesn't necessarily mean he's not capable of doing his job or that he was somehow fail in the air. there is no evidence that he's had some psychotic event thus far. i don't know how we would discover it, but the fact he had a rumbled up doctor's excuse not to work that day doesn't to me confirm this is strictly a mental health problem. >> fair enough. but i have to say joe you start finding out, we don't really check -- we don't do mental health checkups for pilots. we all fly a lot. that's a little disconcerting to me. >> i get on the plane last night to come up we got the end of

the kids' spring break, i walk up and turn to the pilot and say, are you happy? you doing okay? and the pilot just looked at me and said, any suicidal thoughts, everything okay? and the guy laughed. he got what i was talking about. but you always look at the pilot, especially as you get older and you realize the pilots are younger and younger and now some of those pilots are younger than my 27-year-old son. so there has to be some mental health screening. it is just like when somebody tried to get on a plane with liquid to blow things up. now we do the -- i will say this, let's celebrate something that the federal government does right in this country, aviation. we see all around the world one crash after another one unexplained crash after another, you know. tip our hats -- >> i was going to say -- >> they do a great job, knock on wood. >> before you jump in later in the show, i have this interview with patrick kennedy i did, and

one part he's become this big mental health advocate. listen to what he says, he thinks we need to make mental health more of a normalized thing when it comes to medical. >> 40,000 suicides and counting a year 16,000 overdoses more than are killed in car accidents, the epidemic of addiction and mental illness in this country and we're paralyzed as a nation in the way that we cope with it. we're doing a lot of one-offs, but we have no agenda for mental health and addiction. >> he continued, his hope is that the way you get an annual physical you do the same thing an annual mental physical. and there would be no stigma to that. >> you know, we don't spend relatively that much money on mental health services in this country somewhere under 6% of our national health care spending. so clearly there is room for growth there. science and research, the brain initiative to give us science into this thing. with the context of this we need to remember two things.

aviation safety is pretty good and keeps getting better year by year. and, two, one of the problems here was not the mental health, but the fact that europe doesn't have the tools in the cockpit. in the united states, this man would have never been alone in the cockpit, a co-pilot there at all times. in europe, that wasn't the case f there had been somebody else there, we probably would have had different circumstances. >> we're celebrating american government regulation. >> i think if we make mental health screening more regular, it takes away the stigma, which is one of the reasons why it is important in the u.s. that we had the kind of safe director we had had. >> and what patrick kennedy talks about, started with kids. we need to start it early. and then normalize. >> you brought this up, it is a very important point, we talked about it after newtown and now, what is the line that connect us? it is mental health. we can talk about airline safety, but it goes back to mental health. we can talk about gun control at the end of the day, got to talk about mental health. >> we'll pause here. when we come back, the latest on

the critical nuclear talks with iran, the deadline we're now hours away. and also if it seems as if we're fighting both sides in the middle east, with iran and against them, i knew instantly that this was...wow! it's crest hd. it's amazing. new crest hd gives you a 6x healthier mouth and 6x whiter teeth in just one week. it gets practically every detail. that's why it's called hd. try new crest pro-health hd. this is kevin returning to his childhood home. this is the smell of baked pears, making him feel warm. then pie crust as he wonders if it's too soon to ask what's for dessert. now vanilla, reminding him of pep talks with mom and slightly inappropriate advice from dad. new air wick life scents in mom's baking the first constantly changing fragrance that acts like real life and says 'welcome home, kev-y bear.' this is him, secretly loving the name kev-y bear. air wick home is in the air. ever since darryl's wife started using gain flings, their laundry smells more amazing than ever. (sniff)

honey, isn't that the dog's towel? (dog noise) hey, mi towel, su towel. more scent plus oxi boost and febreze. it's our best gain ever! i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. because it gives me... zero heartburn! prilosec otc. the number 1 doctor-recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 9 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

and we're back. talks of iran are in the final hours ahead of the self-imposed tuesday deadline and john kerry has cancel med a plan return to the u.s. and a final push to get this deal done. never shy to speak out on the

fears and the prime minister has stated this morning that the deal that seems to be emerging is worse than he had feared. for latest on the talks i am joined with andrea mitchel. there's a lot more about a deal getting done. >> reporter: there certainly is. this is an 18th month investigation and days to go. there are some stumbling blocks. the biggest sticking point is that they're refuseing to give up on nuclear equipment that can be used for peaceful purposes and used to create nuclear weapons. the second sticking point is the lebt of sanctioning when they would be phased out and how quickly they could be lifted. those are complications and both sides doing for this technical reasons and both doing it to blame each other if it falls apart. this is the first time that u.s.

officials are talking about what would happen if there's no deal. >> and the fall out if there's no deal politically does that put the president in a stronger position domestically? >> well it could. you have the democrats and some allies andize -- more broadly with so many other problems on the policy front the white house sees this as the legacy. that's why they were so angry of the opposition. they wants this badly. do they want it too badly? they have the limits on the program, and they have not violated them we're told. during the negotiations all bets are off and they can do what they want and they can spot un inspectors from getting in. >> okay. thank you.

i know that you're going to be there if it hands out. i am joined by christopher hill and he also served a chief me dposh yay or the in north korea that was unsuccessful talks in 2005 and 2008 and welcome to meet the press. let me just start with what you heard as the sticking point. take us inside this room. you have been at this point before. you hear this pessimism. is it real or are they playing with us a little bit? >> it's a little bit of both. certainly from the u.s. advantage point they have to go back to washington and over sell the deal. the deal is so hinged on technical issues that it's hard to sell. it does not sing when you bring it back to people. the iran needs to come back and say that we got it sanctioned. it's going to be tough.

for both sides it's not a clean deal. both sides are going to have a he can f of a time selling it back in capitals and so i think that some of the pessimisms is very real. >> when you look we're at a point and this week you look at the developments in yemen and getting involved in what they think and how can the united states be helping to strengthen the region by cutting a deal on the nuclear front and then cause more problems for the key allies like saudi? >> well now there's a repel i don't know and from the perspective, these are tough times. they look at this deal from iran and what they see is something that goes beyond the nuclear issue. they see some kind of emerging

or reemerging partnership with the u.s. and iran. they look back and saw a u.s. that considered or considered i ran the main factor in the middle east. they do not want to see that kind of issue, so from there perspective things have been very tough especially about iran and other and then by the way we're asking them to go after the radical sauni's in isis. it's been quit a tough time. >> why is one of the points of negotiation in this nuclear deal forcing iran to recognize israel? >> it's probably a bridge too far. iran is very split. you have these smart people from ter ron and they have their own agenda to push back but the i tola's have no interest in

normalizing with israel. they have no interest in pulling back from issues in syria and support for terrorist groups. they're very split themselves and not like the situation that we have in washington. >> timely ifinally i want to get you to react to president obama's. he said we're in gosh darn free fall here. he did not use gosh darn when referring to the middle east policy. do you agree? >> i think frankly there's so much different stuff going on and it's going to be a new poll policy and the real difficulty is explain to it people. overall, i think that there's a successful effort to push back isis and the concern is that we're powering the militia

groups. as long as syria is the exporter of instability, it's going to have tough for the region. >> thank you for your viewpoints on this. i appreciate it. >> thank you. they have established a joint military force as saudi lead air strikes on rebels continue across yemen. despite the air strikes they're going south and a government strong hold that the countries president fled to earlier this week. as richard angler explain the u.s. is stuck on both sides of a proxy war that consume the region. >> saud lirks jets took off about 100 hours after american advisers were forced to evacuate under the cover of night. here rebels and muse -- on the

one hand they're working on the other. in iraq the u.s. is is giving back the air support. in switzerland it's talking with iran. in yemen, the u.s. left the fight with the rebels and in syria they're supporting iran and their allie and with iran with isis. >> the end result is that we do not seem to be to the people f of the region and the american people pursuing and presenting at strategy that will defeat the bad forces. >> the suni states are going their own way because they believe that this administration cannot be relied on with what they see as the real enemy iran. leaders in egypt today called

for the united standing of the army. it would stand against iran. there's a proxy war under way that's big and expanding with other sauni nations and the administration is trying and failing to play both sides of it and cobnfusing the friends. richard with nbc news. >> i am joined with the saudi ambassador for the united states. welcome. >> thanks. great to be here. >> what is saudi objective in getting involved in yemen? >> we are there to protect the people of yemen from an occupation of a radical group that's been on turning and we came to protect the government of yemen, and we want to restore a peace and stability in a country that's been good to us. >> before you started the air

strikes our commander general austin said that he was only told about the attacks one hour before they began and he did this at a hearing and john mccain said that was quit a commentary and he thought that said more about the relationship that really it's deteriorating. can you think that he is right? >> i don't think that it's deteriorating. it's very very strong. we have talks about the options of using force for many months. it became more serious and in the run up and making the decision and putting together we were in constant touch about the decision to use military force was made at the last moment because of the developments that were happening with regards to the potential occupation of adden and so i can see how somebody would say that we knew about the -- the decision was made at the last minute but the thinking and planning -- >> you were sharing this with the united states and they were

fully on board? >> absolutely. they would not be working with us if they were not on board. >> why would you send ground troops in? >> we made the decision so far and so far it's an air campaign and we have a plan in motion and we're executing this plan. >> okay. but what would be the reason that you would send ground troops in if adden falls? >> we have to see. we're not comp templating this. we're determined to protect the government of yemen and the people of yemen, so we will continue this campaign until the objectives are achieved. >> should we be calling this a war? war. >> this is the war to protect the people of yemen from a group that's allied and supported by iran. i would not call it the proxy war, we're doing this to protect yemen. >> can a strong iran and yemen

coeconomist coexist? >> it's up to iran. we have many problems and there have not been one incident of saudi aggression. it's been rejected for the past 35 years when we extend. we would like to have friendly relations because it's good for the region but this decision and the decision not to have friendly relationships is results of the irans and not a result of the saudi arabia. >> i believe that the negotiations with regard to the nuclear programs are something that the whole world wants to succeed. >> you want a deal? >> we want a solid deal that denies the about to make nuclear weapons. a deal that's defiable and a deal that cuts all avenues to a nuclear weapon for iran. a solid deal. we're waiting to see the the results before we access the deal. >> you declined to rule out the idea and interview earlier this

week that saudi would do the own nuclear program if iran would not stop. is that a fair assessment? >> i said that we would not discuss the issues in public. >> if you were going to say no you would have said no. >> every country has to out and we have to protect our people and do whatever. we have to access a threat and make a decision on how we're going to deal with it. >> what is the united states -- do you think that they need to do more to support? have they done enough or do you think that they're doing everything that we have been doing? >> with regards to yemen, we're bless window please, sir pleased with the report. we have a strong cooperation and a strong military cooperation and commercial ties. we're having things with the relationship and working more to insure that we have the role to bring in and impower in iraq and

keep iraq united and independent. >> do you feel that they have or owns any of the problems that have been exported? would this happen sauni's without individuals in saudi saudi arabia and helping them out? >> i don't know if that's a fair point to make. i know that they're a target of isis. we have try and captured many members of isis in the community that tried to kill our people. we're fighting them in syria. if they're individuals that are providing funding to isis we will punish them and we arrested a number of them and they're sitting in our jails. >> thank you for coming on meet press. the latest on hillary's e-mail problem and the ones that won't get wiped away from our server.

want to know a secret? i wasn't always a redhead. you'd never know it though because it's nice'n easy color so natural looking it's clairol's #1 authentic color that's always true to you. so shift a shade and still look like your most amazing you. they say after seeing a magician make his assistant disappear mr.clean came up with a product that makes dirt virtually disappear. he called it the magic eraser. it cleans like magic. even baked on dirt disappears right before your eyes. mr.clean's magic eraser. i want my foyer to smell more like a foyer. i want his bedroom to smell like he's away at boarding school. surround yourself with up to 6 hours of luxurious, long-lasting scents... ...introducing new unstopables air refresher.

he's out there. there's a guy out there whose making a name for himself in a sport where your name and maybe a number are what define you. somewhere in that pack is a driver that can intimidate the intimidator. a guy that can take the king 7 and make it 8. heck. maybe even 9. make no mistake about it. they're out there. i guarantee it. welcome to the nascar xfinity series.

two senators announced this week they won't be running for re-election. one, you may not have heard about. republican dan coats of indiana. the man you just heard from, of course, is senate minority leader harry reid who will leave after five terms in office, that makes four senators, by the way, three of them democrats who will not be returning and announce a retirement. no more bashers inrbers in the senate. republicans hold a 54-46 majority. but 2016 is rocky ground for

republicans. 23 seats are held by republicans that are up compared to 10 democratic seats because of the 20 10 wave. this much we know. harry reid's retirement means two new faces. a new senator from nevada and new leader for the democrats. let's bring in the panel, joe, chuck schumer, for harry reid what changes do you expect? >> that's a big tradeup for the democratic party and america. >> trade up? >> trade up. harry reid is majority leader in the senate and the tea party in the house it was a disastrous combination. chuck schumer is an interesting person who not only will be better for his party, because it is going to be be able to tateke the message to americans more. like tip o'neill, one thing he hates more is gridlock and getting nothing done. i think we're all better off now. >> i agree with almost everything there except harry reid was described as this guy -- the behind the scenes guy and harry reid was the guy the republicans secretly cut deals

with they couldn't deal can tom daschle. does the job itself polarize you. harry reid used to be what joe described. >> i think it is polarizing a little bit. i think harry reid responded to the tea party. the truth is that harry reid felt like he couldn't get anything done and he became more of a fighter. i do agree completely with chuck -- with joe that chuck is important on message he's a fighter for the middle class et cetera. i think being a spokesperson for the party he'll do a better job. i think that we have to make -- the government has to function going forward. so i hope we -- >> chuck schumer is not camera shy. harry reid -- some of the progressive left think chuck schumer is too close to wall street. >> yes. >> how, you know -- he made sure there is nobody -- harry reid,

they closed ranks. >> i was talking to a couple of democrats about this. usually democrats are disorganized, dysfunctional, but their succession has been -- >> that's very republican-like. >> i know. >> and orderly. >> the thing is like you said harry reid is viewed skeptically by the left and will be forever remembered for two legislative accomplishments, health care reform which never would have happened without him and the second is the filibuster reform that allowed him to reshape the judiciary in this country for a generation to come. the one thing i'll say about him as a tactician, he may not have been the most camera ready person, but he was a tactician. he established a super pac even though he hated it he was vicious going after -- >> he was a party boss. he was an old-fashioned party boss. >> i think obviously he didn't want -- he -- harry reid may have been responding to the tea party as the republicans on the other side. but he also refused to bring

anything to the floor that the republicans put out there. if schumer is willing to bring things to the floor that's an improvement. >> she took what bill fritz created in gridlock and perfected it. >> you talk about harry reid as the tactician, the politician, the fund-raiser. his legacy in the last election will be disastrous. he decided to nationalize the election around charles coe. nobody knew. nobody cared. and he wasted so much money for the democrats. >> i want to -- we get to hillary clinton news and, neera tell me how you feel. >> really? >> i got to ask. so you sit here, she wiped the server clean. politically it makes perfect sense. why have something there you might have to turn over to congress. i understand the tactic. but doesn't it feed this idea that they were hiding something? >> can we just step back a little bit and recognize that this whole thing started when benghazi and the reason why we're at this phase of this scandal machine is because they

didn't find e-mails they wanted to find showing she did something. >> come on. >> wait a minute. >> the e-mails were under subpoena at the time she destroyed them. and saying it makes perfect sense, pat buchanan is saying it makes perfect sense that nixon should have burned the tapes. these e-mails were under -- >> she turned over, exactly. she turned over 55,000 -- >> she selected, though. >> just like any -- >> gang up on neera time. let's get the big picture. doesn't this play -- look, i understand republicans overreach, the clintons are probably overprotective, but is that the stalemate that america is looking for in 2016? >> i think the fact that we are obsessed with this scandal et cetera, is the thing that people hate about washington.

>> we're not obsessed about it. we're asking a question. when you have e-mails and records that are under subpoena, you decide unilaterally to set up your own system and then decide that you're going to wipe out the entire system. >> no, no. hold on. no. no no. number one, she turned over all the state department e-mails. as far as we know. >> by her own word. by her own word. >> everybody in government has personal e-mail. they make a decision what is personal, what's not. that's true for everybody. she's releasing the state department e-mails going beyond where everyone else has gone. and i would say look, when she runs for president assuming she runs she'll be able to talk about these issue and talk about the issues that people care about. no, no. and the fact that everybody has -- >> i got to pause it here. i got to pause it here. >> we don't know if a single

thing you said is correct or not. no, we don't, because you're taking hillary clinton's word for it and nobody would take george w. bush's -- >> all right. i got to -- all right. time-out. time-out. we can't go into overtime. we will continue this on periscope or meerkat. back in a moment, where

it's nerd screen time. the location of senator ted cruz's presidential campaign announcement, the christian even very conservative liberty university, was a signal that the senator is aware of the power of the evangelical vote. voters who call themselves evangelical christians have given hope to multiple primary candidates in the past. in fact, they propelled the former governor of arkansas mike huckabee to a win in iowa with 34% of the vote in 2008. in 2012, it was former senator rick santorum who ended up winning the iowa caucuses, barely, and success was also largely due to one fact, eat van gel the evangelical vote. neither was able to turn it into a successful nomination campaign, but the difference this time is the primary schedule. this could help ted cruz.

iowa is first. looking back at 2012 exit polls, evangelicals made up over a majority of republican voters, 57%. well, two states later, you get to south carolina, third up overall in 2012 evangelicals made up 65% of the gop primary vote. this year success in iowa and south carolina could mean more momentum and more money heading into this election cycle's game changer. what we're calling the s.e.c. primary. here what's happening. for you noncollege football fans out there s.e.c. stands for the southeastern conference. and multiple southern states are in talks to set their primary on the same day resulting in a super evangelical tuesday. georgia, alabama, tennessee, mississippi, arkansas and texas. the thing the states have in common, evangelicals make up the largest portion of the united states. 24% of the population in texas. 39% in mississippi. 41% of the population in alabama.

so the proposed primary could give a candidate like ted cruz, if he is the sole evangelical candidate momentum that huckabee and santorum never able were to count on and could propel cruz to not just relevancy but an actual shot of the nomination. imagine that. be could be a big deal. more on this and the pitfalls of this path can how do crest 3d white whitestrips compare to a whitening toothpaste? let's see. the paste didn't seem to do much for me. the whitestrips made a huge difference. that's not fair! crest whitestrips work below the enamel surface to whiten 25 times better than the leading whitening toothpaste. crest whitestrips. the way to whiten

sensitive bladder? try always discreet. up to 40% thinner, for superior comfort. absorbs 2x more than you may need. no wonder more women prefer always discreet pads over poise. visit alwaysdiscreet.com for coupons and to learn more.

around here, we're all about fast. that's why xfinity is perfect for me. with millions of wifi hotspots all over the place including one right here at the shop now we can stream all things fast and furious. you've done it again, carlos! with the fastest in-home wifi and millions of hotspots xfinity is perfect for people who love fast. don't miss furious 7 in theaters april 3rd.

welcome back. ted kennedy was one of the giants of the u.s. senate. so it is fitting he's being remembered with the establishment of an institute that aims to demystify the legislative process. and it is complete with a full size replica of the senate chamber. tomorrow, the edward m. kennedy institute for the study of the united states senate in boston will be dedicated in a ceremony attended by president obama and figures from across the political divide. earlier this week i got a sneak peek inside when i joined senator kennedy's widow vicki for a private tour. >> it came out at a family dinner and ed schlossberg was the one who had this nugget of an idea would be then't it be great to have an institute for the united states senate. it was for the study of the senate. and teddy thought his eyes lit up and he said, yes. >> the 68,000 square foot building that bares his name is about more than just the late senator's legacy. using today's technology, the institute aims to teach visitors

about the history of the senate, and inspire future legislators through an experiential way of learning. >> every single visitor into this institute will have the opportunity to cast a vote as a united states senator. >> and sit in a replica of the senate chamber. >> welcome to our united states senate chamber. >> a perfect replica, huh? >> close. >> here student groups can debate, negotiate and vote on issues, learning how to work together to get legislation passed something that senator kennedy was famous for. >> this is where teddy sad. >> he always sat here. >> always loved sitting in the back. >> a lot of older senators they have been here in a while they want to move up front want the front row seat. he stayed in the back which meant he was always with the newbies. >> he liked reaching out to both sides of the aisle. >> his ability to work across party lines is a constant theme at the institute. >> another theme when you walk through here, bipartisanship

bipartisanship, bipartisanship. especially in the back corner of the building, where there is a temporary exhibit honoring the senator and a permanent replica of his washington office. we talked for a moment in 2008 when the senator returned to washington for the first time since he was diagnosed with brain cancer to cast the key vote needed to pass a medicare bill. >> i ran up to the family gallery to watch it and i remember an usher coming up to me and saying, now, we usually don't allow noise in the gallery, but it will be all right to applaud. and i just -- it is the first time it dawned on me there would be this reception and it was quite amazing. >> the walls of the office are lined with family photos and letters marking important moments. what tv show could this be? what could this be? >> could this be "meet the press.." >> she insists the institute is more about than just her late husband. >> we have this wonderful

exhibit, but it is about the senate he loved, it is about public service, it is about inspiring the next generation to be involved. that is the spirit of ted kennedy. that is what he wanted this place to be. >> during my visit, i also down with one of senator kennedy's sons, former congressman patrick kennedy. he shared thoughts on what his father would think about the state of politics today. >> we're in a period of history like many others, where we think this will be the way it always is. it is not. it is going to change. the key is how is it going to change. are we going to move it toward better days ahead or think, oh, it is all for not and not even begin to try? so my dad was always an optimist optimist. having overcome so many of his own personal challenges and political challenges. i mean this was a guy that everyone loved. why? because he persevered. and what is the senate snead to do but persevere and become the place that my dad wanted always for it to be, a place where

major conflicts were resolved for the national interest. not for either party's interest, but for the national interest. >> what is it that current senators now should learn from your dad about how it is you can work across the aisle? >> i think the personal etiquette of trying to make an effort to understand what is going on in the other person's life, personally, because you're working with them. >> that's how he did. he forged personal bonds. he and orrin hatch hatch, i think got elected bashing your dad. >> he says it. he came to washington to counteract my dad's vote, orrin hatch did and ended up cutting every deal in the world because he knew it was going to pass if ted kennedy signed off on it and he was sponsor of it boom, everyone else would say, well, gee, if they're for it, then bang. what a revolutionary concept. >> nothing wrong with a few base hits. >> nothing wrong. i think it was the personal courtesies, i go back to that. there isn't a person i talk to

today that doesn't tell me all the time that my dad would write a nice note at some event in their lives and he took a interest in them personally. >> i heard you describe how great this will be for kids to learn. vicki describing it that way. i think there are u.s. senators that could learn something here. what we're describing how the senate -- >> future u.s. senators will -- may have had their spark of imagination born in a place like this. >> what with a your dad be thinking? >> he would be so happy. and then -- >> i can picture him coming behind here. >> he would get so excited if he saw the kids come running through the doors. two joys in this life kids and the senate. he would be in heaven. he is in heaven. this is going to be carrying on the legacy he fought so hard for, to make this a better country for the future. >> should be fun having a senate museum. after a short break we'll be back with our endgame segment

and tell you about the i'm jerry bell the second. and i'm jerry bell the third. i'm like a big bear and he's my little cub. this little guy is non-stop. he's always hanging out with his friends. you've got to be prepared to sit at the edge of your seat and be ready to get up. there's no "deep couch sitting." definitely not good for my back. this is the part i really don't like right here. (doorbell) what's that? a package! it's a swiffer wetjet. it almost feels like it's moving itself. this is kind of fun. that comes from my floor? eww! this is deep couch sitting. [jerry bell iii] deep couch sitting!

time now for "meet the press" endgame. >> and the panel is back here for endgame. sam stein, another big political topic of the week is indiana. new law, governor mike pence signed in, some accuse this law, religious freedom law this would legalize discrimination against gays and lesbians.

huge corporate pushback. now governor pence is back tracking, trying to say, whoa, whoa, whoa, i believe in the law but i'll get some clarity. >> defenders say there is nothing new here. you have to put it in the context. we're about to have the supreme court decision that most people predict will legalize same sex marriage across the country. and then they come in and say you have a right to say no to a gay customer, and i've been shocked by the corporate pushback too. angie'sly, april lyist, apple they're saying they don't want to do business with a state that does this. >> nothing seems to scare people more than pushback. corporate america, oh my gosh. >> well, you know, yes. exactly. i think in this case you know you can't really imagine that at this point we're actually going to think about legitimizing discrimination against a customer. remember the signs i'm having grown up in the south, the signs in the windows that says we

don't serve whom ever. harkens back to that and it is so offensive on a deep level, even though i do believe firmly in protecting religious freedom to the extent we can within the pounds s bounds of fairness. >> there is no bounds. it is pretty much you don't want to serve someone and you can say i have a religious view of it, there is no limitation to it. i think corporations -- it will send a signal. >> there is the evangelical community feels as if they're under siege now, culturally. you'll hear a lot of candidates use this phrase, religious freedom. it will be code for, i'm against same sex marriage but i'm not going to say it. >> well, the evangelical groups felt under siege for past five, six years. it is hard to imagine how quickly this issue moved. in 2004 republicans won states because of anti-gay marriage initiatives across the globe.

across the country t was part of karl rove's strategy. ten years, 11 years later we're telling people who make cakes in muncie, indiana, that you have to -- i think the supreme court is going to come along and say you have to serve cakes to people that are getting married whether you -- whether it goes against your religious beliefs or not. >> i think you sign on, you pay a dollar -- >> this will be a wedge issue. you'll face pressure to say you're against -- and then mainstream establishment saying these -- we can't go this direction. >> this sort of ties into a little lighter note, but weird note here, mike huckabee, could be a strong social conservative candidate, in this field set up this odd e-mail, his e-mail list and sold an advertisement too and comes across the subject, number one item you should be hoarding. are obama and fema going to buy up all the food? it is a pitch for survivalist

food. and, you know, i guess i go -- joe and i grew up in florida. you did actually -- you do, every year prepare for hurricanes. there is nothing wrong with that. >> we were preparing for -- >> this is going to the next level of conspiracy theory here. >> a little embarrassing. i don't think we have to worry about that. but i think people are concerned about, mine this is what huckabee is referring to really is when things get uneasy when the masses become uneasy -- >> that's not happening here in america. >> not yet, not yet but -- >> very quickly -- >> this is a follow-up to what he had had in 1994 when we called the black helicopter crab. >> there it is.

survival -- we will be in recess. that's all for today. we're back next week. because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." a motorcyclist drags a deputy across a highway. >> i thought i was going to die that day. >> a suspect attacks an officer behind a desk. >> he reaches for my gun holster. he was going to take my gun and kill me. an ex-con plows a hole through a maximum-security prison wall. >> nobody's ever seen anything like that before. >> "caught on camera," audacious jailbreaks. >> i can't imagine what they were thinking. >> savage beatings. >> they were going to be administering their own form of jail justice. >> and one of the most notorious prison riots in history. >> the thing that was so extraordinary about that day is the rifles didn't stop them.