involving officer michael sleigher and walter scott. later today the police could release dashcam and we're hearing more from the bistander who captured this disturbing video now seen by millions of people. my colleague craig melvin spoke with faden santana who described what he saw before he started filming. >> i just went to the scene to see what was going on and when i saw him, you know that they were on floor, saying he may have fell down or tackled by the police. i saw he was down and the police was up trying to -- to get control of him and i approached the seen and when i see that the police was pushing him and tasering him. >> so you saw the police toys him? >> you can hear the sound before i started with the video. i never thought that the police would shoot him right at scene. like i say, man was running away

from the police. he -- i believe that maybe he was scared of the taser, you know maybe like he was hurt by the tears, and he just was looking for a way to -- to get away from the police. >> did you hear the officer say anything before he fired the shots? >> no not really. >> well craig joins me now from north charleston there in south carolina. craig. feidin santana also told you that he considered erasing this footage. think about where we'd be without it but fearing his life could be in danger. why did he decide to go ahead and release this? >> a grart question alex and one of the first questions i asked him. a guy, 23 years old. he's a barber here in north charleston. this is the route that he takes to work every day, and he says that when he first saw and heard the confrontation, the incident whatever you want to call it he

knew something was amis so he did what a lot of folks do now. he whipped out his cell phone and he just started recording. and he's being hailed in this area of the country as a hero for not just shooting the video, but in that video he moves closer. towards the end of the video the officer at up point appears to look directly at him and he stays there and continues to shoot the video. this is a little bit more of what feidin santana told me. take a listen. >> i thought about erasing the sri and just getting out of the community of north charleston, you know and living some place else. >> leaving town. >> yes. >> because you were that scared. >> like i say, i knew that -- i saw the video, i knew the cop didn't do it the right way, the right thing. i saw the police report and i read it. he wasn't like that the way they were saying. >> you read the police report? >> yes. >> and i saw on the news and i

said no, you know this is not the right -- this is not what happened. >> not only did he read the report alex he went to the police station and he says to the police -- says to this officer, you know what, i've got some video here. i saw the whole thing go down, you might want to see it and the officer essentially says really really? the officer goes back -- goes somewhere and comes back and says, you know what we want to talk to you, stay right here and at that point feidin santana said he had a sneaking suspicion it might not end well so that he decided to leave the police station and then get an attorney and so that's kind of -- that's kind of how the video itself came to be but as you heard there, there's a young man who feared for his safety. a lot of folks here are saying justifiably so. >> took real guts to go to that police station and curiously the

police this to say regarding the police investigation. let's listen to that. >> we have turned -- we're under no obligation to turn an investigation over. we could have investigated this ourselves, but -- >> yeah right. >> but we chose to turn it over to sled pause that's the right thing to do. >> weren't they required to turn over the investigation? >> you know that's -- that's again, another good question, a question a lot of folks have been asking since that news conference yesterday. i hung up the phone a short time ago and legally here in south carolina apparently the chief -- the chief is right. however, most folks surmise that once video -- once that video leaks and once it became everywhere that sled would have stepped in and said, you know what we're going to take in sled being the south carolina -- law

enforcement division and speaking of s.l.e.d. they will release this dashcam video either later today or tomorrow and none of the dashcam video actually shows the shooting. however, a lot of folks are very interested to see what's on michael sleigher's dashcam video. officials at s.l.e.d. are in the process of watching that video now and are waiting on prosecutor's office to sign off on releasing the video. i want to bring in the panel now, criminal defense attorney john burres who has worked on several high-profile cases including the rodney king lawsuit and political analyst and eugene o'donnell, professor of law and criminal studies and also former district attorney and was an officer with the new york police department. gentlemen, thank you all so much for being with me. >> thank you. >> earl let me start with you, because i managed to read your op-ed and i want to share a snippet of it with our viewers at home because your opinion on this is becoming a bit more popular here over the past 24

hours. i want to put it up on the screen. again, this is earl's latest column on the walter scott shooting. quote, just because the video doesn't make the case seem like a virtual slam dunk that does not mean he'll be convicted of murder or for that matter any other charge in the scott killing. the reason about that tells about the way of overuse of deadly force is treated by the criminal justice system. even in cases where cops are hauled into a court docket for the use of deadly force they routinely walk free and in the palmetto state in the past five years there have been roughly 200 officer-involved shooting. a handful of officers have been charged. there has not been one conviction here in south carolina over the past five years. to what can we attribute, that earl? >> well i think a couple of things. number one right away there's a reluctance on the part of police officers that do see things and some of them do we saw that in

south carolina. we saw in the shooting. they won't come forth. there's the protective wall of silence. we've heard about it many many times. then there's a second thing. when you really look at law enforcement in this country, south carolina i'm in lonks or any other city you see a pattern. you see a script. when you have an officer-involved shooting or misconduct or the deadly force, the overuse of deadly force there's a parent that's evolved and it usually goes like this. we heard it from the young man who shot the video. right away you start look being at the victim the criminal record of a victim. usually there's one. the second thing that you start doing you is start bringing up the script. well, i feared for my life. well, he charged me. well there was a threat. so all of these things go into play and then of course if charges are brought, which is very, very rare. then you have the problem you've got to prove it and, in other words, a judge and the jury. that's a whole another ball game there. >> all right, guys. i'm going to jump in here because i understand craig

melvin is having a little bit of trouble with his audio there from south carolina. so my next question is going to be here in studio and i'm going to ask you, john with regard to michael sleigher's past and allegations and charges that he actually had against him for excessive force and things like that let's take a look. i'm going to have this come up on "the daily beast" and we have a quote from his former attorney who says all i can say is the same day of the discovery of the video was disclosed publicly i withdrew as counsel immediately. whatever factors people want to take from that conclusion they want to make they have a right to do that. there's that element. he backs off immediately and then you have the history. you're an attorney. what would you have done an do you understand the logic behind that attorney saying i'm out of here? >> i certainly vice president represented a police officer in one of these cases, acted on the other side generally. i that's quite suggesting that he would do that suggesting from a moral point of view that he doesn't feel comfortable doing

that. i will say this that the person's background is obviously very important which means he's been engaged in excessive force cases in the past and the department itself has not given him punishment of any kind so therefore, in his own mind's eye he can kind of get away with whatever. been sanctioned in terms of the conduct he's involved in. that happens routinely so when you have a situation like this where a person not only shoots him, he goes up and casually goes to the body and then ultimately drops something down, that suggests to me that he really felt he was in a safety zone, that it didn't matter what he was done that he would be able to cover it with the department and the department would in fact support him and it's only because of the video that this is happening. i don't think there would be a charge of any kind if there had been no video. >> and it seems to me that you've picked up something or he's picked up something off the ground and moved it. in a criminal investigation you're not supposed to touch a thing. >> absolutely not, but he didn't know anybody was watching so nobody was watching only a police officer and then someone else would have to come in and say it wasn't there. that's a difficult thing and in

terms of when you make cases against police officers in criminal cases and/or civil cases you really have to overcome their statement and you need to do that with credible evidence. here the credible evidence is not only this kid's statement but also the videotape itself. but earl is right. we had the rodney king case in california didn't necessarily result in a cop vicks right away even with the video we h.oscar grant case ultimately he was charged, the officer and convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a case where there were hundreds of video and video in and of itself doesn't mean you'll get convicted. >> extraordinary that it doesn't mean that. >> it only means in a case like this there's a better chance than not because if there had not been a video he wouldn't be charged and there would be no conviction. >> eugene, i want to bring you in the conversation. we have a sound bite from todd rutherford and feidin santana's attorney talking about when he went into the police station, the police asked him to stay and then he leaves as you heard craig describing earlier. let's take a listen to that.

>> was it good he left? >> it was good he left. he was surrounded by officers who continuously lied said they performed cpr on a dying man. the video is going to get them in trouble. >> what do you think feidin santana was fearing? what might have happened to him and why did he feel he might need to leave? >> he says he's from the dominican republic and believed in the united states that things like this couldn't happen and that was my impulse also when i saw this so i think it's possible that we get this wrong in the first instance but the thing that should work in america is recourse. there should be some sort of supportive mechanism. in south carolina they do have the law enforcement division and you have the fbi so there are other places to go. we need to have that redauntsy. there has to be a place to turn if law enforcement is scoffing a love. >> eugene you're a former nypd officer. when you look at that video,

what first goes through your mind? >> that's a chilling video. i -- i hope it wasn't america, i still hope it isn't but i know that it is. just important to say there is an event that leads up to this so when people talk about whether or not it's a slam dunk we don't have -- there's some sort of interaction between these two people but i can't imagine that would proceed this or justify this real kind of chilling shooting and in terms of evidence if he was indeed planting this evidence that will assure a conviction, i think. if there's no innocent explanation why he'd be moving this taser over there, i think jurors will be really outraged if that is brought to light at the point of a trial. >> and john wants to get in here. >> i want to say the reason why he was probably afraid is not so much physically but the -- but that the video would be lost that it would be erased and it would be his word against the other people that he had it. >> although he is getting threats. >> he is getting threats but the real issue is the loss of the evidence because then it would

be just his word and that could create danger in and of itself. it's a very small town that he lives in so i can understand being harass and hassled and all of those kinds of things and i would be also concerned about the tape being destroyed. >> alex, could i just say that this is -- we spend a lot of time on deadly force. we have to acknowledge that for a lot of people in america going into a police station is a forbidding situation and while we spend on this time on daily force. that's a day-to-day event and many law-abiding people feel intimidated going into a police station so those are the kinds of things we have to fix in this country, people going in righteously to do police business should not feel like it's some sort of fortress that they are walking into. >> while we're out of time several, last word and last thought to you? >> well the thought is it's not a slam dunk. i don't care what anybody says. the fact of the matter is we saw in the rodney king case, thought it would be a conviction it wasn't. eric garner, a video, no charges, so i think what's going to have to happen in this case is if there was evidence planted

and it appears it was, if you can find a jury a fair and objective jury and a judge that can weigh everything and weigh the evidence at what's coming at them from the other side then there's a fair chance. it's not a slam dunk by any means. >> gentlemen thank you all so much. >> thank you. coming up now that dzhokhar tsarnaev has been found guilty on all counts will he be sentenced to death or life in prison? >> something that we can put, you know one more step behind us. >> we're going to get a live report from the "boston globe," and we'll tell you how to weigh in on the sentence in today's gut check. and developing now nearly 60 million people in the path of severe weather today. that's after tornadoes, heavy rain and huge hail slammed a dozen states. and president obama is expected to remove cuba from the state sponsors of terror list. it may happen as soon as today. this as the two nations are set to hold their highest level

meeting in more than half a century. join our conversation online. find the team on twitter twitter @newsnation. te is reinventing how we do business by leading the way on tax cuts. we cut the rates on personal income taxes. we enacted the lowest corporate tax rate since 1968. we eliminated the income tax on manufacturers altogether. with startup-ny, qualified businesses that start, expand or relocate to new york state pay no taxes for 10 years. all to grow our economy and create jobs. see how new york can give your business the opportunity to grow at ny.gov/business working on my feet all day gave me pain here. in my lower back but now, i step on this machine and get my number which matches my dr. scholl's custom fit orthotic inserts. now i get immediate relief from my foot pain. my lower back pain. find a machine at drscholls.comrma. checking your credit score is for chumps. i have great credit. how do you know? duh. you know those change, right?

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developing now. the penalty phase in the boston marathon bombing case which could begin as early as next week, this after dzhokhar tsarnaev was convicted yesterday on every single one of the 30 counts against him. now the same jury will decide if tsarnaev will get a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. after the verdict, survivors of the bombing and their families spoke out. >> i may be standing on one fake leg, but i'm standing here stronger than ever because someone tried to destroy me and he failed. >> for me as the mom of two boys that were hurt so bad and to see so many injured that day and to

see what they suffer and they go through, and i solely speak for myself, i want the death penalty. >> well, joining me now is the "boston globe's" mike bellor. want to go over the results that we have from this online survey conducted by survey monkey. 47% of those questioned want the death penalty for tsarnaev and 42% said he should spend life in prison without parole which gives you the feeling nationally but the editorial board of your paper, "boston globe," is out with an op-ed arguing sarnia's life should be spared. can you go through the argument for that, not handing him the death penalty. >> well i think that the reasoning there is he shot rot in prison that a better punishment would be staying in prison for the next 50, 60 years. it's interesting because the cardinal sean o'malley and the bishops have also said that his life should be spared but that's more on religious grounds. >> mm-hmm. >> there's a real division here

in boston over what's going to happen. it's really the talk of the town in terms of what's going to happen during this death penalty phase, what will the jury decide, the demarkation lines are drawn. you can go anyplace and be 50/50 in terms of people wanting the death penalty and people wanting him to spend of his life in prison but there's a lot of tension. there's a sense of closure that he's been found guilty among victims and residents of this area but this phase of the death penalty will also be very tough for this area. >> absolutely. let's talk about the legal strategy here because the defense called in four witnesses, just four in that phase of the trial. they concede guilt from the beginning, but in terms of the penalty phase how will the approach differ? >> well i think they are going to try to prove that tamerlan was the mastermind and the strategy of jokeof his brother being

the planner and to spare a young person who was not fully onequal partner in this terror plot. >> and the prosecution, what do they have in store? >> the prosecution will continue to pulverize in terms of his responsibility that he was an equal partner, that he was involved in the planning, that he was involved in the execution. he stood behind the richard family and waited to make sure that that bomb went off for maximum effect. there will be more forensic evidence and more testimony about the atrocity the cruelty of the bombings and the impact it had on the victims. >> okay. "boston globe" "boston globe's" mike bello, thanks for weighing in and coming up did the leader of the scientology church higher private detectives to track his own father? documents obtained in an nbc news investigation. plus president obama reaches out to who may be the most influential republican when it comes to the iran nuclear

deal. what he discussed with senator bob corker is part of today's first read and this. >> i'm just out doing a job. i know it's meaningful to a lot of people and i'm honored for that. >> the nfl rookie set to break barriers. meet the league's first full-time female official and her message for those who think this is a publicity stunt. jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen.

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let's bring in nbc meteorologist ghen can a davis who has the latest on it. it's a mess. >> another day of severe weather and, unfortunately, the spots that had it yesterday will have it today. a broad area that stretches from the southern plains and today it pushes up into the great lakes as well and we are already seeing some thunderstorms. none of this is criteria yet but moving through the indianapolis area and through illinois indianapolis and even into ohio. this will be on tap for the rest of today, and by later this afternoon and tonight that's when we can expect the worst of this severe weather. here's this front. it's a slow mover. look at all those warm moist air that's moving up from the south so the conditions are definitely there for severe weather once again today. it's a broad area that we're talking, and the enhanced risk is going to shift from texas all the way up into st. louis, chicago and cincinnati. so later today everybody needs to be on standby for what's likely to be strong gusty thunderstorms.

we could see some widespread wind and hail damage. that's something that we've been seeing with this front and, of course, flash flooding can't rule out a tornado but the tornado setup is pretty low. tomorrow that severe weather will shift along with the front so it will be up and down the coast. that i-95 corridor will get in on it and so friday looks like it could be a stormy afternoon from new york all the way down to the jacksonville area so the beat goes on. just make sure you keep an eye to the sky later today, alex. >> thanks very much for the head's up on that. appreciate that. developing now, u.s. officials tell nbc news president obama could announce today that he will accept a state department recommendation to remove cuba from the government's list of state sponsors of terrorism. the president is now in jamaica en route to the summit of the americas in panama where he's pected to meet with cuban president raul castro. nbc news senior white house correspondent jis jansing has beat him there and is already in panama ahead of the president, and she joins us live. so what can you tell us about the president's apparent

decision, chris, to take cuba off the terror list? >> reporter: we do expect it's going to happen maybe within the next 24 hours or so alex and this would be obviously a huge step forward in the president's plan to reopen to reformize relations with cuba. we're also watching very carefully to see about that meeting with raul castro. now in terms that have terror designation here's why it's significant for the folks in cuba. this has stopped them from having financial opportunities by being on that list, something they very much want, and for both sides it means they could open an embassy, something the president thought he might be able to do by the time of this summit but was not able to do. everyone is watching to see what kind of meeting will happen between president obama and raul castro. will it be what we typically see here at summit which is there's already some sort of meeting going on and they kind of go to this side and they have a conversation. we don't even know if there would be pictures or if there

would be video or will they announce something more formal. also significant because the only time they have seen each other face-to-face was basically a handshake in passing at -- at a funeral for south africa's nelson mandela. they did have a phone conversation in december that lasted about 45 minutes where the president said in addition to talking about the normalization of relations they also talked about human rights issues. he says he pressed castro very hard on that, but this will be a very significant meeting when it happens. alex? >> chris, does the president need congressional approval to take cuba off the terror list? >> reporter: he does. the way this works is the president officially gets the recommendation from the state department. they have been looking at this since december. we are told that that recommendation has been made. again, we expect the president to accept it, and then congress has 45 days to take a look at it. it's not expected that they would oppose it. it's not expected that they would have even a veto-proof

majority which they would need which is not to say there aren't members of congress who aren't opposed to this. just last week or at least last month florida's marco rubio wrote to senator john kerry and objected to it so there are people who don't believe that what the president is doing is right, and they will be against this, but at least an early read on this is that the president should have no congressional problem getting this through. >> all right. chris jansing joining us from pan marks good to see you, cri. thanks so much. up next what moved the white house to call an end to the highly controversial conversion therapy for lbgt youth and roots rock regulary. president obama touches down in jamaica and one of the must-see stompts it's one of the things that we shut you must know.

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we are back now with today's first read on politics. president obama calls for an end to conversion therapies for lgbt youth. the president is also reaching out to perhaps the most

influential republican when this comes to the iran nuclear deal. superpacks supporting ted cruz's presidential run raised a staggering $31 million and senator rand paul and hillary clinton are among the 2016 contenders react together south carolina shooting. joining me now is nbc political editor mark murray with the president calling for an end to psychiatric treatments aim at changing the sexual orientation of lgbt youth. we know this was in response to a petition on the white house website which followed a suicide of a 17-year-old in california. >> it's important to note that this isn't a new law and what it is that the white house is using its bully pulpit to try to influence americans and also and especially people in their own party to get on the side on this particular issue. you know ever since president obama endorsing gay marriage in his 2012 re-election campaign we've seen the white house kind of take step after step endorsing key parts of of this

agenda. >> yeah. the president doesn't want a federal law, wants to really support state efforts, correct? >> mm-hmm yes. >> all right. before heading to jamaica en route to tomorrow's summit of the america in panama the president called senate foreign relations committee chair, bob corker of tennessee, the author of the corker bill requiring that congress approve a final nuclear deal with iran that as more democrats sign on to corker's bill. what more can you tell us about this? >> this was the president making his pitch on why the iran deal is a good one to the person who is the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, but, al lex, there is an interesting thing going often corker, as you mentioned, is response oregon legislation. the white house isn't very fond of it and there is some thinking that the white house wants congress to have some type of role in approving the iran deal if it is signed sealed and delivered, and you can end up seeing the way the white house says, hey, if you can amend your legislation to include this but not that the white house could maybe get on board, but as the

legislation stands right now the white house is against it. >> okay. moving on to the 2016 presidential race the superpacs supporting senator ted cruz mark, they have already raised $31 million. that's a lot of money. >> it's a lot of money, but the most interesting thing is there's potentially as many four pro tes cruz super pacs that are all controlled by four big donor families, a huge departure from four years ago when every presidential candidate had his or own super pac. what would be different this time around is having all the mega donors having their own super pacs so you go from 10 or 12 to maybe four or five times that amount and so 2016 could just be the wild wild west of super pacs in the presidential landscape. >> some of the 2016 contenders are also reacting to the south carolina shooting including senator rand paul who is in south carolina today i understand? >> he is campaigning in south carolina. it's the third swing -- actually

the second swing of his announcement bid. alex, he ended up coming out against the shooting that occurred in south carolina and, of course, we've seen this has been bipartisan very much unlike the situations that we ended up seeing in ferguson missouri play out where they almost became a very big political football, the video i think has been key that you've seen just agreement, democrats, republicans and everyone in between of just the tragedy that occurred in south carolina. >> okay. mark murray many thanks as always, my friend. >> thanks alex. >> up next why the brand sabra is recalling thousands of cases of its popular hummus one of the stories we're updating. and a startling nbc news investigation, did the church of scientology hire private detectives to track its leader own father. and first there's a lot of things going on this morning and here are some of the things we thought you should know. legendary broadcaster bob schieffer says he's stepping away from the microphone after more than 50 years in journalism. the 78-year-old will retire this

summer. schieffer made the announcement last night at his alma mater, texas christian university. spent 47 years on cbs news and has been the host of "face the nation" for almost a quarter century and president obama made a visit to the bob marley museum and he toll the tour guide he still has all his bob marley albums. and being commander in chief doesn't allow you to be dad in chief of the president's 16-year-old daughter. the president's daughter malia is now driving but the first lady told rachael ray neither she nor the president had to teach her skills behind the wheel. >> i understand your daughter is a licensed driver. >> she is. trying for malia gives her a sense of normalcy like the rest of her friends are doing. >> i think the parents got the

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we are back with a look at the top stories that the "newsnation" is following for you right now. today in south carolina north charleston police could release dashcam video after a witness' cell phone camera captured officer michael sleigher gunning down walter scott as he tried to flee. sleigher was charged with murder and fired from his job. nearly 60 million people are in the path of another severe weather threat today. heavy rain and winds are in the forecast from texas to virginia. tornadoes also possible. and the trial of boston marathon bombing suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev is expected to move into the penalty phase after yesterday being found guilty of all 30 charges against him, 17 of which carry the death penalty. let's go now to a nbc news investigation into an alleged spying scandal inside the church of scientology. according to police documents, a private detective says he was hired to spy on the church's

leader's father. nbc's joe fryar has all the details. >> reporter: the leader of the church of scientology and according to police reports two private investigators say they were hired to track the leader's father, ronald sr., a longtime scientologist who left the church. in 2013 one of those investigators duane powell was arrested in west alice, wisconsin after police received a call about a suspicious man walking around a neighborhood. >> what mr. powell did indicate to the detectives was that at the end of the day, yes, that he believed he was working for the church of scientology. >> reporter: according to police documents powell said he was hired through an intermediary firm and had been following ronald for one and a half years. he said he and his son were paid about $10,000 a week to search his garbage and follow and photograph him wherever he went. powell also told police he put a gps tracking unit on ronald's car.

the police report says powell stated that david is paranoid and ex-members will discuss the inner workings of the church. nbc news exclusively obtained audio of powell's statement to police. >> i'm just supposed to report back what he does who he talks to. they want me to find people to make friends with him, to lead him in a positive direction. >> reporter: in response the church of scientology says the entire premise of the report is an absolute balderdash faced lie. it is preposterous. dr. miscaf inning's attorney has said he's never spoken to mr. powell never hired mr. powell and never directed any investigations by mr. powell. but in a statement to police powell said there was an incident where he said ronald miscaf inningkafcaf miscafige slumped over while grabbing his chest and he was called two minutes later by a man who identified himself as

david miscaviger saying if it was ron's time to die let him die and not intervene in my way. that story was repeated by powell's son. >> i just got a call from david miscavige who said don't intervene if he starts having a heart attack. >> reporter: the church said that never took place adding it's ronald miscavige declined to comment except to tell nbc news that he was troubled to learn of the investigation in question. >> i just follow the old man. i'm not intending any harm to him ever. >> reporter: powell was eventually charged with one federal count for possessing a silencer. the charge was dismissed

contingent on him completing a special program, but what powell told police nearly two years ago is bringing more attention to the church of scientology. joe fryar, nbc news los angeles. up next, a lightning bolt blew a hole in a plane, but no one, even the pilot, knew about that damage until the plane landed. one of the stories we're following across the "newsnation" and meet the woman just named the nfl's first full-time female official. her message to the people who believe that her hiring is just a publicity stunt. and be sure to like the "newsnation" on facebook at facebook.com/newsface. know your financial pl won't keep you up at night. know you have insights from professional investment strategists to help set your mind at ease. know that planning for retirement can be the least of your worries. with the guidance of a pnc investments financial advisor,

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joining the "newsnation" on twitter. you can find us on our twitter page at newsnation. time for the gut check. now that dzhokhar tsarnaev has been found guilty on all 30 charges against him in the boston marathon bombing case. the same jury which found him

guilty but unanimously decide in tsarnaev will be sentenced to his life be spared. quote, we should want him spared not because his brother led him into evil but because we are better and stronger than he is. however, an nbc news online survey shows 47% of those questioned are in favor of the death penalty for tsarnaev. 42% say he should get life instead. 11% not sure. what does your gut tell you? do you think dzhokhar tsarnaev should get the death penalty? here's what the news nation is saying about yesterday's gut check. this week the u.s. postal service revealed a maya angelou stamp. they said the quotewise often

cited by angelou. 83% say it should be printed and. yes, get a new fact checker. >> hul joe said no make this a collector's item. i the nationwide recall of a popular snack food sabra has recalled cases of hummus due to possible listeria contamination. they urge consumers to return it to the store for a refund. a dash cam video, you can see the suv driving on the wrong side of the road veering into oncoming traffic slamming into that tractor-trailer. police said the driver of the suv may have been intoxicated and possibly tried to take her own life. she was taken to a hospital in dallas and released and an investigation is currently under way. look at that. a lightning strike blew a nose

in the hole of a denver bound plane. the plane landed safely but aviation experts say that could have been much worse, experts also say planes are only struck by lightning 1 to 15 times a year. and golf legend jack niklas added another amazing message, delivering a hole in one at the masters par 3 tournament in august ta. fans cheered for the 75-year-old six-time masters champion. he jokingly predicted he would hit an ace in an earlier interview. a woman making history in the national football league. sara thomas is hired as the first full-time female official. she's on nine new full-time owe firms hired for the upcoming season and willie geist introduces us to the mom about to become a real game changer. >> i've got a job to do and got

to be great at it. >> she's the nfl rookie breaking up the boys club this fall. >> time out. >> reporter: sara thomas is said to become the first full-time official in league history, joining the ranks of the black and white stripes on the sidelines on sundays. >> what was it like to get the phone call from the highest level? >> when that phone rang at 10:47 a.m. central time i almost was speechless. i know a lot of people that know me would find that hard to believe. >> it's an announcement a long time in the making both for women and for sara herself. she's worked her way up the ranks from officiating peewee games up to ncaa bowl games, blending in among coaches and players along the way. >> when they hear my voice, that's a girl. that's about it. they don't care. they just want you to do the job and be consistent and be good at it. >> thomas nearly jumped to the nfl from the college game in 2013. >> there are a lot of people calling this a milestone but people who have worked with you,

they are not surprised one bit, not because you're a woman but because you're a really good official. >> well, that means a lot to me, that coming from peers that they believe i'm a good official and here on merit. >> reporter: do you view this at all as significant socially? >> i'm just outdoing a job. i know it is meaningful to a lot of people and i'm honored for that but that's not why i set out to do this to break a gender barrier of any sorts. i just did it because i loved officiating. >> but the announcement comes after a challenging season for the nfl following a number of high profile domestic violence cases involving its players. one current player spoke out this week saying image likely quaz a factor in the decision to hire thomas. >> there's? people that say perhaps this is a publicity stunt. what do you make of that reaction? >> i've been an official almost 20 years, it hasn't been an overnight sensation or year -- >> reporter: like most officials

her work on game day comes in addition to her full-time job, a role at home as mother of three. >> what was the reaction from the kids when mom got the call? >> their buddies at school two boys at school they are getting a lot of pats on the back or whatever, but i'm just mom to them. they understand what i go through and they are my biggest support. >> reporter: they'll be counting down the days to kickoff this fall with a new reason to watch on sundays. what makes you most nervous thinking about that first nfl game? >> i'm not nervous willie. >> reporter: not at all. >> no just making sure my fellow crew mates know i'm ready and coaches and players know i'm there to do a job as an official. >> that was nbc's willie geist reporting. how much you want to bet her mom says can we get sideline passes to watch you work? i'm in for tamron hall of course andrea mitchell reports

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right now, tale of the tape new fallout in south carolina as the bystandser who filmed the shocking video speaks out. >> i saw the police report. read it. it wasn't like that. >> reporter: you read the police report? >> yes. and i saw in the news and i said you know this is not what -- this is not what happened. >> crime and punishment after finding dzhokhar tsarnaev guilty on all counts the next job is to decide on life in prison or the death penalty. an issue for the bombing victims as well. >> he should be held accountable for his actions and i'm very thankful for each of the jury members that are making him do that. >> close encounters we're live

in panama city with for the first time cuba will be joining the summit of the americas and an expected encounter between president obama and raul castro. will last minute issues spoil the summit? ♪ good day, i'm andrea mitchell in panama city where president obama is set to take a very big step stords normalizing relations with cuba accepting a statewide communication that they be removed from a list of states