i've had thousands of friends. . and i've had an exciting and adventurous, gratifying existence. so i was surprisingly at ease. much more so than my wife was. but now i feel, you know, this is in the hands of god whom i worship. happy for anything that comes. in the line of fire. three firefighters killed after a blaze suddenly erupts in washington state. the fast-moving and unpredictable flames forcing emergency evacuations in two towns. >> i just heard that three firefighters were killed in the fire. it's just -- it's just really hard. so we'll see if i have a house tomorrow. i don't know. sorry. and soaring in the sunshine state, a new poll has donald trump beating both jeb bush and marco rube bow on their home

turf. can trump's rivals contain his rising momentum? >> you know what's happening to jeb's crowd, as you know right down the street? they're sleeping. good day. i'm luke russert in for andrea mitchell. we begin the developing news out of atlanta where former president jimmy carter has just spoken out publicly for the first time since announcing he has cancer. president carter has been dine nosed with melanoma that was first found on his liver and has spread to multiple spots of his brain. he will undergo his first of four radiation treatments this afternoon at emory university hospital in atlanta. joining me now is nbc's halle jackson at the press conference along with nbc's medical contributor dr. natalie azar who

joins me now from new york. thank you for coming on the show. halle, you had a great question of jimmy carter and he had even a better answer, really talking about how hope and faith guide him. what did you see at that press conference today? >> it was incredibly revealing, luke. it was very personal. all of this standing in the tradition of how carter has been as an ex-president. i spoke with his grandson jason just a couple minutes ago. and jason said one of the first things the president said to his family after telling them he had cancer was, now i have to tell the public. he felt like it was his duty and his sxonsibility to share what he was going through. i think you saw that at that press conference. president carter talking about his faith and how that has been a bed rock for him moving forward. he was very candid about past regrets and his hopes for the future as well. he talked about the cancer diagnosis specifically, about that melanoma that has spread to four locations on his brain. as you mentioned, he will be going through radiation. he also will be receiving an immune no therapy, a medication

to boost his immune system that dr. azar can talk more about that. you talk about his message of hope and acceptance. i asked him what his message would be to other people battling their own cancer given carter's current struggle and give then his family history, too, of pancreatic cancer. >> it's one of hopes and acceptance, yes. hope for the best and accept what comes. you know, i think i have been as blessed as any human being in the world with having become the president of the united states of america and governor of georgia and the work of the carter center and a big and growing family and thousands of friends. so i don't think -- and living -- i'll be 91 years old the first of october. so i've had everything has been a blessing for me. so i'm thankful and hopeful. >> so how did this diagnosis

come about? carter talks about his trip overseas in may which had to be cut short because of a bad cold. he said when he got back to the united states doctors gave him a very thorough physical and that's when they discovered a tumor on his liver. the surgery on that tumor that happened a couple weeks ago early this months is what revealed the cancer. that's according to what cater said today. important to note, he said he would be cutting back on his humanitarian efforts with the carter center. he and his wife have been talking about this for ten years when he was 80, again when he was 85, again when he turned 90 last year. that is something that you will see moving forward with him. just a note, luke, something that struck me as the president walked out of the press conference. we always talk about how down to earth jimmy carter is. do you know what he was wearing? he had on his bluejeans just like he always does. >> that's great. hallie jackson, thank you. i want to bring in dr. azar. let's talk a little bit about this. melanoma, we usually think of it as a skin cancer but in this

case it's internal. it's on the brain. i know that president carter will have four radiation treatments three weeks apart. what's the prognosis for his future? >> to your point, luke. there are a minority but there are a certain percentage of cases of melanoma where they have gone away from the primary site which is the skin. you know, obviously in most cases we presume it starts in the skin. if it mass mess stasis sized in his case, which is considered stage iv, according to the american cancer society, the five-year survival is 15% to 20%. ten-year is 10% to 15%. >> in terms of his age, how does someone who is about 90 years old going to turn 91, how do they react to treatment like this? >> obviously that factor into prognosis as well as the patient you're dealing with. the medicine that he got, you know, the side effects can vary. some which are not life

threatening can be quite difficult to get through. bone and joint pain, conversatio conversations city pags, nauseousia. hepatitis and kidney inflammation and lung inflammati inflammation. the good news that we're hearing is that based on the pet scan that he had done to tumor stage, to see how extensive the disease, is how many metastecis there are. and he will get more localized as opposed to having to do whole brain radiatioradiation. as hallie mentioned earlier he's getting this new drug, a pd-1 inhibitor and known as an immune checkpoint. these are basically molecules that we actually have pd-1 on our cells all the time. their job is to prevent auto immunity. they suppress our immune system and that can be a good thing. in this case we want to unleash

our immune system on the cancer cells and that's how the drug works. it was approved last value. >> fascinating. joining me now is chris matthews, host of" hard ball" and presidential speech writer all four years of carter administration. chris, jimmy carter, what a performance today. >> yeah. >> such adversity and facing it with such grace. he seems to be the consummate southern gentleman. >> well, he's that. he's also a peanut farmer, a guy who worked with his hands a good part of his life. when jerry showed those movies of him working out in the fields, those were not public relation shots. that was him. i was struck with how he could talk so subjectively about his own being, his own physical being like he was describing the medical condition of someone else. he was talking about -- four places in his brain, he has cancer now. talking about his liver, which has been cut down to size. the fact that he's got melanoma and he doesn't know where it's going to strike next. the fact he's going under radiation therapy this

afternoon. i mean, talk about guts. and also it was carter's personality. all the details, all the honesty, all that kind of thing. and i was struck by him, that's jimmy carter. that is him. >> in terms of legacy, is that he's a popular punching bag for republicans. you have people like rick perry say, oh, you know, we survived jimmy carter. we can survive the obama administration. and he always seems to take these attacks with such grace and point to his time and the post-presidency with the carter center, work for human rights around the world, work for fair elections around the world. how do you think he sort of takes that on and how do you think he's been able to take the negativity and turn it into positive pst-presidency work? >> i tell you, i was there. i mentioned off air but i was with him when he lost in 1980. nifs plains, georgia, in the helicopter watching the whole news. even after he got the word from pat cadle, that he was going to lose by ten points he kept getting briefed by stu and

david -- i'm forgetting his name. anyway. and going through this details, you know, he was always the consummate hard worker and he kept it up. i think he's going to go down in history as the guy -- there i am on the plane there, saturday night before the election. i think he's going to go down in history as the guy that brought peace between egypt and israel. enduring peace, it's been cold, it's been warm, but it's always been there. removing what was then the number one strategic enemy, egypt, which invaded them in 1973 in the yon kipur war. i think the people who say they're best friends of israel may not be their best friends. thab tough love people like carter are their best friends, the ones that say, no, you're wrong, you have to make decisions and sometimes you have to compromise and that in the end is what's going to save israel. >> let's put his election in context. it's 1976. he's an unknown essentially who catapults to the front.

>> you are serious. you're a young guy. he was really a jimmy who? >> right. >> he didn't show up -- >> gop had been in power since and nixon. >> as the only guy from that part of the country. any of the polls. julian for president. jimmy carter was nowhere and retailed himself all around the country. won in iowa. won in new hampshire. he just kept going. i have never seen anybody like him in terms of coming out of nowhere before david ruben stein, by the way. during the news conference, former president carter spoke fondly of his wife who has said more about who -- who is more worried about his diagnosis than him. take a listen. >> well, the best thing i ever did was marry rosalyn. that's the pinnacle of my life. and we've had 69 years together, still together. and so that's the best thing that happened to me. >> nbc's tom brokaw joins me no

by phone from montana. and, tom, you are a cancer survivor. someone who fought that terrible disease with such grace and toughness. what were your thoughts hearing jimmy carter today talking about his diagnosis? >> well, luke, what i think is it's so typical of him. he's such an honest man about his own condition,n't the conditions of the world. and this is a demonstration of public grace, in my judgment. someone who is sharing with the public what he's going through, paying tribute to his lifelong partner and rosalyn has been been that at every step of the way. and being brave enough to tell people about what he's about to endure. let me just add a personal note. i first got to jimmy carter when he was a member of the george state senate. i was a reporter in atlanta at that time. he was a voice of reason from plains. we knew that he had been at the naval academy. and he left the senate shortly

before julian was denied his seat in the state house. i've often wondered how he might have voted on that. he went back, he later told me, to plains because he was unsuccessful in getting a movement to integrate the georgia public schools. when he first began to run for president i had kind of a leg up because i knew a lot of the people around him. i thought it was a long, long shot. but he really appealed to the country with his simple, i suppose, message of dignity and restoration of faith and government right after watergate. when he got to washington, i don't think anybody would disagree with the fact that they were not completely compared for the magnitude of what they were up against. but there's been no president in my judgment since leaving office who has been a better global citizen than jimmy carter. and in his own way today, he will give hope to families who are going through the terrible

ordeal of cancer. so he continues to give, luke. >> he does. an extraordinary message today with his sort of hope and faith and hope for the best. i want to play something he said about one of his regrets in office, something that you covered around know very well. let's take a listen and we'll get to you on the other side. >> i wish i had sent one more he'll continuer to get the hostages and we would have rescued them and i would have been re-elected. but that may have -- that may have interfered with the foundation of the carter center. if i had to choose between four more years and the carter center i think i would choose the carter center. >> thank you. >> could have been both. >> president carter -- >> and, tom, of course he's referencing the iranian hostage situation there. something that inklingered over him and his administration long after he left office. >> well, i think that's true. you know, i was just doing a little commentary about him the other day, about the legacy, i

suppose, of jimmy carter. and there was no one who could have put together at that time, the fact is that the prime minister of israel, bagen, and the president of egypt, sadat, the idea that these two could come together and come together with a peace plan, a kind of nonaggression pact, if you will, lasted as long as it did, that's an enduring legacy on his part. and it really goes to the soul of jimmy carter. he believed and he's always a christian in whatever he does. he believed he could get these two men to believe the benefit of peace of these two countries who had long been enemies. i saw him less than a year ago i guess at a conference, google puts on every year. and he came on a and no other person who appeared at that conference was as candid as jimmy carter was about the

fundamental issue of human rights and trying to find peace in the world. and i really believe that that will be one of his enduring legacies. >> without doubt. truly a global citizen. tom brokaw, thank you for making the time. we appreciate it. take care. be well. and coming up next, deal with it, donald trump lands the "time" magazine cover. how are his opponents adjusting their strategies? >> i'm doing this for the cover of "time" magazine. i love "time" magazine. what you will do for a cover, this very seriously dangerous but beautiful.

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some of our policy positions and

the only thing there is immigration reform. can you speak to any of your other plans? >> i did a big policy position on immigration and i think most people really like it. when i want a deal, i don't sit down and say, well, let's see, i'm going to get 14 points. the press. i think the press -- are you a member aof the press? i actually think the press wants policy -- you know, the so-called policy positions more than the people, if you want to know the truth. >>. donald trump has yet to reveal just an hour after doubling down in the debate over what to call the children of undocumented immigrants born here in the u.s. now the clinton campaign is lumping trump with a prominent primary opponent. joining me now is vin weber, jeb bush supporter, adviser to mitt romney's 2012 campaign, and msnbc contributor chris cillizza, founder of the "washington post" fixblog. thank you for joining me. i want to start off with you. it seems that donald trump has sort of moved the party to the

right to a degree. i want to play this video that the clinton campaign put out lumping jeb and trump. >> i use the world. >> reports that you don't have these, you know, anchor babies as they're described coming into the country. >> is this a problem for jeb bush that he sort of has to follow donald trump down this rabbit hole using a term like anchor baby which many would say was a term off limit foser some time in washington? >> the context in which he used it, anchor babies as they are sometimes described, basically it rebutting what donald trump has talked about, which is denying citizenship to these people, something that jeb bush has rejected. no disrespect to mrs. clinton,

but she's got problems of her own. i can understand why she would want to distract people to some invented problem. but nobody has a bet errored on the issue of immigration than governor bush does, he's laid out plans for comprehensive reform for a long time and he has really pushed back against this trend that trump is leading in the republican party, trying to very restrictive immigration policy. >> it can't be good for him that he has to deal with donald trump putting the party much further to the right than they wanted to be after the 2012 autopsy when they got started? >> look, i think bush is right where he needs to be on the immigration issue. i'm very proud of that. i would agree with you, i'm a little concerned about what trump is doing to the whole republican party as i listen to how other republican candidates, not governor bush, but governor walker and others, are i'm bracing some notions that are truly nutty. deporting 11 million people, changing the constitution, take away citizenship. this is really radical stuff and not stuff that is very good for our party. but governor bush has been outstanding in standing against

that sort of thing since the beginning of his campaign. >> chris cillizza, jeb bush had this encounter in new hampshire diner this morning discussing immigration and children. i want to play it. >> if people are here illegally they have a -- they have a visa and they have a child who is born here. i think that they uth to be american citizens. people like marco rubio, by the way, that's how he came. you know, so to suggest that we make it impossible for a talented person like that, not to be a candidate for president, or ted cruz, i mean, i think we're getting a little overboard here. we're listening to the emotion rather than to the reality of this. >> a reality is a lot harder to sell than emotion in politics, as you know, chris. is this an effective strategy for jeb bush, linking it to a real human in terms of marco rubio and ted cruz as people who are examples of the sons of immigrants? >> yeah. look, i think vin is right, that

jeb is -- whether it's smart politically or not, jeb is largely sticking by his guns on immigration reform and broadly and on birthright citizenship in particular. it would be more politicalliedy advantageous at the moment in a primary to not do so. then the question is, jeb said a long time ago you have to be willing to lose the primary to win the general election. the question is, can you sort of do that, obviously not lose the actual primary, but be wing to take positions that make you unpopular with some distinct segment of the republican primary electorate and still be able to win and preserve your viability in a general election? the rise of trump, the rise of cruz, ben carson, would suggest that the party is looking for at least right now, is looking for people who are more emotion-driven than sort of pragmatic in their approach. jeb bush is obviously way more on the pragmatic end of that

conversation. >> yeah, they want people pulling at the heart strings more than talking to the head. vin, a new poll quiquinnipiac j out. jeb bush second at 17%. carson at 11%, rubio at 11%. what do you make that donald trump is beating jeb bush in his home state in august of 2015? >> i think we've all been -- at least i've been surprised by the trump phenomenon. he's clearly a strong candidate for nomination. clearly could win the republican nomination. but i wouldn't overstate that. just as many of us understatedk his potential when he got into the race. we may be overstating it now. he's got 20%, 25% of the republican electorate almost everywhere. there's not much evidence he can rise above that. that's pretty good as long as he's one of 17. when he's one of two or three or four, my guess is he doesn't rise much above that. >> so maybe the question is the donald trump train ever lose momentum, where do those 25% go? that video of trump with the

eagle we had there playing, folks, check that out on the twitter. chriscillizza, vin weber, thank you. forget donald trump, marco rubio may have a more formidable foe to worry about. the senator from florida accidentally dinged him in the head with a football in this video that quickly went viral this week. now brady is hitting back with these fighting words for the presidential candidate. >> hey, rubio, you need to get back to iowa, i'll be ready for you. >> that kid has some game. all right. still ahead, breaking the brass ceiling. first woman four-star general joins us to talk about the future of the military as two women graduate from army ranger school. [whirring drones] just stay calm and move as quietly as possible. ♪ [whirring drones]

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in washington state three firefighters have died and four civilians injured in the continuing firefight out west. authorities were just beginning to feel confident in battling the blaze when the winds shifted unexpectedly. forcing over 1,000 washington residents to evacuate their homes. the winds and warmer weather are becoming one of the biggest hurdles for responders, this is 200 active duty military during the help fight over 100 wildfires burning in seven states. lieutenant colonel ryan scofield has been flying over the fires every day this week. colonel, thank you for making the time. how is the weather affecting the firefighting conditions with these winds that seem to shift so rapidly? >> well, we've actually been pretty fortunate here in california. it's not been too windy. the biggest thing we're contending with at this point is the heat. it's been upwards of 108 degrees. but a little bit of wind really can move the fire along and

advance. it spread pretty rapidly. >> what are we looking at in terms of a timeline now? obviously the fires have been burning for some weeks. the drought is particularly bad in california and over the western region of the country. what are we looking forward to in terms of relief? what do we need? >> well, obviously the heat plays a huge factor in that. weather is a big factor as well. you know, there's a lot of thunderstorms. the good and the bad this comes with rain is usually lightning that causes new fire start-ups. so, you know, cooler trends are definitely help and then obviously the forces on the ground and in the air are just doing everything they can to try to contain those fires and prioritize and protect structures and, you know, higher priority items. >> in terms of resources, do you feel that you've gotten the adequate amount of resources so far and is there any fear that

there could be a shortage? >> no, i think we're pretty well equipped at this point. you know, with everything that we have and, of course, we're here as a part of a request for assistance from the forest service to assist in basically provide a surge capability to the civilian and contract air tankers. but, yeah, we're, from where we sit, we have everything we need. it's just a matter of, you know, getting to the fires, getting to the right ones, and doing our job precisely and correctly and safely. >> and we have some of this video that you took from the cockpit up on our screen right now, just showing, i think, the enormity of the fire and how vast it is. compared to other missions you've flown to combat fires out west, how do you compare this one to the others? >> this year i would say is different. some of the fires that we've been working on this past week have certainly been a little more complex, a little reduced

visibility due to a lot of smoke and haze and just larger in general. there are several hundred fires here in california alone. so you know, it's not uncommon for us to be tasked to one fire and then turn around and go to another higher priority fire later. some of them are just almost overwhelming in their size. >> yeah, you can really get that from the images you took. thank you so much, lieutenant scofield, for your time, take care. it's the first hurricane of the season in the atlantic hurricane danny has just been named by the national hurricane center. it has winds near 75 miles per hour. it is about 1100 miles east of the win ward eye hads. it's too soon to say if danny will make it to south florida. you can get a good sense of the sheer size of this storm by picture taken by astronaut scott kelly from the international space station. look at that. my goodness. up next, jimmy carter battling cancer with faith and humor. >> both of the president bush

called me at one type and then george h.w. bush, bush sr., called me yesterday afternoon again. i think i appreciated that very much and their wives were there on the telephone with them. president obama called, the vice president called, bill clinton called, hillary clinton called, secretary of state called. first time he's called me in a long time.hool b rings ] ♪ [ female announcer ] everything kids touch at school sticks with them. make sure the germs they bring home don't stick around. use clorox disinfecting products. you handle life; clorox handles the germs.

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and we both feel integrity, such as, that of healthcare in the america of the us and therefore. yes. thank you. no. no. please, stop! sorta you, isn't you. start with a quote from esurance and get a set of discounts personalized to you, not someone sorta like you. esurance. backed by allstate. click or call. we plan on dramatically reducing our work at the carter center. we haven't done it yet. we thought about this when i was 80. we thought about it again when i was 85. we thought about it again when i was 90. and so this is a time i think for us to finally carry out our long-delayed plans. >> that was president jimmy carter this morning. speaking candidly with the nation about his health and plans to scale back his

foundation work that he has done across the world for decades. randle bammer join me now. he's a historian from dartmouth and a professor there and author of "redeemer." thank you for coming on the show. >> good to be here, tim. part don me, luke. >> that's okay. i take it as a compliment. let's put july my carter in the context of faith. he's always been a man of conviction, someone whose faith has been very, very deep. he seemed to me to sort of profess that today, sort of saying that he hopes for the best but sort of is going to take what comes. talk about the role of faith in jimmy carter's life, because if you put him in sort of the history of the presidency, he's sort of the first evangelical, deeply, deeply spiritual president in the modern era. >> he is. i think it's impossible to understand july my carter without understanding his faith and the way his faith informed his conduct as president and perhaps even more as an

ex-president. he's a deeply grounded in what i call evangelical progressism, all but eclipsed these days. but his faith provided the real ba ballast for his life in politics. >> let's talk a little bit about his post presidency. it seems that whenever there is a humanitarian crisis or an area of the world that was sort of starving for effective american leadership, jimmy carter would go there. for someone who is a very humble peanut farmer from the plains of georgia, what do you think compelled him to be so involved in international affairs in humanitarian work? >> i think carter, again, informed by his faith, is very concerned about issues of justice and human rights. it's part of who he is. it's at the core of his being. and i think what i find remarkable about him is that

once he left the white house in january of 1981 thereby freed from political constraints, he was free to act more fully, i think, on his charitable impulses. >> in terms of president carter in his military career, he went to annapolis, and to come from plains, georgia, at that time and go to the naval academy. that was not an easy thing to do. he graduated right after world war ii ended. talk about that, how he got himself to the naval academy and what propelled him to do that. >> what propelled him to do it was his uncle who he admired greatly and even as a young boy, jimmy carter would send off to annapolis for the college catalog, not disploesing his age. and apparently these college catalogs got fairly dog eared over the years as he began to think about his career in the navy. that's the only place he wanted to go. after graduating from high school he actually had to spend a couple of years in preparing

further because he was not appointed immediately after high school. but after doing some more college work he was finally appointed at annapolis. and for him that was -- it changed his life. it's also where he, for the first time, really confronted the stereotypes about being a southern racist and july immy cr was not a racist but he had to deal with race openly for the first time in annapolis. that was a very formidable experience for him. >> it was. we should also mention that he refused to join the white citizens council when he was living in plains as a farmer. almost went broke because of it. really early progressive on race, much more so than his colleagues. i want to get you out of here with this one. in terms of the challenges he faces coming up ahead, obviously it's a difficult cancer. he's going to have aggressive treatment. how do you think that jimmy carter will go in to this chapter of life? >> i think he is going to approach it with a great deal of

ek question anymority. he's talked about this for years. anticipate that he would die some day and not being at all intimidated by that. again, i think his faith sustains him. he has a sense of who he is. he also has a sense of where he's going. and as he faces this ultimately his final life crisis i think that's going to provide a lot of strength and comfort for him as he goes forward. >> indeed and lessons for all of us. professor randle bammer in dartmouth, appreciate it. coming up next, badge of honor. two women make military history but when can they really be equals? we're going to explore that question. this is msnbc. hey terry stop! they have a special! so, what did you guys think of the test drive? i love the jetta. but what about a deal? terry, stop! it's quite alright... you know what? we want to make a deal with you. we're twins, so could you give us two for the price of one? come on, give us a deal. look at how old i am.

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captain kristen greece, lieutenant shaye haver has passed the 62-day grueling training and intense combat and field test. the two women who their families call exceptional soldiers are going to speak later this afternoon in ft. benning. joining me now is u.s. army general ann dunwoody, author of the book "a higher standard." general, thank you for making the time. we appreciate it. >> thank you. it's great to be here. >> we should mention that the females who passed this test, they did not get any waivers. it was the same test as the men had to pass. 49 push-ups, 9 sit-ups, five-mile run, twooefl-mile foot march in three hours, four days of military mountaineering, 21 days of mock combat patrols. how significant is this accomplishment for women in the military? >> first of all, it's a huge accomplishment. but i'd like to add my

congratulations to every member of that graduating class. it is a tough, tough course, as you just recounted from all the rimts. i am particularly proud we have our first two women that have yet opened another door and will be earning that highly coveted yellow ranger tab tomorrow. >> it's remarkable. what obstacles remain in terms of them being able to serve on the front line and how do you think the military will react to them serving in the front lines, possibly? >> i think they made a lot of believers out of nonbelievers for starters, just by making it through this course. and i think as you know the secretary of defense gave the service two years to do an assessment when he lifted the ban on all career fields on all combat moss, specialties. ic the services, particularly i know familiar with the army, has done a very methodical approach. taken a very methodical approach

at how they've assessed the positions and the standards. and that is the most important. the standards. dangerous profession and we can't lower those standards just to accommodate a more diverse crowd. we need people that can live up to the standard, people who can enforce the standard. what i feel best about, as you just recounted, there was no lowering of the standards. these women lived up to the tests. they met the standard. in some cases, where i was readings, exceeded the standard in some cases. and that makes me so proud. >> we should say that women have served in combat for well over 30 years, whether as gunners in helicopter, serving in convoys that have come after attacks. so women have certainly proved they can handle combat. i want to ask you in terms of where these two women will be placed in the military, how do you think they will be treated by their units? is there any worry about hazing or being shunned or that it could cause men in the units to be uncomfortable or act out in

certain ways? what does the military do to try to prevent something like that from happening? >> my experience has been that when people can meet the standard, exceed the standard, when they demonstrate their professional and capable, that people are impressed. and you do make-believers out of nonbelievers. and i don't think -- i can't even imagine someone not being impressed with these two females and what they have accomplished or any ranger for that matter. and i think what we know about these schools is that they really are leadership schools. and they test you physically, mentally, emotionally. those who pass, they are made of some true grit and that's the kind of person, soldier, nco or officer that you want on your team. we want best athletes on our team in the military. >> and the army is going to have a press conference later today introducing these two soldiers. it's not the most common thing we see. do you think there's a certain sense of pride within the army, this is sort of happening within

their branch first at this level? >> i think this goes to the methodology that they took in determining women's roles in combat and opening ranger schools because their speculation and some is anecdotal of what women are capable and not capable of doing. these two clearly demonstrated they are capable of passing the toughest school. now, the ranger regiment which is one of the questions i know looming and the services have until 1 january of '16 to come back if they take this new accomplishment, achievement, in to their assessment and how that plays out. so i think the military is very proud that we have two females that have been able to accomplish this incredible achievement. >> and we of course send our congratulations to them. wonderful achievement for not only the military but for the country as well. general ann dunwoody, thank you for making the time. appreciate it.

take care. be well. >> thank you. you, too. and much more ahead on "andrea mitchell reports." a familiar guest when we come back in just a few short minutes. welcome to fort green sheets. welcome to castle bravestorm. it's full of cool stuff, like... my trusty bow. and free of stuff i don't like. we only eat chex cereal. no artificial flavors, and it's gluten-free. mom, brian threw a ball in the house! aa chance to try somethinglook. different. this summer, challenge your preconceptions

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joining us now for a tu thoughts on jimmy carter, the great andrea mitchell. carter was president when andrea first began her reporting career here in washington. andrea, you've known president carter for some time. we actually found this picture of you, i believe this is back in 1976, as a young kyw reporter. this was as he was run for president in pennsylvania primary. talk a little bit about your relationship with jimmy carter and his relationship with his wife rosalyn that seems to be so intricate to every moment of his life. >> well, what you saw today was just so mem aably, perfectly jimmy carter. i interviewed him a little over a year ago and it was a book

publication interview for "meet the press." when i asked him what was the magic between behind july my carter, the secret for him at that age doing as much as he was, just bless we'd his adventurous life. you heard that today. that's what he's facing with this diagnosis. that picture, by the way, that you just showed back from '7 6, that was a memorable day. bellevue stratford motel and he was trying to deal with press questions about a "playboy" interview published right in the middle of the primaries where he said he had lust in his heart. he had this sunday school teaching evangelical, fairly unknown up until the iowa caucuses, at least, you know, southern baptist, and devout husband and here he was trying to explain what he meant by lust in his heart. some people thought it was going to end of his campaign. of course, it wasn't. you know, he just has been and

is so full of spirit and so full of life. you saw that today. that's the -- he's facing a new adventure. this is the adventure of going this afternoon for his first radiation treatment. >> yeah. >> and we know from dr. azar that stage iv is serious but there are new treatments. i talked to my own doctor today, i'm a cancer survivor. there's a lot done and emory is a great place and he's consulting with them. he's got the best medical treatment. and he's just an extraordinary person. just as a young correspondent, luke, you will relate to this. when you were starting out i was backing up, judy, two senior white house correspondents. i was the weekend duty person who would go to sunday school and be the pool reporter very often covering his sunday school bible lesson. he taught sunday school on sundays. and then i would go to plains on thanksgiving and christmas when

the senior correspondents were off with their families. so i got to know pretty well and over the years covering him with foreign policy in haiti and all around the world, north korea. he still has an extraordinary life to live. >> without doubt. and his post-presidency, i think, is sort of set the standard for what other presidents hope to accomplish. andrea, thanks so much for calling in on your vacation. we appreciate the time. very kind of you. take care. >> of course. thanks to you for being in the chair and doing such a great job. >> it's an honor and a privilege. take care. be well. that's it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember to follow the show online on facebook and@twitter@mitchellreports. "msnbc live" is next. i hate cleaning the gutters. have you touched the stuff? it's evil. and ladders. sfx: [screams] they have all those warnings on 'em. might as well say... 'you're gonna die, jeff.' you hired someone to clean the gutters.

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donald trump. sit-down interviews. must see news conferences. a town hall before thousands and that was just wednesday. friday his campaign says he's expecting tens of thousands to attend a rally in mobile, alabama. that's his first major tour of the south. here are highlights of town hall. >> there's a very big question as to the anchor babies. it's going to be a real wall, not a toy wall like we have right now. i want it to be so beautiful because maybe some day they're going to call it the trump wall. right down the road we have jeb. very small crowd. jeb bush is a low energy person. for him, to get things done is hard. he's very low energy. mitt romney let us down. he should have won that election. he failed. he choked. the only thing constant is trump. i mean, all of them change or on the om