good morning, everyone. i'm tamron hall and this is "news nation." developing now -- we begin with new pressure on dr. ben carson to withdraw from the republican presidential race. the nation's largest muslim group, the council on american islamic relations, is holding a news conference to call on carson to drop out following his comments on "meet the press." >> i would not advocate that we put a muslim in charge of this nation, i absolutely would not agree with that. >> would you ever consider voting for a muslim for congress? >> congress is a different story. but it depends on who that muslim is and what their policies are. >> carson's campaign later clarified his comments, insisting he "has great respect for the muslim community but he just doesn't believe the american people are ready for a muslim president." this morning, donald trump is still fending off questions about his failure to correct a

questioner who wrongly claimed president obama is a muslim and blamed muslims for being a problem in the united states. >> it is not my obligation to defend the president. is the president going to defend me because last night during the emmy awards people said things about me? >> meantime, in the wake of new polls, including our latest nbc news survey shows carly fiorina surging and donald trump this morning dismissing fiorina as a threat. >> when people find out what a horrible job she did in business running two companies into the ground, lucent and hp, she's got a good line ever pitter patter. if you listen to her speaking, it is the same line that i will speak to my friend bebe netanyahu, et cetera, et cetera, she says the same thing every and over. you look at it, it is robotic. but i think people are understand her soon. >> cory sailor, director of the

department to monitor and combat islamophobia. also joining us, gloria brown marshall, associate professor of law at the john j. collins college of criminal justice. is his clarification not enough for you? >> it is confusing and it just makes the point that he's not ready to be president of the united states. we deserve candidates who have at least a passing familiarity with the constitution. when you have someone on national tv saying that he wouldn't support a muslim for public office, he's going in direct violation of article 6 of the constitution. >> in his comments you heard him say that he believes that the american people are not ready for a muslim president, that he just doesn't believe the american people are at that point. when he makes this assertion, obviously you know there's polling out that some would point to that in some way backs up what he is saying, perhaps

that they're not closed to the faith but the idea of americans even wanting someone in the white house who doesn't believe in god is something that the polling shows would be resisted by some. >> when john f kennedy ran for president he was a catholic and there was significant resistance to that. even in the debate around framing the constitution, there were concerns raised when article 6 was discussed about the possibility of a jew, a turk or even, god forbid, a roman catholic becoming president. all of that was dismissed. we've had this conversation already. when the united states sees a muslim who has the charisma, the ideas to become president, then that person will be elected, just like john f. kennedy was. >> gloria, that's a great point he makes here. september 12, 1960, john kennedy said i am not the catholic candidates for president, i am the democratic party's candidate

for president. who also happens to be catholic. article 6 of the constitution, no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office. but we know if we are talking in a way people talk around the dinner people, we were having this conversation in some way in 1960, many were, as it related to the first roman catholic president. >> yes. and once again it related back to the founding fathers. quakers. roman catholics. all of these people were in the room when they decided there was power in diversity and divisiveness would tear this country apart. it wasn't just the first amendment that this country didn't have any stated religion. it was the idea that not only will we not have religious test, but there would be nothing that would put religion ahead of the people actually assessing who would be the best leaders for this country. >> it's interesting, you have senator ted cruz for example coming out saying that he does not support what ben carson says because he obviously is a

constitutionalist and he stands behind this. but this again goes back to the heat that ben carson is feeling. this is something that i think a lot of americans have been concerned for some time, even those who have no faith in that we have a country -- i believe the number was 76% in a new poll -- who said they wouldn't be comfortable with someone in the white house who didn't believe in god. >> but think about this. 15 years ago they would have said the same thing, i wouldn't be comfortable if there was an african-american in the white house. i think this country moves in fits and starts, that it moves when it must and resists when it can. and i think when that candidate comes to the fore, and we see that there are muslim candidates and muslim politicians in congress right now that people have a comfort level that they have to be pushed toward it, there will be those resisting. but the constitution is open enough to allow that candidate to be in office. >> you have some people who believe that there are parts of the constitution -- like the bible -- that can be subject to interpretation.

but the religion aspect or the lack of the religious test shall not ever be required, that could not be more clear, and yet you still have this conversation and this blending where we have a presidential debate and the candidates are asked what has god told you need to do if you are elected. >> but the pope is going to be speaking to congress. we have this fuzzy line that comes with religious accommodations that have been requested by kim davis, an elected official. so right now the country is going through some birthing changes when it comes to how religion is going to be applied in our day to day lives. one part of the country is saying that we should have an atheist, but the other part -- in the white house because that should be allowed, no religious test. but another part is saying why do we have "in god we trust" on money? so this has been a confusing issue. when we have the pope come to speak, and they say well he's speaking just as a person speaking in congress, we know that it's more than that. so i think we're sending out as a country mixed signals and

people are now having the foundation to say we believe that there is a religious fer vferver in the country that's anti-muslim but in 10, 15 years i do believe people will change. >> we are a nation of laws, not a nation of polls. so ben carson needs to lead and apply the law, which is the constitution. also developing now, sources tell nbc news vice president joe biden is increasingly looking to jump in to the democratic race. our own chuck todd also tells us that despite recent reports suggesting otherwise, the vice president's wife dr. jill biden is fully behind another run. a spokesperson for dr. biden released a statement that reads in part, of course dr. biden would be on board if her husband decides to run for president. but they have not made that decision yet." but in a new interview done thursday, and released just this morning, vice president said he is still not there yet.

>> we're just not, you know, just not quite there yet and it may not get there in time to make it feasible to be able to run and succeed because there are certain windows that will close. but if that's it, that's it. >> the "wall street journal report"ed this weekend the vice president's aides have called donors an supporters in recent days suggesting he is more likely than not to enter the race. with the biden decision looming over her campaign, new positive news for hillary clinton. she's shown now at 42% gaining five points in the past week and senator bernie sanders slipping several points. clinton does even better without the vice president in the race. she jumps to 57%. let me bring in the political panel we've put together for you this morning, margie o'mara and matt lewis. thank you both for joining us. . matt, start with you and ben

carson. his clarification, what he's saying now. what's your take on his remarks on "meet the press"? >> i guess first of all, i am a little surprised. ben carson seems to have gotten better politically in krrecentl in weeks and months. he started off saying controversial things, then it seemed like he got his stride, becoming a more disciplined communicator. i even wrote something about this about how he had learned his lesson. so this is just a horrible thing -- never mind the substance. we just had a segment on that. politically speaking why is he talking about this? it is a really bad political move. >> well, he was asked the question as it relates because donald trump obviously had that moment at the town hall, trump saying it is not his job to defend the president. it is still a part when you look at the polling, the number of republicans who believe that the president is muslim, it is a legitimate question to be asked. it is whether or not he answered the right way. >> that's the thing. politicians are asked tough questions that put them on the spot all the time. but they learn how to segue

those questions into talking points. maybe this is part of his commitment to not bow to the altar of political correctness. but i think it is a real bad political mistake, now here he is a day later trying to explain what he actually meant by that. >> let me transition to donald trump who was on the "today" show this morning dismissing carly fiorina's surge in the poll. he again cited her record at hewlett-packard and pointed out her being defeated by barbara boxer essentially predicting this will be the same case that plays out if she gets nominated for the gop. is she a threat to him at this point? >> she's absolutely a threat. currently she's just four points down from trump among women even though there is a bigger gap among men where trump does better with a republican man than he does with a republican woman. she had a tremendous debate performance. the question is is a debate

porpoise a good debate performance necessary to be a successful presidential candidate? maybe. is it sufficient? probably not. so she's going to need to add some more policy positions and some more substance around that strong performance. >> it's interesting, matt, criticism from trump today directed at carly fiorina. basically she has this m memorization, he refers to it as the pitter pat, she says my good friend bebe netanyahu, he says this is a script. meanwhile he works his way through town halls. >> there's truth in that. any of us out there at all who have heard carly fiorina speak, like many politicians, she is ha her stump speech, she has things she keeps returning to her talking points. that's certainly true. but she's also really good at it and these are points that she wants to drive home. one man's being skrimtcripted i

another man's being disciplined and staying on message. i think there is a danger that carly fiorina is vulnerable when it comes to issues of income\s, when it comes to her work at hewlett-packard. we can think back to the ads when mitt romney came to town. she's vulnerable to that. i'm just not sure it is up to donald trump to point that out. he sounds like a strategist right now attacking her and i don't know that that's a smart move. he can get away with doing that with other candidates. i don't know that attacking carly fiorina is a good move for him politically. >> margie, talk about what's happening with democrats. hillary clinton saying that she does not plan to go after bernie sanders. but we are looking at some interesting turnout numbers still. both were at the university of new hampshire. clinton's crowd around 600, bernie sanders around 3,000 people. yet you see the new polling out. she's moving up. some of the numbers ticking down for bernie sanders. let me play what he said to the crowds over the weekend there to see him. >> you may not know this, but

what you are part of tonight is the largest turnout for any presidential candidate in new hampshire. thank you! you know, some people say that young people and students are apathetic and they don't want to get involved. it sounds to me like you are ready to transform america. thank you! >> he's got the crowds but when you look at this polling out now, if vice president biden is not in the race, hillary clinton jumps up to 57% so that would indicate these people are willing to go to clinton's side and not bernie sanders. >> well, i think all three candidates have clear strengths and potentially some challenges. the cnn poll was national. in new hampshire, sanders has been strong for some time. he's been up over clinton in the last few polls. he's from neighboring vermont.

that makes sense. nationally he has room to grow in terms of his hard i.d. yet clinton is still very popular among democrats. she did a great job yesterday on the sunday news shows. and biden is obviously -- vice president biden is obviously incredibly popular. should he decide to get in, he's had some strength in general election match-ups in some battleground states. he think all three candidates focusing on the issues currently, not the slugfest you see on right, all have some real strengths with the democratic base. >> the reality shot here is we all know with the headlines, it appears that joe biden will enter the race if these headlines are correct here at a time where she is seeing an uptick in the polls, how worried really are those insiders with the clinton campaign? you think -- i know she says she is not preparing for a joe biden run but everyone else is. >> i mean, look. i take biden at his word when he's saying he's still trying to think it through with his family an not close the door

prematurely, keep the door open for a little bit longer while he sorts through it. i take him at his word that that's where he is. i think it remains to be seen whether he gets into the race. i think whether we have a two-person race or a three-person race, think all candidates are really strong and democrats will all be pretty energized. >> thank you both for joining us. we got to keep it moving, i wish we had more time. see you both soon. turning now to the refugee crisis overseas, secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. is stepping up its response and increasing the number of refugees that will be admitted into the country. according to kerry, the u.s. will accept 85,000 refugees from around the world next year. that's up from 70,000. total now would be 100,000 by the year 2017. >> at soon as we have an opportunity to try to up there, we're welcome because america has always welcomed bringing mo are people in this these kinds of circumstances. >> the new plan is angering some who fear that this could open

the nation to terrorist attacks. at the same time, some human rights organizations are saying kerry's plan stills falls short of meaningful leadership. nbc's chris jansing joins us live from the white house. obviously, chris, as anything in this town, you have a division on these numbers, whether the u.s. is doing enough, and whether we are staying safe allowing so many of these refugees to enter the country eventually. >> reporter: you've summarized the arguments perfectly. let's start with the numbers, tamron, which are indeed that the number is going to be increased. i think it is important to point out that what has motivated a lot of this are those haunting images we've seen of the syrian refugees who have been fleeing for their lisves. in fact that number has not changed, it is going to be 10,000 next year. already the u.n. has put through their pipeline on their way to the u.s. 17,000. so these are people who are already in the process and already waiting. but you're right about the

political divide. on one side you have democrats who have made it very clear to the president and to the administration they think that the number should be as high as 100,000 just from syria alone. there are a couple of problems with that, according to the white house. one, they've made the argument that whenever possible, those syrian refugees should try to be resettled closer to home. even though the u.n., some u.n. refugee association officials have suggested that that's going to be difficult to do. the second thing is, while the white house can propose any number they want, it has to be backed up by the budget. congress holds the purse strings and they're going to have to provide that money. one of the things that we are waiting to see is how much money there's going to be proposed by the administration by the first of the month. they spent $4 billion so far helping syrian refugees in that area of the world. how much more are they willing to offer. we know what the numb abouter is of refugees they are willing to take. how much money do they want to

put behind it. >> chris jansing, thank you for that live report. pope francis about to visit the holiest shrine in cuba just a day before his historic trip to the u.s. but this morning there's controversy. presidential candidate mike huckabee is slamming president obama for how the pope's welcome will be handled. and cracking down on synthetic marijuana. it is the second-most popular illegal drug among american teenagers. >> these drugs are more dangerous and can have worst side effects than marijuana. >> coming up, we'll talk about the effort to get the dea to step in with this year having the worst on record deaths related to synthetic marijuana overdoses. join our conversation online. find the team at newsnation on twitter. we'll be right back. before earning enough cash back from bank of america to take their act to the next level... before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time...

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developing now -- pope francis celebrating mass right now in cuba's third largest city. part of his last full day on the island before he embarks on this week's historic six-day visit to the united states. yesterday more than 300,000 cubans flocked to havana's revolution plaza to get a glimpse of the first latin american pope. mass did not go without incident. three protesters were taken into custody after rushing the pope mobile. a spokesperson for the cuban commission for human rights says up to 30 disdense were arrested before they reached the plaza. after the mass, francis spent the afternoon in private meetings first with fidel castro, then with the current president, his brother raul. another celebration in havana, another beautiful day there.

then on to the united states very soon. >> yes, tamron. the pope has just delivered the homily there during the mass in holguin in which he recognizes the sacrifices and efforts the catholic church had to go through and face since the revolution here in 1959. he has praised the private homes that have been used as houses of prayers by the people here in the absence of churches and priests for the last 60 years. holguin is important because no pope has gone to this town before, even though francis is the third pope that visits this island, has visited this island in the past 20 years or even less, it is famous because it is the birthplace of fidel and raul castro. but it also bears great religious significance because that's where, according to the locals, that's where the patron

sa saint of this island, the lady of charity, made her first miraculous appearance in the 17th century. we haven't even any incidents as those that happened yesterday during the mass here in havana. now that may be because many of the dissidents have been arrested according to the leader of the ladies in white dissident group. of course nbc does not have independent confirmation of that. after the mass in holguin, he's going to fly out to santiago where tomorrow he'll hold a mass in the basilica. after that he flies out to washington when he lands tomorrow at about 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon. let me bring in the founding director of the center for faith and public life at fairfield university. thank you so much for your time. >> i'm glad to be here. >> obviously we fast food in excitement to the pope's arrival here in the united states but it is like his visit with cuba,

there is controversy. already you have republican representative paul gosar of arizona, a catholic, announcing he's boycotting the pope's address to congress thursday citing the pope will focus on climate change. he says if the pope stuck to standard christian theology i would be the first in line. if the pope spoke out with moral authority against violent islam, i would be there cheering him on. he goes on to say that he does not though appreciate the pope's potential focus on climate change. what is your reaction to some lawmakers even those who say that they are catholic criticizing the potential for the pope to talk about capitalism and climate change? >> well, i think francis recognizes within the catholic church there's quite a large division among caucus on various international topics. but the way the vatican has always approached this is that catholics have a right to make

prudential decisions about political topics from their own perspective. these are difficult issues which have many different possible solutions, and a catholic has to i would the various issues and make a decision according to their conscience and what they think. there is some guidance from the church on this, and that's what francis is giving. but the actual policies which will, for example, be dealt with in paris later this year is really up to individual lay catholics to decide where they stand on these issues an how -- and this is accepted by church. i mean it is not a shock. francis is quite prepared for the kind of division that might be taking hold in the united states on some of these issues that he's very concerned about. >> speaking of things of concern, i know you've been quoted as saying you think the pope should rethink his views on capitalism. what did you mean by that?

>> yes. i mean the pope himself has recognized that he hasn't said very much about the middle class anywhere in the world. he talks a lot about very poor. but not the middle class. and what has happened is the global market has -- big capitalist market has basically raised many millions of people from abject poverty in to what might be called the lower middle class. this is particularly true in asia. and he has not really recognized that as a decline in poverty globally. i think he needs to, perhaps he'll learn when he's in the united states, that the united states was built on capitalism, and the fact that we do have a strong middle class is, even though some say it is sliding back -- >> yeah. numbers would show that would be

the case, the middle class, that many people certainly talked about 50, 40 years ago, is something that does not exist or is much smaller than ever before. speaking of pope's comments on capitalism, he said in 2013, or wrote, some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume economic growth encouraged by a free market will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. this opinion, which has never been confirmed by facts, expressed a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power. meanwhile, they exclude -- the e included are still waiting. that speaks to in a sense what you were saying, corporations or big businesses somehow do uplift those further down. the pope saying exact opposite of that. >> well, i think we have no alternative but to capitalism right now in the world. i think it is very much the driving force behind the development of various economies in most of the world.

those that participate in the global capitalist market are the ones that are rising. i think not to recognize that is a mistake. i think capitalism can be bad, but it also can be very beneficial. i think that side of the picture needs to be re-affirmed by the holy father. >> very interesting observation from you. not one that we've heard a lot from those within the church. thank you so much for your time. we greatly appreciate you joining us today. thank you, reverend. >> thank you. mpl still ahead, our "first read" team digs into donald trump's negative impact on the republican presidential race. the question here this morning -- would the candidates be talking about president obama's faith if trump were not in the race? next. ♪

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this morning for the federal government to do more to regulate the sale of synthetic marijuana. right now 2015 is already the worst year on record for synthetic marijuana overdoses and the product is now the second most widely used drug among high school seniors trailing only marijuana. despite the name, synthetic marijuana commonly referred to as k2 is actually much more dangerous than marijuana with far worse physical and mental effects. in an emotional moment last week, talk show host wendy williams actually opened up about her son's addiction. >> our kid had been smoking this mess. and he got turned out. and to the point where he went off the rail for a moment. to the parents and guardians watching right now, just talk to your kids. this synthetic marijuana -- there was only like 2% thc in

it. rest of it was factory manufactured mess. >> right now all 50 states have laws to ban or control it but authorities are struggling to combat the sale. much of which is online. joining me now, host of the show "greenhouse" on msnbc.com. a lot of people telling me wendy williams was the first person who spoke publicly about this synthetic marijuana. >> that's a terrible story. it is hard to hear. i'm sure a lot of parents have similar stories themselves. people hear synthetic marijuana, they think marijuana, that's a relatively safer drug and people try it. they are surprised because this doesn't act like marijuana. >> what is it? >> this is a crazy story. bear with she. in the '90s a researcher at clemson university was trying to study the can bin noid in the body. now drug dealers are copying the

chemistry in those papers, mostly overseas manufacturers with be sending chemicals here. they get sprayed on oregano or something else that looks like a plant, then put in bags like this. then sold as though it's pope pre. in order to get under neath the laws which are trying to ban this stuff, people present it as though it is not really for smoking. >> this is an empty package. op bottom it says, not for human consumption. would you put it in a basket in your home as potpourri. >> the illustration makes clear this is for smoking, not for making your hallway smell fresh but it makes it very difficult for the government because it's hard to prosecute people who are selling this because you have to prove that they intended it for human consumption. >> these numbers are staggering. the number of overdoses this year alone, the worst year on record. is it because it is cheap to buy or that it is just being sold in so many places? >> people who have a prior

record believe they can smoke this and pass drug tests. which a huge part of it. and that's true. because when the government tries to ban synthetic marijuana, they ban certain strains but then the chemists in china and in europe just change it. suddenly it is a different drug. plausibly deniable as something illegal. >> chuck schumer and others, there is a new push now to regulate this and make parents more aware. >> a huge push. that's important. we shouldn't be calling this synthetic marijuana because the outcomes are so different from smoking regular marijuana. when this interacts with the brain, there's no threshold effects. marijuana has a limiting effect. it won't go too far in the brain. this has no threshold. there is no limit to where it could take you in terms of psychotic episodes or anything scientists are beginning to understand. >> it is an education for all of us.

great reporting. coming up now, as many as 1,of 1 1,600 homes have been destroyed by the wildfires burning out in california. one of the stories we're updating for you. a staggering number of teachers across america spend more than $1 billion of their own money to help buy school supplies for students. today's "born in the usa," we're taking a look at a company that's taking a strong stand. because you never know when it will happen you've decided to work in a cubicle.

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digging in as far as the negative impact it is having on the party in general? had. >> it shouldn't come as a surprise that somehow this was going to be an issue you in the 2016 presidential election. of course donald trump was really kind of thrust into the spotlight in the early parts of the 2012 race because he was helping to lead the birther charge against president obama. he ultimately didn't run for president in 2012 but endorsed mitt romney, played a big role with republicans and certainly was leading the crusade there against president obama. then all of a sudden it came up last thursday at a town hall in new hampshire and now we've gotten to the point where other republican candidates are being asked about president obama's faith. but also whether you would end up having a muslim in the white house as chuck todd posed to ben carson on sunday. and just bottom line, this shouldn't be a surprise that we've decided -- we've gone down this rabbit hole. if you're surprised at that, you'd be surprised that basketball's become a topic of conversation if someone like

dennis rodman decided to run for the presidency. they are so linked with donald trump. >> but the negative impact it is having on the gop right now, how do you measure it? >> because they're being forced to respond to these types of questions. all of a sudden republicans either have to agree or disagree with donald trump on president obama's faith or in general questions about whether muslims should be in the white house or you would want to see someone like that. this is just going to be a natural consequence. donald trump has brought a lot of excitement and energy to the republican race. look at the ratings for the debate so far on the republican side. but this is also one of the other consequences of that. >> mark murray, thank you so much for a look at the "first read" today. see you tomorrow. still ahead -- the emmys. they got political as well. >> i've got to say, sure, donald trump seems racist. what else? >> yes. we'll have much more of the emmys, including, of course, those who took home the little

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so you can own it. ten different wildfires burning across california one death being blamed, at the same time two of the biggest wildfires in northern california history have destroyed nearly 1,600 homes. those two fires have now consumed for than 145,000 acres. time now for our "born in the usa." one of the new big trends in retail is the buy one/give one philosophy popularized by the likes of eyewear company rory parker where for every item bought the company donates one to those in need.

yoobi makes trendy and fun school supplies and for every item purchased they donate one to a classroom in need here in the u.s. joining me now, yoobi founder and ceo, ito lefler. your products are colorful and cute but the reality is there is a dark, sad story why you had to launch this. it is because teachers now spend $1.6 billion on school supplies each year out of their own pockets to help their students. >> the arm schoolteacher spends close to $500 out of her own pocket each year. my mom was a schoolteacher. i know what $500 is especially on a teacher's salary. to be spending that amount of money on school supplies for that classroom, really for the kids that need it most is unacceptable and something that we wanted to solve. >> as you mentioned, you have a personal connection being the child of a teacher. how did you turn this idea in to

action to the model that you've presented? >> well, we had an idea to create brilliant product linked to an awesome cause. and what we really wanted to do was find a way to make school supplies fun again. so we looked back in our past which is in the beauty world and created products that looked like they would be something that kids would want to engage with, something that they wanted to have fun with. then we said that if we could make that also able to solve a problem, then we had something that was really special. so for every item you buy, a yoobi item is donated to a classroom pack right here in the u.s. that classroom pack goes to a class that into edz it moneeds . to date we've sproided free school supplies to just over 1 million kids and that's in just over a year. >> you've teamed up with usher as well. we actually have video of him

taking school supplies and delivering them to the kids. it always helps when you have a big name. he's also a parent with small boys of his own so certainly he understands what it feels like to see a child in need and want to help. >> this is a real problem that affects everybody. when we started talking about this problem, people such as usher were willing to give not only from their time but from their heart and soul to this issue. retailers such as target were just willing to just jump in and partner with us on it. and in the end of the day that's what's important, that everybody gets together, because this problem is a problem that we can all solve together. really, really quickly. >> for people who want to know how you decide which schools, right now the focus -- elementary schools within a ten-mile radius where 90% of the kids are eligible for national school lunch programs. but as you mentioned, you can go to the website, exclusive at target as with el. but this is a great program.

from this born in the u.s. idea. thank you. >> my pleasure. this is such an important cause. we would love everybody to come on in, buy some yoobi products and we will help some kids. still ahead, viola davis makes history. i-sgloo. >> the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. >> more from viola and the other winners.

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turning now to what was an exciting and historic night in hollywood as tv's biggest stars turned out for the 67th annual emmy awards. "game of thrones" came out on top winning 12, including best drama. that's the most any show has ever won in a single year. " "veep" beat "modern family" for

the first time in five years. one of the biggest moments came when viola davis became the first african-american to win best actress in a drama for her role in "how to get away with murder." >> let me tell you something. the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. you cannot win an emmy for roles that are simply not there. >> after an eight-year wait, john hamm rolled up onstage to get the best actor emmy. joining us to recap the night, young hollywood entertainment correspondent nicki novac. thanks for your time. obviously viola davis moment, no matter who you are, you see that and you know it's a powerful moment. >> i think i'm welling up just watching that back. >> it was good. >> yeah. he yeah. by the way, i think you're a

"game of thrones" fan? >> please. it was big for hbo again. it was major for them. >> yes, they did. they sort of swept for the series categories. big, big wins for hbo. obviously it had been eight years since they had won in the drama category. yeah, there were definitely celebrations at the party last night. >> andy samberg, let me play one of his donald trump jokes from last night. >> donald trump of course is running for president to the delight of uncles everywhere. but i've got to say, sure, donald trump seems racist. what else. >> julia louis-dreyfuss made a trump joke. this is when the hollywood shows get so interesting, to see the line between politics and tv.

>> yeah. yeah. i was surprised there was only two jokes about donald trump. i'm sure he's still loving the press. i'm sure he doesn't mind that they were poking fun at his expense. i think considering that julia louis-dreyfuss won, it was appropriate she took a shot at him. >> we had tracy morgan's return. he got a standing ovation. it was serious as well as humorous. a big moment to see him walk on that stage. >> it was. it was probably the biggest applause of the night next to maybe jon hamm rolling onstage as you said. i think it took people by surprise. people didn't necessarily know that he was going to be presenting in the drama category, and what was so sweet was that he pointed out that jimmy kimmel said the year before that we'll see you next year on the ij sstage and there was walking out. he specifically said afterwards he wanted to make it on his own and he did. there wasn't a dry eye in the place. >> fantastic. so happy to see him. thank you so much. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall.

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right now on "andrea mitchell reports," making history. pope francis in cuba for a visit like no other. drawing throngs of people engaging cuban leader raul castro and meeting 89-year-old fidel castro ahead of his trip to washington and new york and finally the world meeting of families in philadelphia. >> translator: to greet the pilgrims and the people of philadelphia when i come for the world meeting for families. i will be there because you will be there. see you in philadelphia. >> church and state. ben carson shocks the political world with this statement to chuck todd on "meet the press." >> i believe that