♪ welcome back. i'm keir simmons live at msnbc's international headquarters. we're following breaking news. a massive cyber attack has hit hospitals, schools and governments in nearly 100 countries infecting computers with crippling malware and demanding ransom payments. the fallout continues after the unexpected firing of fbi director james comey this week. the trump communications team could be on the verge of a major shakeup. today, a very active search for comey's replacement is already underway. and later, more of my exclusive sit-down interview with princess beatrice of york, what she had to say about the royal family and how the new generations of royals is turning over a new

leaf. we begin with that massive cyber attack here in london. officials still grappling with its consequences. thousands of businesses and organizations disrupted. a computer virus attacked software, holding systems hostage for ransom. nearly 100 countries affected including in the u.s. where fedex was targeted. nbc's kelly cobiella has more from here in london. >> the latest victim of this massive cyber assault french carmaker rane. a plant in slovenia and two others in france had to stop the virus from spreading. the virus began infecting in britain's national health service friday. emergency rooms closed, ambulances had to be diverted and doctors were canceling visits and surgeries because they couldn't access patient files or hospital records. that disruption continuing today. the virus affected tens of thousands of computer systems in

more than 70 countries. russia's interior ministry and fedex among the targets. the worm gets into the computer network first through a bad link in an e-mail then quickly spreads throughout a company locking computers and demanding a $300 ransom in bitcoin. today, the guardian newspaper is reporting that a 22-year-old cyber security researcher may have accidentally activated a kill switch. and at least slowed the spread of this. but he along with microsoft and governments around the world are telling users to update their computers with the latest security patch. it's not yet clear who's responsible for this. euro p europol calls it unprecedented and will take intricate investigation. >> at least six candidates are

being interviewed at the department of justice. nbc's kelly o'donnell is following developments live at the white house. kelly, how long do we expect this process to take? >> we don't have an exact timeline except to kind of the president's words where he wants tooed this fast. just in the last few minutes, keir, the fbi association, the agents association which represents current and retired agents has issued their own endorsement saying they hope president trump selects former house intelligence chairman mike rogers who was a congressman from michigan. he's also a former fbi special agent. mike rogers is on the list that we have been talking about but is not among those according to our sources who is being interviewed today. but the fbi agents association saying they'd like to see rogers be the new head of the fbi. other names include those you see on the screen. they range from judges to agents themselves, people with experience within the department. those who've worked in the department of justice.

a mix of government experienced law enforcement experience and some being tested in public life over time. it's one of the things the president told reporters that he thinks is important that these individuals be high quality, suited for the job but also vetted over time. here's a little bit of what the president said when he was talking to reporters earlier today. >> do you think you might make a decision before you leave for departure? >> outstanding people that are very well known, we'll make a fast decision. >> before the trip next week you think possibly? >> even that is possible. almost all of them are very well known. they've been vetted over their lifetime essentially. but very well known, highly respected, really talented people. and that's what we want for the fbi. >> reporter: also being talked about today, texas senator republican senator john cornyn. he is at the department of justice now based on our eyes on

the ground there among those being interviewed. you get a sense the president is looking to draw from political life, law enforcement, legal experience and maybe some management background when you look at some of the careers of some of these individuals as well. and people who are politically in line with the president even though it is an independent kind of position. and when the questioner was asking about before saudi, that's a reference to the president taking his first foreign trip. he'll leave this coming friday. so it's a very tight window if he were to make a decision prior to that departure. keir. >> all right. nbc's kelly o'donnell on duty there at the white house this saturday. thanks very much. the aftermath of the firing has put the entire white house on defense. president trump denying a "new york times" report he asked comey to pledge his loyalty amid the russia investigation. in a fox news interview airing tonight. >> i read that article. i don't think it's inappropriate. >> did you ask that question? >> no. no, i didn't. but i don't think it would be a bad question to ask. i think loyalty to the country,

loyalty to the united states is important. you know, i mean, it depends on how you define loyalty. >> the president not happy with his surrogates' defense of him. now weighing a major shakeup of his communications team according to "the wall street journal." he did take some responsibility for that. >> are you moving so quickly that your communications department cannot keep up with you? >> yes. that's true. >> so what do we do about that? >> we don't have press conferences. and we do -- >> you don't mean that. >> well, we just don't have them unless i have them every two weeks and do them myself, we don't have them. i think it's a good idea. >> joining me to discuss a busy news week, national security reporter for "the washington post," charlie savage and author of "power wars," relentless rise of presidential authority and secrecy. also with us is ron hosko former assistant director for the fbi. matt, let me start with you.

trump raised a lot of eyebrows this week with a cryptic tweet saying comey better hope there's no tape of their january meeting. the president was asked about that in the fox news interview. take a listen. >> what about the idea in a tweet you said there might be tape recordings? >> that i can't talk about. i won't talk about that. all i want is for comey to be honest. and i hope he will be. i'm sure he will be, i hope. >> matt, is there any indication a tape like that exists? >> there isn't, though the president would certainly be the one to know that. if a tape like that exists, you're watching and have access to it, send it along to me, i'd be curious to hear the recordings of these discussions of the president and fbi director. i'm sure the whole world would be curious to hear the recordings. >> would it be legal for the president to do that? >> certainly he's within his power, i guess, to do that. the white house does record just as a matter of the technology

they use a lot of phone calls. we had a report out today about how our reporters had strange interactions in our office where they suspected somebody else was listening in on their conversation. i don't know that's a straight out recording, but somebody listening in they didn't know was listening in. this kind of evokes nixon. and i think that's why people are so interested in it. it's also a thinly veiled threat to comey in some ways. >> charlie, president trump admitted he fired comey due in part of the russia investigation into his campaign. how close is this coming to an obstruction of justice? >> that was a really important thing that president trump said. obviously a complete break with the story his aides had been putting out up until then that this was on the advice of the justice department and had to do with his handling of hillary clinton's e-mails. i've talked to a lot of legal

specialists about the obstruction of justice issue that keeps swirling around this. obviously president trump had the authority to remove the fbi director from office. but otherwise lawful things can become illegal obstruction of justice if they're done for a corrupt purpose to impede an official investigation. so the fact that the president is saying he was thinking about the russia investigation at the moment he made the decision to remove jim comey is quite important. on the other hand, in the real world there's almost no chance that the justice department which of course is controlled by the trump administration would bring a case in court on that charge against the president. so what you're really talking about is a political charge that people who might some day want to try to impeach the president could throw around. both bill clinton and richard nixon were accused of obstruction of justice. but that's not a question of legal analysis. it's a question of political will. obviously right now in the republican congress that will does not exist.

>> in my -- that interview with lester holt -- >> it's a total hoax, a charade and looking for a new fbi director, are you not sending that person a message to lay off? >> no, i'm not doing that. i think we have to get back to work. what i want to find out, i want to get to the bottom. if russia hacked, if russia did anything having to do with our election, i want to know about it. >> ron, how will you think comey's firing will effect the election? >> i think it will have minimal effect. if anything it will steel the will of the agents and managers working it to work harder, to push faster. but i don't think it will appreciably slow or negate the work that they're doing. as long as they have the prosecutive support they're

going to need. as these investigations get complicated, particularly where you see potential transaction records, business records, phone records and overseas activity, those complexities very often require the work of a prosecutor or group of prosecutors to help move the investigation forward. so i think it will be important to see is the fbi getting that prosecutorive support from doj they need. >> depending on who's picked to be the new fbi director, you'd have potentially three republican politicians heading intelligence posts. dan coates intelligence direct toy, mike pompeo cia director and depending on who the president picks for the fbi. does that concern you, ron? >> you know, i think somebody who is actively a partisan, particularly if it's currently -- look, i respect thd rudy giuliani and others, however, if you're actively partisan in this recent

election, you know, those raise concerns for me. just like what's going on in the house and to some extent on the senate. and to some extent the broader conversations that are so partisan and so hypocritical to me those are warning signs that somebody may not be destined or suited for this role. so i would prefer somebody who is steeped in an understanding of how doj works, how the fbi works and they haven't been a clearly partisan politician in the recent past. >> matt, which way do you think you see this going? >> in terms of who he will pick? >> yeah. >> well, i mean, ron raises some really good points. there's a lot of people on the list of candidates being interviewed today that would check a lot of good boxes. former fbi agents, former bush justice department officials. but there's also senator john cornyn. i think he would fully fall in the category of partisanship.

i would never dame to predict exactly what this president is going to do. i would never pretend incompetent get inside his head. i think frankly even his own staff doesn't know a lot of the time. but i think, you know, if he wants to put the country at ease, he would pick someone who is nonpartisan who will sort of reassure the public that, hey, we can do this russia investigation the right way, the fair way and get to the truth of this thing. >> charlie, i guess the politics of this is that it depends on how republicans view the president's pick. and then also how the fbi internally views the pick. >> well, certainly how the republicans in the senate view it. ever since democrats abolished the filibuster for executive branch nominations in 2013, you only need 50 votes plus the vice president tie breaking vote to confirm someone like fbi

director. so if president trump were to go with a senator cornyn who by the way i think is an extremely smart person, probably one of the smarter senators there is, but is the number two republican in the chamber is clearly would be seen as a partisan figure violating the norm that the fbi is supposed to be above the fray. if the president did go that route, republicans with a defection or two could push him across the finish line without any democratic votes. that certainly would add to the discord that is currently gripping this city. >> all right, matt, charlie, ron, gentlemen, thank you all. russia has been the focus of a lot of attention since the campaign. vladimir putin believes the obsession with russia will soon die off. out next we dive into russia's view of the american political landscape. and later, part two of my exclusive interview with princess beatrice as she opens up about variety of issues, her

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for all the mischief russia is accused of making in the united states these days, very little attention has been paid by russians themselves viewed the crisis for which they are blamed. and if recent appearances by top russian officials provide any indication, then it would appear russia is not exactly above gloating. >> cast a shadow over your talks, gentlemen? >> joining us now is molly mchue, an advisor to the former president of georgia. molly, sergei lavrov there having a little fun at the

expense of white house reporters this week. does that indicate that russians are happy to see the u.s. in what they may view as turmoil? >> i think that's the right way to look at it. i think there's been a lot of discussion about whether or not the russians wanted trump, the russians wanted clinton. do they think they can get a new deal with trump? do they not? and regardless of what they achieve in terms of foreign policy objectives, one of their objectives has always been to sort of prove that american democracy and representative democracy in general is sort of just as bankrupt a system as what they have in russia. so this idea of total chaos in the united states, paralysis of governing and inability of government to move forward is something that the kremlin is enjoying very much. >> okay. here's russian president vladimir putin on the situation in the united states. take a listen. >> how will the firing of james comey affect u.s.-russia relations?

>> translator: there will be no affect. your question looks very funny for me. don't be angry with me. we have nothing to do with it. president trump is acting in accordance with his competence and in accordance with his law and constitution. what about us? >> putin shrugging his shoulders there. his spokesman said today that the american people have an emotional obsession with russia, molly. is he right? >> this is certainly the line the kremlin likes to take. i think the clip you just showed of putin at his hockey game while lavrov was in the oval office is a good one because this was sort of an amazing day in the news cycle where you have lavrov in washington sort of joking with reporters and joking with trump in the oval office. you have all of these other news

developments about the trump russia investigations in washington that are sort of obsessing the washington environment. and you have putin on the ice shooting goals in a hockey game, carefree, foot loose and fancy free. i think that's very much the image he wants to project. i think they do not want too much attention to be paid to what will come out of warming relations with the united states. i'm in estonia today, there's a big gathering of the local sort of foreign policy elite. and there's a russian representative here who was speaking at the conference to sort of express his views of the new policy. they don't think anything is going to change. they do not believe that russia and the united states will ever share any points of common values or common interests. and they will outline that very clearly. the political disruption in the united states is something that's very appealing to them because they like this idea that the post world war ii architecture in the west is unraveling and that they are successful and that they are successfully projecting their

values onto us and not the other way around. so the news coming from russia has been this sort of light hearted, you know, they're trying to lower the expectations. there is not a deal to be made with the united states on foreign policy concerns. there are just no shared points of common interests between the two countries. >> a bleak view. molly mckew, thank you. up next, what could be a critical moment in the fight against isis after u.s. forces took control of a kilo kaey loc in syria. a report from syria just ahead. what's that?

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hydroelectric facility in syria. and it was taken as a result of a two-week battle which culminated actually in a negotiated truce with those i.s. fighters inside, about 70 were allowed to leave provided they lay down their weapons and demind the facility. of course this is being seen in the wider context of the push on raqqah itself which is only about 30 miles to the east. the kurdish forces are saying that that operation will begin later this summer. this all comes ahead of course of president trump's inaugural foreign visit where he'll be going to israel and saudi arabia. of course the defeat of the islamic state is going to be very high up the agenda in both countries. it's something that he has campaigned on consistently. one of the issues that he'll have to confront is the announcement that they're going to arm america the kurdish forces in syria, which puts them on a collision path with their traditional ally in this area

turkey. so there's going to be quite a lot of diplomatic maneuvering to be done to try and thread their way through this. but be it no doubt that the pressure on the islamic state both in mosul and here in syria around raqqah is growing with every day. keir. >> itn's dan rivers in damascus. thank you. pope francis, an outward critic of president trump's policy says he won't push president trump to soften his stance on the immigration and environment during that upcoming meeting later this month. on the papal plane the pope told reporters including nbc that -- is not his style. [ speaking in a foreign language ]

[ speaking in a foreign language ] [ speaking in a foreign language ]

>> president trump visits the vatican on may 24th where he will meet with the pope. meanwhile, new details are emerging about the dinner that president trump had with james comey. what we know so far and how it relates to the russia investigation coming up. and later, the second part of my exclusive interview with princess beatrice of york as she opens up about the royal family and her grandfather's decision at 96 to go into semiretirement. a daily struggle,

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welcome back. i'm keir simmons at nbc's international headquarters in london. here's what we're following at the bottom of the hour. a massive international cyber attack that hit nearly 100 countries has the global community on high alert. the attack infected computers with crippling malware in schools, governments and hospitals. ransom payments from large companies were also demanded. so far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

president trump delivered his first commencement address since taking office at liberty university in lynchburg, virginia, earlier this afternoon. he encouraged students to challenge interests and failed power structures. and a search to replace former fbi director james comey is in high gear. six candidates were interviewed today including acting fbi director andrew mccabe. new details emerging about the one-on-one president trump had with former director james comey there. dinner taking place one day after the white house was warned about general flynn's ties to russia. joining me now is nbc's ken delanian. ken, president trump characterizes the circumstances of that dinner meeting in one way. what are you learning about the timing and circumstances of that dinner? >> keir, what we've been told by people close to jim comey is that the invitation to this one-on-one dinner came on short notice, either the day of or day before the january 27th dinner. and as you said that was one day after acting attorney general sally yates has briefed the

white house raising concerns that national security advisor mike flynn had been lying about his russian contacts. now, comey told friends he was reluctant to go to the dinner. he didn't like the appearance it created, but he felt he couldn't refuse his boss. so he says that at the dinner president trump asked for his loyalty. and he responded that he could not offer loyalty but he could offer honesty, keir. president trump has an entirely different story. he says comey requested the dinner and he disputes he asked comey for his loyalty, keir. >> and the president suggests he might have recorded that dinner meeting. the white house says as you have heard that press conference it won't discuss whether those tapes exist. why would the president suggest that a conversation like that was recorded if it wasn't? can you even answer that? >> i mean, you can only speculate that it's a bit of trumpian bluster by asserting it was recorded, assures people what he's saying. but sources close to comey have

laughed and said comey can only hope this conversation is recorded because he's sure of what happened from his perspective and would love for the world to know, keir. >> if that's the case though, do we understand why comey declined to testify before the senate committee in the wake of his firing? >> i actually have spoken to someone about that. and who knows comey well. comey is not a fan of how he's been treated by senate democrats in the wake of his handling of the hillary clinton matter. and in fact just generally testifying before congress is not a pleasant thing to do. i think if comey, he would like to tell the story another way. sources close to comey say he wants to tell his side of the story publicly just waiting to see the right way to do it and respecting how this will all play out in terms of the fbi's image, keir. >> all right, ken, thank you, my friend. president donald trump's own words and tweets have raised speculation about the legality surrounding the firing of james comey. legal experts are now questioning whether his actions constitute a possible case for

obstruction of justice. in thursday's interview with nbc's lester holt, he changed the original white house position on the firing of comey which was originally based on the input of deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. >> but regardless of recommendation i was going to fire comey, knowing there was no good time to do it. >> the president adding that one of the factors in the decision was comey's ongoing probe into the russia investigation. >> in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made-up story, it's an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election that they should have won. >> now, as we discussed with ken on friday, many interpreted his tweets as a warning to the former fbi director. he said, quote, better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press. that's what the president tweeted.

now, obstruction of justice charges were one of the principle infractions in the impeachment proceedings brought against both richard nixon in 1974 and bill clinton in 1998. for nixon his complicity on secret recorded conversations at the white house led to his ultimate resignation in the watergate scandal. clinton remained in office after being impeached by the house of course, but acquitted by the senate. at question were his statements under oath when he tried to cover-up his affair with monica lewinsky as part of the white water investigation. joining us now to discuss the legality of the president's actions is former u.s. department of justice official peter vincent. peter, in your opinion do you see an obstruction of justice case involving president trump or his administration here? >> keir, it's clear that the former director and all in fact senate confirmed political appointees serve at the pleasure of the president. and the president in this particular case had the legal right to fire director comey. i don't see at this point yet

enough evidence let alone evidence that could be proved in a court of law that the president himself either through firing former director comey or through sending out a tweet or two has -- is obstructing justice or tampering with a federal witness. >> straightforwardly, is it legal if it did happen, if it has happened for the president to secretly record white house conversations? >> what's interesting is that politically it's obviously not a good idea given the specter of watergate. however, federal law allows for one-party consent to record conversations either telephonically or in person as well as the district of columbia. again, it is a one-party consent district, therefore one party, that is president trump, could have legally recorded those conversations. other states such as the state of california or the state of washington are actually two-party consent states. in those cases it would have

required the consent of both director comey and president trump. >> where do things go from here in the question of whether there are recordings like that? is it possible for some kind of investigation to demand to get hold of those recordings if they exist? >> absolutely. i understand that there is a letter that's already been circulated by members of congress requesting to the extent that there are any tapes or digital recordings of those conversations and perhaps any conversations conducted in the dining room of the white house or the oval office that they be provided to congress. in addition -- >> the president would have to hand them over, would he? he would have to hand them over. >> absolutely. and i would strongly suggest that he would in this particular case. you know, it's hard to know what the president was talking about in terms of recorded conversations. in this day and age of smartphones, it's possible that the president was recording something on his smartphone,

which is relatively easy to do. we just don't know enough at this point, keir. >> and if you do it on your smartphone, does it make any legal difference? >> not to my knowledge. we are in an age when technology is developing so quickly that we really don't know how that particular case might differ from the old fashioned sort of recording devices that we're all familiar with which were of course at the heart of the watergate scandal. i should point out as well that an obstruction of justice argument is awfully difficult to make in a court of law because it requires actually an intent, mens rea we call it. an intent to actually use information or to make threats in a way to actually obstruct justice. we just don't know enough at this point. >> okay. former justice department official peter vincent, thank you for joining us. >> thank you, keir. >> president trump preparing for his first trip abroad since taking office. up next, a preview of the president's trip and what he looks to accomplish as he meets with world leaders and why he's

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president trump is preparing to take the first foreign trip of his presidency this thursday, it includes visits to saudi arabia, israel and rome. he says the trip is intended to build a coalition of friends and partners. the goal, help the u.s. fight terrorism and bring opportunity and stability to the middle east. i spoke with the man who knows the gulf states very well, particularly saudi arabia, muhammad, the fellow of the atlantic council recently returned from washington, d.c. here's how he described the mood among diplomats in the capital. >> i mean, there's great excitement especially with diplomats from the gulf states and arab world. the messaging coming from the trump administration with his visit beginning in islamic country is something very welcome, especially since u.s. poll policy in the past eight years in light of arab spring as well

has been more reactive than proactive, more based on crisis management rather than assuming a leadership role and take initiative. >> does the current set of issues that the president is facing, most recently him firing his director of the fbi james comey, does that affect the way that foreign policy is conducted and the way that crucial allies like saudi arabia react to the u.s.? >> i don't think there's much of an impact on the u.s.-saudi relationship or the middle east in general. there are lots of messages that come from the united states in terms of domestic policy. >> but the u.s. government doesn't seem distracted? >> well, that's something that remains to be seen. i mean, the itinerary for the trip is very detailed and president trump is going to be going to tel aviv and then the vatican, so i think once that

starts off it will overshadow other controversies. >> so diplomats for example in saudi arabia, the government you know well, are finding that behind the scenes a lot of work is being done for that important trip, for example. >> definitely. definitely. past several weeks there have been many saudi officials in washington preparing for this trip. and there's a lot of excitement. >> so do saudi officials see the u.s. domestic issues as a sideshow? does it have any impact at all? i mean, is it an advantage actually in the sense that if the u.s. government is distracted saudi arabia for example can push its own foreign policy? >> i don't think there's much bearing on foreign policy. domestic issues in the united states aren't much of concern to saudi officials or arab officials. they have no bearing on the relationship, on the visit, i

think. >> they just ignore it and move on. >> i mean, it's not something that really concerns them. there are many issues that concern the saudi government, regional stability, syria is a main concern, pushing back against iran expansion. people in the region have their plates very full. and i would say that u.s. domestic issues aren't on the top of the list. >> now, what the president is saying with his trip making his first foreign trip to saudi arabia, to israel, to italy, is that he wants to solve what he describes as the kind of religious problems that have effected that region. is it as simple as that? >> well, it's a very complex issue to solve. mainly the relationship between the united states and saudi arabia after 9/11 has been one of cooperation on security. on a daily basis. not only do the saudis and the americans share experience and share expertise, but they also

fight the same enemy on a daily basis. >> but there's been distrust too, hasn't there? between saudi arabia and the u.s. >> i mean, definitely the past eight years there have been some hiccups to the relationship. and i think trump visiting saudi arabia on his first visit is signaling that, you know, saudi arabia -- the relationship between saudi arabia and the united states will be coming back. >> okay. briefly, what does the president need to do to solve the kinds of complex problems that the middle east faces? >> well, i mean, that's a very, very big question. >> we have a little bit of time. >> yeah. syria, syria is a main concern right now. the strikes that were carried out in syria were received in a very good light in the region. but some sort of deal will bring about an end to the bloodshed is something that's very important. >> needs to be followthrough. >> definitely.

>> needs to be more diplomacy. >> yes, an international effort, i would say. >> okay. mohammad, thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks very much. thank you. >> coming up, something entirely different. i had a chance to meet with princess beatrice of york at a charity event where we touched on a variety of topics. she opened up about all things royal family. part two of my exclusive interview with the princess next. more people than ever are making the move to nissan. because of rogue, the best selling suv in america. titan, with america's best truck warranty. and the most advanced safety features on alitma and our best selling models. that's why we're america's fastest-growing auto brand. get 0% financing for up to 72 months on 11 models. ♪

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now the second part of our exclusive interview with the queen's granddaughter princess beatrice and i asked her about her cousins william and harry and her grandfather's decision to semi retire at 96. she was taking part in a charity e stroent raise awareness of gynecological cancers and it is an event organized by my sister sitting beside her. and i asked her how the royal generation is making so much more talk about personal issues.

>> reporter: princess beatrice, this generation are a able to talk about these things much more openly. your cousins prince william and prince harry have said incredible things about the challenging they have been facing, and you have talked about your battle with dix lexia, a san diego there a more openness now amongst this generation now to talk about issues that perhaps in the past we were not able to talk about? >> yeah, that is a great question. i think that, firstly, what the boys and kathryn have done with their heads together campaign is incredible. convening the conversation around mental health feeds a lot into why it is okay to start talking about other issues, and there is so much, so much that goes into it. i think that we live in a generation that is with its ability to share on social media, and the conversations are starting to really, really happen. and the so it is never has been more important to stand up to say what you are proud of and what you are passionate about.

>> reporter: and what your battles are? >> yes, because by sharing, it is suddenly okay, and by the amount of times that you can see going in to talk about someone with dyslexia and they say, great, you been through it as well. it is going to reframe the conversation, and you are immediately feeling calmer, and so talking about some of the, you know, the campaigns like the other campaigns, it is feeling like you are part of the wonderful community. >> reporter: what inspires you to do charity work like this? your grandfather the duke of edinboro was connected with almost 800 organizations. so it is running in the family, i guess. >> yes. yes, i guess it definitely run s in the family and especially with women's issues and i have the most incredible female role models throughout history that i feel like i carry with me, and all day everyday. it is sort of an honor to those

women, including my grandmother and my mother, and i feel like, you know, that i feel like i need to offer support as much as you can, and i really, and today, it is really fun. i had a wonderful time, and i loved to do any kind of sporting event. >> when the duke of edinboro said that he wanted to step back from that work, many people were of course disappointed because he had done such great work, and as a granddaughter, he is probably, good for you. >> and the duke of edinboro is a phenomenal man and phenomenal consult and phenomenal fa the, and he has done amazing work for the last 96 years. so, you know, we will see what happens next. but i think that -- >> reporter: good for him. >> i mean, really, the he has done such an incredible -- he is an incredible man. >> reporter: and you are the first member of the royal family to run a marathon. >> yes, i am. [ laughter ] yeah, i know. it is a very weird tagline to have, but yes, i did the

marathon in 2010, and tied together with 36 other friends of mine, and we competed in the london marathon which is hysterical and lots of fun, and no more mares on this, but i go about finding other sporting challenges >> reporter: the triathlons is comin coming? >> well, maybe a few triathlon, and talking about health and wellness and the sport and challenging yourselves every year is something that you should do when you are training for something, and you are taking the time to look after your mind, your body and soul, and so, this is a huge potential in that. and so, they make it to keep me going. >> reporter: all right. thank you from me and my sister and for all of us for doing this and your support for this. >> of course. very nice. >> reporter: thank you, too, sister. >> well done. >> thank you, big brother. that wraps it up here on nbc. i'm keir simmons here in london and we will throw it back to me lus is a is ray berger who is --

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everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. good afternoon. i'm melissa rehberger live at the msnbc headquarters. and the fallout continues after the unexpected firing of james comey. the search is underway with at least six candidates attending intervi interviews today. as the search is going, one california lawmaker is calling for a special counsel now that the man who was leading the investigation was abruptly fired. >> and awe group meeting in san diego concerned about what happens to their coverage if the obamacare replacement bill is passed in the senate. what will be their strategy? and we start with a washington where a search for new fbi director is being conducted rightno