do you believe people actually choose which words sub conshly with an eye toward the other -- >> the galleries couldn't be nicer. it was incredible and the encouragement i got, it blew me away. >> all the news and commentary now. >> i'm actually going to try and not get as hot when i play. good evening from new york. the fate of washington, d.c., this summer, and potentially the outcome of november elections lies tonight, partially, in the hands of a man who turns 90 years old in 15 days and whether or not he's going to retire. justice john paul stevens, the man who led the supreme court's opposition to the bush/cheney attack at civil liberties at guantanamo bay in u.s. courtrooms now says he is deciding whether to retire this year or next, opening a gap on

the increasingly divided court and sparking a nomination battle in the increasingly divided senate. he lived there prohibition, the great depression and world war ii and watched babe ruth's alleged called shot from behind third base at wrigley field. appointed by president ford, confirmed 98-0 by the senate, stevens is considered as a liberal by the right wing, having used his position to marshal support for gay rights, abortion rights, with his 90th birthday, stevens is considering when to step down. a departure bigger than just one man. the new yorker writing, quote, when stevens leaves, the supreme court will be just another place where democrats and republicans fight. indeed, his departure is likely to spark just a fight like that. democratic senator arlen specter sending a not so subtle plea yesterday to stevens saying, help democrats avoid a nomination battle. a battle jon kyl did not exactly

rule out. >> i hope that justice stevens does not retire this year. i think the gridlock in the senate might well produce a filibuster which will tie up the senate on a supreme court nominee. if a year passes there's a much better chance we could come to a consensus. >> if he doesn't nominate someone who is overly ideological, you may see republicans voting against the nominee, but i don't think you'll see them engage in a filibuster. >> of course, that depends on what the definition of ideological is. the newspaper roll call reports mitch mcconnell is using the easter break to decide whether his party should go obstructionist on the looming fight over financial regulations. roll call reporting if the white house insists on what the gop considers overregulating wall street, mcconnell wants a united front in opposition, even though some republicans fear democrats are hoping for the fight. this after christina romer,

chair of the white house council of economic advisers, expressed yesterday that democrats can still pick up republican support. and the "los angeles times" reported that president obama hopes to avoid a divisive, bruising partisan battle at least until after the november elections. that strategy side lining only immigration and climate change. not wall street, nor are republicans waiting for mr. obama or mr. mcconnell to set the strategy or wall street. senator bunning is not only blocking extension, he and tom coburn are blaming democrats, because democrats refused their demand to use stimulus money to pay for it. let's turn now to msnbc political analyst jonathan alter. also, of course, national affairs correspondent. >> hi, keith. >> this premise that was in the new yorker piece, that justice stevens' departure means more than just the loss of one vote. explain that.

>> first of all, justice stevens is the great intellect on the court in our generation. he makes scalia look like a pygmy, despite all the frirmts scalia gives off. he was an appointee of republican gerald ford. he's always been a moderate who has tried to interpret the law, which is his job, in an intellectually honest way. and you do get the sense that this idea of trying to sort of build majorities across ideological lines on the court is becoming a thing of the past. there are some very talented justices still on the court, but they don't have stevens' ability to work with people -- i don't want to say both sides of the aisle, because they don't have an aisle at the court. but on the different ideological differences as stevens has done. >> specter appealed to stevens

to wait until after the election, is that so things will be calm in 2011 than they are in 2010? >> i think senator specter is mistaken about this. the democrats are only, as we all know, only one vote shy of having a filibuster-proof majority after the midterm elections they might be a few votes shy. and should the republicans filibuster, as they're threatening to do, it would be easier to get a nominee like stevens to replace him on the court before the midterms. it would be easier to survive a filibuster before the midterms. >> can the republicans as easily filibuster as might be theorized in these times, isn't there anything left from, say, gerald ford remaining proud of this appointment until the day he died, that he thought it was one of the great things he did in his brief presidency? isn't there some residual effect from that? isn't there something that this republican party has to honor about that republican party?

>> if president obama appoints somebody who justice stevens believes is in his mold, then it would be a little bit harder from -- for some of the more reasonable republicans in the senate to oppose it. and i think it would be quite difficult for them to successfully filibuster somebody that president obama names. if you look at the short lists that have been put together, i think any of those nominees would be able to survive a filibuster. >> and kyl's remarks he, this want judicial restraint, that means citizens united, or no democrat, or -- what does it mean? >> he's just trying to fire a shot across obama's bow saying don't nominate somebody too liberal. but they're so hypocritical now. remember, supreme court chief justice john roberts said when he was at his confirmation hearings, i'm only calling balls and strikes. i'm just intern receipting the law. for a generation they've been saying they don't want to legislate from the bench. now they are the hypocrisy court. the republican majority is the hypocrisy court.

they've completely turned on a dime. they now believe in judicial activism. so pretty much any argument they would have against an obama nominee would be intellectually empty. because the argument they've been making against liberals is completely bankrupt after these recent activist, conservative decisions. >> so we can expect them not to do that. jon alter, great thanks as always for coming in. let's turn now to sam stein, political reporter in washington for the huffing ton post and for the big picture. where are we now in terms of the big picture? this report about postponing all contentiousness, except wall street, until after the midterms. is the white house backing down on some of its big stuff, and are republicans really considering cooperating on some of the other stuff? >> it's all up in the air right now. but i would contend that financial regulatory reform is a big deal. on the topics of immigration and energy, it does look like, reading the tea leaves, like

those will be postponed. you talk to some people in the party, including people like stan greenburg, they're sort of upset about this. they think it would be a great issue for the obama administration to push right now. it would make the base and hispanic community during the health care reform process, but also because it divides the gop profoundly along fault lines. they went through a bruising health care battle. i don't know if they want to get into it again on another major legislative initiative. once we hit the summer, it could all be about 2010. . >> if the white house is postponing climate change, or anything else, they could say, here's what health care reform was, whatever they got in terms of economic or wall street reform, here's what that is. at least the former is in the minds of the voters, already done. >> i think going back to the immigration issue, during the

last days of health care debate, a bunch of hispanic lawmakers were very upset with the white house, threatening to vote against the bill. they met at the white house, talked with the president and given something to the form of an implicit agreement that immigration would be tackled within the next year. if it doesn't happen before 2010, it will happen shortly thereafter. but there's a real issue here, a real concern that the base won't be motivated. when you look at energy legislation, the president has laid out at least two cases in

which he's already turned against the base. it's on nuclear energy and on offshore drilling. both of which have angered the environmentalist community. so there's concerns among people there won't be as much energy for 2010, which is already an election year which should historically favor the republicans. >> and about the republicans and this latest effort by bunning and coburn, and the results of this, each of them went out on to that platform and got the platform sawed off behind them by other republicans. why are they doing it now, and how do they convince people if they can't convince leadership in their own party that they're not doing this, so this is the democrats' fault? >> it actually has been sort of fascinating to watch. in some respects, the republican leadership has gotten more and more comfortable with the stance they're taking. one of the things they're arguing is, well, anything spent on unemployment benefits should be from the stimulus funds. the unemployment benefits are a form of still list. to take them out of the stimulus funds would be a disservice to the entire package.

harry reid's office told me today they were looking far and wide for a 60th vote so they could do this through regular order. they couldn't find one up to the point of recess, so they had to go to recess without these unemployment benefits extended. they're flabbergasted. they think it's terrible politics, but tax cuts, they're not paid for it. but insurance extension has to be paid for? 200,000 people might lose their unemployment benefits now, but i don't understand the gop card here. >> what is the christina romer, picking up wall street -- does that suggest the white house will cap pit late and leave loopholes that we'll have a repeat of 2008 and we'll have a meltdown then? >> i know the roll call story said mitch mcconnell is talking about what to do with this. this is a tough one for republicans to vote against. i miths be totally naive in three weeks, but the tea party, which they've saddled up to, they are as much against wall street as anyone else. for the republicans to defeat reform and expect the tea party crowd to be okay with it would seem counter intuitive again. i would suspect the white house knows it has one or two moderate republicans it can turn to for a semi serious, comprehensive

regulatory reform bill. >> sam stein, thanks as always. belittleing, except for today, six minors are after another underground explosion. the breaking news at this hour, at 3:00 p.m. eastern this afternoon, the mine country in raleigh county, west virginia, shook with an all-too-familiar sound. six miners are dead after an explosion at the upper big n trs barely a mark on the environment. and a country facing climate change finds climate solutions. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. mayo's always saying how real it is. we agree. it's real... boring. ♪ are you up for some sandwich-kicking flavor?

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the breaking news at this hour, at 3:00 p.m. eastern this afternoon, the mine country in raleigh county, west virginia, shook with an all-too-familiar sound. six miners are dead after an explosion at the upper big branch mine. at this point even camera crews have not reached the area and obviously we're relying on visual aids and graphics. the plant's owner, massey energy providing no details about the explosion, except to say five trained rescue teams from its

company and a second company were now on the scene trying to get to these trapped miners, believed to be trapped miners. the upper big branch, just 100 miles from the scene of the 2006 disaster at the sago mine, offers some hope of recovery if there. it has caches of extra oxygen and so-called refuge chambers that could keep trapped miners alive for as long as four days. details are obviously, as we said, limited at this hour, as are the illustrations. we will bring them to you as they become available throughout the night here on msnbc. wellbeing. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nuture it in your cat... with a full family of excellent nutrition... and helpful resources.

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the latest from west virginia, seven now confirmed dead at the disaster at the mine explosion there, and 19 now reported missing. we'll continue to update you as further developments warrant. meantime, he wanted an apology from majority leader reid for mentioning slavery in the health care debate. and he criticized the current president for suggesting -- when he would not condemn glenn beck's charge that mr. obama was racist, he said he himself does not play the race card. michael steele has today done just that, at this hour, word that the party's chief of staff has resigned. this morning, mr. steele telling abc he's very angry about the behavior stemming from an rnc political consultant's visit to a lesbian bondage-themed strip club. then suggesting some of the

criticism aimed his way is over his skin color. >> we've got a lot of questions on my blog for you. one came in from myron. he asks, do you feel that as an african-american, do you have a slimmer margin for error than another chairman would? >> the honest answer is yes. >> why is that? >> it just is. it's the -- barack obama has a slimmer margin. a lot of folks do. it means a different role for, you know, for me to play and others to play. and that's just the reality of it. but you take that as part of the nature of it. it's not -- it's more because you're not someone that they know. i'm not a washington insider, even though i grew up here in d.c. my view on politics is much more grassroots oriented. it's not old boy network or oriented. so i tend to come at it a little bit stronger, a little bit more street wise, if you will. >> harkening back to the club

escapades and the billing and repaying of that billing, mr. robert gibbs, the white house press secretary, reacted thusly, i think that is a very silly comment to make. the problem isn't the race card, it's the credit card. that point that mr. steele hired fundraising aide. mr. actilpert once a chair of a groups was ordered to pay $70,000 for unauthorized expenses and unaccounted funds as well as fines for $4,000. on the heels of his arrival comes the resignation of two players, ron mckay and sam fox. a republican source telling politico mr. fox had lost confidence in mr. steele and was deeply troubled by the pattern of self-inflicted wounds and missteps. joining me now, melissa

harris-lacewell, professor at princeton university. good evening. >> thanks. good to be here. >> in a weird way, has michael steele become good for the republican party because the more time its critics spend talking about him the less time they're talking about the more substantive problems with the gop? >> i mean, sure. sex is easier to talk about, liquor and drugs and whatever else are always easier than policy and substance and that whole lawmaking part. you know, there's actually an interesting parallel here to another moment for the gop in its battle against barack obama. and that is the choice of sarah palin as the vice presidential candidate. you know, i often will give public lectures and people will say to me, wasn't that a terrible choice, sarah palin for vice president? hasn't it been a terrible thing for the rnc? and i always say, no, no, no, it was a brilliant strategic choice brilliantly. because the party was coming out of a unifying and nearly perfect

convention in denver, they needed something that would turn the media conversation. the choice of sarah palin, even with the seeming scandal of her daughter's out of wedlock pregnancy was perfect for moving media attention. so although this may not have been strategically planned, it certainly could be used strategically by the gop to distract from things like the health care reform, major education reform, the things that the obama administration is moving forward on and get us talking about the more titillating topics of how the rnc is using its credit card. >> the subject mr. steele addressed because of a viewer comment on abc, it's ludicrous for me to be telling you that race is not just a pervasive issue in this country, but a fluid issue. a lot of people have valid perceptions about when it does and does not apply to a given situation, but is there a rule about it and did mr. steele violate that rule? if you say you don't play the

race card, then don't play the race card. >> if only we could boil it down to one rule. but i do think the question you're asking here is a key and central one, that we are grappling with in america. that is, how do we figure out what this mysterious race card is? i'm black, and yet when i was born i wasn't given, i don't know, maybe ten race cards that i could deploy in order to get out of jail free whenever i wanted. but that seems to be how michael steele is using it here. we need to be really careful. because there have been, again, other moments when conservative african-americans have attempted to use race to explain the negative situation in which they find themselves. the key example here would be clarence thomas during his confirmation hearing saying that what was going on was a high-tech lynching. what we saw was a dramatic increase among african-american supporters when he described what he was experiencing as a lynching. even though as a matter of history, no black man has been

lynched by white men for something he allegedly did to a black woman. so it was a poor use historically, reasonably, in terms of what we were looking at. in this case, we similarly have to say that what michael steele is talking about, you know, he's being persecuted or that he has a slimmer area to make mistakes in, i think that's not accurate. that's a bit like tiger woods saying his scandal broke because of race. >> given the plausty of african-american representation, certainly the management or officialdom. can the argument be made the reverse is true, he may have a wider margin for error? >> we could hypothesize that, which is to say that there are some very talented african-american politicos who look at the democratic party and the republican party. and they see that in the democratic party the line to leadership is pretty long, and in fact many older civil rights black leaders won't move out of the way to provide young black

leaders an opportunity to lead. they look over in the republican line and think, man, that line is moving faster, it's much shorter, it's a much less diverse party. so if i'm willing to be part of the republican party, if my views fit there, then in fact i might find myself in leadership more quickly. and might, in fact, because the party needs desperately to have diversity, to be part of the american story, then in fact they might have wider latitude for these misbehaviors. >> melissa harris-lacewell, of msnbc and more prominently of princeton, university. great thanks as always. >> thanks. the tiger woods news conference, the florida doctor who doesn't want to treat you if you voted for obama, our guest, congressman alan grayson, and one of the funniest moments of honesty in the moments of television sports. i was active, eating healthy. i thought i was in great shape.

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the latest on the world's worst doctor with our special guest. first, on this date in various years were born spencer tracy, betty davis, gregory peck and melvin douglas. let's play "oddball." all you need to know about this clip from sky sports, one, the studio anchor is jeff stehling and the analyst at the game is chris camara. when a player is thrown out, he is given a red card and his team has to play one man short.

in america, in english, in swahili, never sports player gives the answer, i don't know. >> up to the park where there's been a red card, but for who, chris? >> reporter: i don't know. i must have missed that. red card? >> have you not been watching? i haven't. i don't know where that's come from, chris. i have no idea what has happened there. what's happened, chris? >> reporter: i don't know. [ laughter ] >> reporter: i don't know. the rain must have gotten in me eyes. >> chris, let me tell you, according to our sources, he's been september off for a second bookable offense. get your fingers off. count up the number of ports mouth players have been taken off. >> reporter: you're right, i thought they were bringing a sub on. and what's this? i don't know. looks like a night out in l.a. with the rnc. we are in the czech republic, and this is a tradition of the day after easter.

the men lightly spank the women with little whips in this 100-year-old festivity. does it hurt? reportedly know. czechs point out the name comes from the word rejuvenate. i didn't know tiger woods had been to the czech republic. back to england, and indoor skydiving, the body flight world challenge. participants check their flying and diving skills in a wind tunnel, 16 feet in diameter. flight area of 26 feet. in other words, a perfect simulation of the real thing. yet, more than 80 teams competed. the french team won the four-way event. a british team won the two-person event and the czechs tried to spank each other. kelly tilghman and the tiger woods news conference next.try let it hold me back... whether i'm at the batting cages... down by the lake or... fishing at the shore. i'm breathing better... with spiriva. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily

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story that has just broken on its website, that merits further analysis which we may or may not have time to do in this hour. the headline perhaps answers the questions, obama limits when u.s. would use nuclear arms and to read the first paragraph, president obama said monday he was revamping american nuclear strategy to narrow the conditions under which the united states would use nuclear weapons, even in self-defense, carving out exception for outliers, outliers like iran and north korea, quoting the president. part of his approach to nuclear security. the day before releasing a formal new strategy which obviously would be tomorrow. the times qualifies this as a sharp shift from that adapted by predecessors. as we attempt to cover further the reaction of that in the half hour to come, let's turn it over to the story of the florida doctor who was telling obama supporters to go elsewhere for care. alan grayson is trying to facilitate a would-be protest for doctors prioritizing politics over care. you'll recall dr. jack cassell,

if you voted for obama seek care elsewhere. changes begin right now, not in four years. he says he does not deny care, one patient reports seeing the report and going elsewhere. the doctor admits some have complained to him about the sign. >> well, as of this next year, medicare cutts are going to be huge. did you have -- did you realize that hospice, you know, which is the end of life caring -- that that's going to be totally cut

in 2012? i mean, not only do they want you to die at a younger age, as they -- as they basically ratchet down care, but they want you to die a slow and painful death as well. i mean, it's horrible. >> i hope he's better at his practice than he is at truth. the health care law does not eliminate hospice providers, and as detailed by media matters. and analysts noted hospice care is not a main area for cuts. joining me now as promised, congressman alan grayson who represents the eighth district. good evening. >> good evening. >> tell us about your constituent, what happened, and what you're trying to do about it? >> he walked up, saw the sign, was horrified and turned away. i'm sure as others did as well. i'm horrified. >> where do you go on this.

obviously he didn't break a law, did he? it's a violation of ama ethics and a violation of hippocratic oath. it's cruel. it's inhuman to treat another person like that. when you walk up to his office with cancer, you shouldn't have to worry about your voter registration. >> so is the path through the american medical association, through the licensing board in florida? where do you go with this, do you know? >> the licensing board in florida. >> are there sanctions? is there a way to reprimand him? i presume you don't take a doctor's license away for something like this. >> well, listen, i think that's for them to decide. he's trying to tear up the social contract. in the same way that these right-wing doctors only want to treat right-wing patients, soon the right-wing garbage collectors will only start picking up right-wing garbage. there's no end to this once you start it. we've got to stop it. >> we need to put an end to it. >> dr. cassell says obama care fatally compromises my ability or any doctor's ability to

uphold the hippocratic oath. between that and what he said about hospice care, what do you think of his tact in taking advantage of this new platform he's gotten? >> it's worse than that. he told a local fox station he was against health care reform because it means no old people will be able to go to nursing homes anymore. that's how wrong headed he is. he's got plenty of opinions, not many facts at all, and he's using his opinions to try to deny care to other people. think about it. he says he's concerned that the health care plan will deny care to his patients, so he's going to deny care to his patients. what's the sense in that? >> it simplifies it, doesn't it? when you put it in those terms. congressman alan grayson, good enough to spend a few moments on this, dr. cassell, thanks again for your time tonight. >> thank you. we'll switch back briefly to the subject of when u.s. use of nuclear arms would be approved under new rules that are about to be announced tomorrow by the president. jonathan alter who was with us before in person joins us now by

phone. is this familiar to you? was this a surprise, the headline certainly would be a surprise, i think someone just tripping over this. >> it is a surprise, because he has not -- until now, actually directly renounced upstanding nuclear doctrine. so this is a departure. but it is not a surprise in that he has scheduled a conference, a global conference for later this month in washington and asked all the members of the international community to come with specific proposals of what they would do to move toward a nuclear-free world. and so if he's asking other nations to take dramatic action, either to secure loose nuclear weapons or to change their nuclear doctrine, he felt like

he needed to start with the united states doing so. so in that sense, it's very much in keeping with the new nuclear that he began to outline in an important speech he gave in prague last year. >> so one premise here that i think mitigates to some degree that headline, which i imagine is going to have the right wing insane by this time tomorrow, deeper in the article, for the first time the united states is explicitly committing not to use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear states that are in compliance with the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, even if they attack the united states with biological weapons or launched a crippling cyber-attack. despite the first paragraph of this, we're not saying nuclear force cannot be used in retaliation or defense, if attacked. >> it's a partial renouncing of what they call no first-use.

remember, since the dawn of the nuclear age, when we had a policy of massive retaliation, we have always left on the table the option of using nuclear weapons if we thought it was necessary. and all this does is -- says that we will no longer do so, leave that option on the table in all circumstances. but when it comes to north korea, iran and others, we will continue to have the nuclear option on the table. >> jonathan alter of "newsweek" helping us understand this story just breaking at "the new york times," thank you again, jon. one other line from this and then we'll move on. the times writes the new strategy renounces the development of new nuclear weapons overruling the position of his own defense secretary. this will be announced officially tomorrow. it limits to any attack by a nonnuclear state, it essentially would prohibit or deny the united states to use nuclear response in the event of a nonnuclear attack from a nonnuclear state in compliance with the nuclear treaty.

coming up, we believe there will be media in place by the top of the hour so rachel can give you the latest on the explosion in the coal mine in virginia. you know why rush limbaugh flunked out of college, math, and tiger woods, one of the few golf reporters asks him if anybody asked him a tough question at his underwhelming news conference today. everything is better with swanson broth in it. made with garden vegetables and sun-drenched herbs. the secret is swanson, 100% natural chicken broth. geico's been saving people money and who doesn't want value for their dollar? been true since the day i made my first dollar. where is that dollar? i got it out to show you... uhh... was it rather old and wrinkly? yeah, you saw it?

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and "the new york times" saying the president will revise the nuclear policy, two quotes from the newspaper, to set an example, the new strategy renounces the development by this country of any new nuclear weapons overruling the initial position of his own defense secretary and to conclude for the first time the u.s. is explicitly committing not to use nuclear weapons against countries in compliance with the nonproliferation treaty, even if the united states is attacked with biological weapons or a crippling cyberattack. that about the obama nuclear policy which will be announced tomorrow. "countdown" will continue after this with worst persons. a fifty-ton train makes barely a mark on the environment. and a country facing climate change finds climate solutions. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. medication to lower your siemens.

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tiger woods at his news conference at the masters. the one golf reporter who has asked him tough questions joins us next. that's next. but tonight's worst persons in the world, tonight's john avalon, a cnn new hire, he was a speech writer for rudy giuliani which makes him neutral. avalon slekts for the dying giant, two, quote, wing nuts of the week, this past week's code pink which tried to make a citizens arrest on karl rove, and the hutaree militia, nine members of whom were arrested and charged with seditious conspiracy to kill law enforcement officials and set off bombs at their funerals. sure, those are the same. nonviolent lumpy protest opposed to domestic terrorism. a note to the real journalists of cnn, the term wing nut is --

the runner up, orally tats limbaugh says last month's job growth numbers is a scam. temporary people who don't have employment benefits at all. who knew that hiring census workers could cause the oil price to go up. i mean, that's how you have to look at this. oil price is rising because we hired a bunch of temporary census workers. and caused the oil prices to go up. that's how you have to look at that because we hired a couple of census workers. total job gains in march? 162,000. number of new suns us jobs, 48,000. that's 28%, which is not most. limbaugh flinked after two semesters in summer school. could you tell? but our winner, beck, with a quote that speaks for itself. let me tell you something, you are the key, not me, or people like you.

millions of people like you. they're not afraid of me, they're afraid of you. like gandhi, like rosa parks. it wasn't rosa parks, it was the millions of people that were inspired by rosa parks' movement. the guy who used to sing "miss america," bert parks. lonesome roads beck. today's worst person in the world. national car rental knows i'm picky. so, at national, i go right past the counter... and you get to choose any car in the aisle. choose any car? you cannot be serious! okay. seriously, you choose. go national. go like a pro. i can download files up to 10x faster than 3g... outside. i can stream the movie "airplane" to my cell phone... at the airport. i can have a crystal-clear videoconference

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four quotes of relevance tonight from tiger woods today. one, i lied to myself. two, i fooled myself, three, i deceived myself. and, the crowds at the first post addicted to love practice rounds quote blew me away. ahem. tiger woods in what he might think was the last time he might have to answer questions about

you know? kelly tillman may be the only reporter to ask woods the tough questions about that and related to it. first, all you need to know about the news conference is galleries is golf for crowds. >> the galleries couldn't be nicer. they were just incredible. the encouragement i got, it blew me away, to be honest with you. >> mr. fields fielded several other questions. the nams kelly yukatel. but he was asked about dr. galelo currently under investigation in the u.s. for smuggling human growth hormone across the border. woods confirmed the agent was contacted by authorities investigating that doctor. he said he received so-called blood spinning treatment from galilea and nothing more. >> he did come to my house. he never gave me hgh or any

peds. i've never taken that my entire life. i've never taken any illegal drug, ever. >> there are a lot of doctors to do blood spinning. what was it that prompted you to go to -- >> he's worked with so many athletes. that's one of the reasons why i went to see dr. wooden for my eyes -- he's done a lot of athletes. there's a comfort level to that when a person worked with athletes. the rest of the masters week, his wife will not be in attendan attendance. as for the golf? >> what are your expectation this is week? >> nothing's changed. i try to go out there and win this thing. >> how much do you pay in cash to your presidential conference in which the president began and ended an answer with, nothing's

changed, salty. one-on-one with the personal problems. >> you spent time speaking with him in this interview and previous interviews. you consider him a friend. how do you think it went for him today? >> as well as it could have. tiger woods walked out swaying a few opinions, people who were hard on him before, he looked sincere, contrite. i was impressed with the opening statements he made before being asked a question. there was a point where he was talking about touching with the gallery and the fellow players for the first time reconnecting that he said blew him away. i thought he was misty-eyed and i thought he might shed a tear. >> was that news conference tough enough or was it too tough? and is there danger? there's a sense that he's being if not protected at least screened by his sport. is this just setting him up to be chased for the re of the year by the tmzs and the others of this world? >> i don't think this press conference determines that in any way. i think that's basically

something he's going to have to deal with regardless of what he said or any questions he was asked today from the popular media, the pop cultures, if you will. that will go on for a long, long time. if not forever in the rest of his career. relates to the sanctuary for the lack of the better word in a a lot of people have said is the press room there at augusta national. i thought it was tough on many occasions. but i knew going in, a lot of people knew about this going in that the masters and the press room there, these are people who come year in and year out to this place and they're gone to be golf oriented if not sports oriented questions. that was coming for sure. >> merge it together. what's the headline at the end of the masters? tiger woods is not heckled or tiger woods wins or tmz reporter appears out of the sand trap on 16. what's the headline going to be next week? >> tiger took his next huge

step. this is big. re-entry, main stream. the world has a chance now to reconnect with him. particularly the media. but just the fans in general. it meant something to him they were accepting him at the masters. the regular tour stops are coming and we'll have episodes here or there. this is a nice way to get back in to the fray. >> kelly tillman of the golf channel. thank you. congratulations for your interview with him. thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you very much. >> that's "countdown" the 2,531st day since the previous president declared victory in iraq. and the preview tonight in "the new york times" and before that the mine explosion that's left seven dead at mt. coal, west virginia with varying numbers of the missing and

unaccounted for. the latest we have is 19. here is rachael maddow. good evening, rachel.