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tv   MSNBC News Live  MSNBC  May 4, 2010 2:00pm-3:00pm EDT

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getting him to -- he was trying to flee theai>,i country. his last stop would be pakistan shahzad has already boarded that flight to dubai. the plane had left the gate and was forced to return. take a listen to this. this is some of the audio from the control tower conversation. >> i have a message for you to go back to the gate immediately. so make the left turn when able. >> will do that. >> make the left turn on to echo left alpha back to the ramp. i don't know exactly why. you can call your company for the reason. >> i'll do that. ground emirates, 202 heavy. >> go ahead. >> yes, ma'am. we're trying to figure out what's going on here right now, but as far as we know i'd like to request you to just keep the flight plan open for now. >> we also know two others were also reportedly taken off that flight with shahzad. officials also say a loaded handgun was found in the suv shahzad apparently drove to the airport. he lives in bridgeport, connecticut, and authorities have been searching his home there since last night.
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we'll get more on that in a moment. in the meantime, i'm joined by nbc news nightly anchor brian williams. we've also assembled a panel to give some analysis of what we heard. the heavy hitters, if you will, regarding national security. it's incredible it was noted and you picked up on this as well, 5 53 hours and 20 minutes from the pathfinder to what we heard last night. >> -- kind of lighten up the mood by -- first of all, it was his job to stress the job that nypd detectives had done. they get first whack at it. they come in first wave. one of them got on their back on a hot night. the early, unseasonably hot night. noticed the vehicle identification number that is kind of burned into the engine block even if the front one has been pried off the dash board. and that's what got the
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investigation under way. it's basic police work to kind of find out if the tags on the car match the car. they did not. they were off and running. and so ray kelly was the one who invoked the famous jack bauer from 24 fame. it was his job to point out that this moved along very quickly. it's our job to look at other ways when it came close to not moving along well or quickly. i.e., a guy gets on a wide body commercial aircraft on emirates airlines at jfk, leaves the gate, and is forced to turn around. you heard the secretary of homeland security saying, it could have gone further than that. we were prepared to call them and have them turn around in mid-air and come back to jfk. good luck dealing with all the ramifications of that. >> brian, we're going to have our terrorism panel talk about the fact this man paid cash for that ticket, he was placed on the no-fly list on monday.
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you're right. those are the hard questions. the big question i think a lot of people at home are wondering is if this man acted alone and where does the investigation go from here? we know that there have been raids in pakistan today. >> tamron, that's the thing. and you have a raid in front of you, as i know you're going to be talking to, as you mentioned, some of the best experts in the business. this will make for good questions to them. just how deeply we think the tentacles reach into the substructure, the infrastructure, of the terrorism business. what we have to deal with, it's kind of like an iceberg. the part of this case that peeked above the surface of the water was a grossly incompetent, thankfully, attempt at a car bombing in the heart of the theater district in one of the most famous spots in america, the crossroads of the world in times square. so that's what we know as its manifestation. and we will be forever thankful for that, that when it came down to the execution phase, it was,
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to quote mike sheehan, grossly incompetent. >> brian, i know you're going to have extensive coverage on the news this evening. thanks for joining us. we're joined by nbc news investigator producer bomb winstrom, roger cress yes, and michael sheehan. bob, as brian pointed out, he was on a no-fly list. you and i were talking. he paid cash. how did he get on the flight? >> that is the question. i think janet napolitano, the homeland security secretary, was not forthcoming with all the details of that. and i think for whatever reason she didn't come forward, it is going to lead to a much larger, much longer series of questions not just from us, but from congress. because the question happens if indeed that plane took off and if, indeed, it got beyond the u.s. air space, then you're into
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all sorts of aspects of international law that are very, very difficult to get beyond. and who knows whether he would have landed in dubai or what would have happened. >> roger, i'll bring you in on this. we heard from shoauthorities, officials saying this individual is cooperating. he says that he acted alone. it's clear that they're not settled on believing him completely. because we know that there have been raids in pakistan. >> right. tamron, i want to talk about the emirates component of this real quickly. which is we shouldn't get too wrapp wrapped in it. i've taken that flight many times. 13 hours nonstop in dubai. if he was in mid-air when it was identified he was in that plane, when he landed, u.s. cooperation with dubai police is very good. he would have been apprehended at that point. he wouldn't have fled. we need to keep that in mind. i do think the issue of the pakistani component to this is where the next big part of the story is. where and who did he meet with and what was the broader conspiracy, which i believe is the case that happened, how did that unfold?
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who else in the united states was he working with? even in a tangential manner. >> they call it a no-fly list for a reason. we as americans believe that these names are on that list to prevent the people from boarding, not just perhaps capture them when they get to their destination. >> no, absolutely. the keep point to keep in mind here as commissioner kelly said, 50 hours from the moment in times square when the path finder was identified to when shahzad was ultimately apprehended. in the counterterrorism community the flash to bang ratio here, the moment something happens to the moment you can grab someone, that's an incredibly compressed time period. did everything work 100%? probably not. did it work extremely well? the answer is yes. i think we should focus on that as much as everything else. >> absolutely. it is not my intent to diminish that. we are absolutely -- you know, we've been praising the police work and how far they've gotten
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in this. we do as we point out, got to ask the tough questions. michael, i'll bring you in on this. they're looking at any possible connections with the taliban in pakistan or any other individuals. but when you look at some of the things that have happened in this investigation to the fact that the vin number was only taken off one door of the car, the mistakes that were made, that the guy would go on craigslist, everyone knows you can trace something back on craigslist. how credible would a connection be? wouldn't the taliban train someone better than what we've seen with this guy? >> clearly this guy's trade craft as we say in the business was extremely week. you're right. the vin number led to the guy who owned the car which led to an internet connection for the guy who bought the car and that led to his identification. i do believe, tamron, it's right that we question what happened at jfk f ,port the other night, that this guy was able to get on the plane. the other thing i find interesting about the press conference is the lack of the national intelligence community
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there. neither dni had admiral blair nor was the cia there. i think this case clearly has an international link. this is something that needs to be explored. in regards to the interrogation of this guy, mirandizing is one issue. the question i would have, did the cia have a crack at this guy also? we know the guy traveled back and forth to pakistan. cia interrogators might have pieces of information that might have been able to link him to different people and different organizations that backtrack to other people. and so for me, the question on interrogation is less about mirandizing, but it's really about a joint effort to get every piece of information you can get from this guy to see if there's other associates out there. >> you know what, michael brings up the point, bob, about whether or not this suspect was mirandized. there's already a debate within the conservative community, senator john mccain saying he should not have been even though he's a naturalized citizen, someone else, another big voice in that part of the conversation, says this guy's a citizen. we have to follow the constitution. is that going to be a big issue with obtaining information from
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him? >> i don't think so. i think the key here, first of all, i think it should be very clearly understood that whether you're a naturalized citizen or a native born citizen, you have the same rights. the only difference is you can't run for president. i think that, you know, that people are treated the same way. the big issue here i think is not so much that as much as whether he is cooperating. and it appears he is cooperating to at least a certain extent. i mean, that is what the attorney general said. now, the question becomes what contacts did he have overseas? in his travels in pakistan? and what i have been told in the last half hour is there's nothing decisive. whether those contacts are being scrubbed as much as they can be, as fast as they can be, both by the united states through its intelligence means and also in cooperation with pakistan. but i am told that there is nothing yet to indicate connections, although if you even read the charges,
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transcending national borders is one of the charges. a terrorist attack transcending national borders. what does that tell you? >> all right. bob, michael and roger we're going to ask you to stand by. we're going to get more information on what's happening on the ground in bridgeport, connecticut. authorities are still searching the suspect's home in connecticut. nbc's peter alexander is there now. what are you learning there? >> reporter: tamron, just as you were having that conversation at msnbc headquarters, they finished their search here. just wrapped up literally within the last few minutes here. it's about eight or nine houses down on the left hand side of this street in bridgeport, connecticut. you heard earlier today where the commissioner of new york police department ray kelly referred to jack bauer of the show "24" and said it was roughly 53 hours and 20 minutes for them to complete finding their suspect in this case. well, it was about the 54th hour that they showed up at this house and raided it. it happened in the early morning hours of this day. the fbi, local police, members of the joint terrorism task force going inside. we had a chance to peer in from a distance, were able to see a lot of these evidence gatherers
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during the course of the day looking for whatever they could. potential evidence to link back this home to that 1993 nissan pathfinder. nbc news has learned from at least one law enforcement source that it has been, in their words, quote, very, very fruitful. saying even more detailed terms that they found items inside this home that were used to build the bomb. referring to the bomb inside that pathfinder that was found in times square on saturday night. we areq/z finding a little more information that fills in the blanks about this suspect himself. we're learning he was a 30-year-old as you noted before. american citizen naturalized in this country, born in pakistan. one of the neighbors by his old home, which was about 20 minutes away from here in a community known as shelton says that he was married, that he had two young children, a boy and a girl. that he told this neighbor and her husband that he worked on wall street. but she also described him as being odd. that he was strange. that he would go onf"úiç jogs dark late at night. and that he was usually wearing
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black, things she found to be bizarre about this character. we're trying to gather up more details. it seems to me, though, minus that exception, most of the people in this neighborhood where he lived apparently in the last year say they frankly thought the home was abandoned. it was next to never that they saw him. >> nbc's peter alexander live for us in bridgeport, connecticut, where the investigation is ongoing. windrem as well as roger cressey. interesting, bob, you and roger were at a conference this weekend on terrorism in new york. >> we were at the nyu center for law and security. we joked this morning that this guy should have been invited to the conference because he's essentially the poster child for so much of what we were talking about. which is the lone wolf. the home-grown terrorist. and essentially that al qaeda is not ten feet tall, in mike sheehan's words. so these are the issues that people in this community are
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talking about now. and he is, again, goes right to the center of each one of them. >> roger,kxç i want to bring up image i believe we just obtained from the department of justice. it's an image of what was in the vehicle that was parked on times square. you see in the rear hatch there the propane tanks as well as the other incendiary device, the fireworks that were near there. back again to this plan. and if a larger organization were helping in this, would we have seen such a crude setup by .r"ual? roger? >> we could have seen a crude seat set up, tamron, but we should have assumed a more effective use of it. the basic stuff, the t&propane canisters weren't turned on. if you're going to ignite the device you want to have some propane going in the vehicle. after all, propane canisters are designed to withstand serious amounts of heat.
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that's why they're used in barbecues around the country. so there is a lack of thought in terms of how to implement and execute this explosive device that we all are benefits from. but i also think we can say, yeah, this guy did not do it right. that doesn't mean the next one is going to make the same mistake. they learn from what they do wrong and they do adapt to our security steps and they do find additional ways to find the seems, the vulnerability seems in what we're doing. that's why the attorney general was right today. the threat is still real. it's present. as we discussed at this nyu conference, the threat has evolved. that's the important point. >> michael, i'd like you to pick up on the point roger just made. these people learn from mistakes. this is the first time we're seeing an attempt like this in times square. we focus so much on the subway system, believing that so many eyes are in and around times square that would someone really attempt this, whether he has a connection to a larger organization or not. what does this remind us? what is the bigger message for all of us, even the vendors on
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the street who are looking out? >> nypd has a mantra, if you see something, say something. many new yorkers are attuned to that. when we were in new york city the subway system was always our main priority. i can tell you between wall street, times square, grand central station, we never lost focus on those key places. as commissioner kelly said, a lot of cops down there. but, again, that can't prevent it. you cannot have zero risk in new york city. we don't want that because this is an inviting place. we want people to come to new york city. but we're going to do everything we can do to protect it. >> greatly appreciate, bob, you standing by with us. roger as well and michael, we know you're reacting to the breaking news as it develops. quite honestly before the evening news we're probably learn much more about this suspect and what he's saying to authorities. joining me now, congressman gregory meeks, a democrat from new york. let me get your reaction to the news and what we've heard from attorney general eric holder as well as secretary napolitano.
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>> you know, my reaction is i thank god they're working quickly and swiftly. and they have apprehended an individual and they areq%ñ not t going by his word, but they are pursuing and looking at every connection to see if there's connections to pakistan or anywhere else. for me, my initial reaction is thank you the citizens of new york who reported this in a timely fashion, thank you police officers who did your job by acting very quickly, and then to the federal agencies in working together to try to make sure within a short period of time. and now the investigation continues. and that may take a longer period of time, but let's do a thorough job to make sure that we uncover anything that there is to uncover here. >> congressman, peter king, and kristen gillibrand -- for securing the city's program. mayor michael bloomberg almost instantly after this news broke
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on saturday night indicated thiñ is why new york needs more funds. because it is a target and remains a target for terrorists whether they be domestic or international. >> that is absolutely critical. and i will join that letter. i think it is important. new york is a target. new york is the target for the united states. and as a result, we think that everybody should share in trying to make sure that we're protecting new york because, indeed, we're protecting the united states. i'll join that letter. i think that senator gillibrand and congressman king is doing the right thing. i think that this shows to our other colleagues and the president why it's important that we put the correct investments into new york city as far as its security is concerned. it also shows that new york's police department, fire department and new york citizens are going to do their job. they're going to participate. we're not just going to rely upon the federal government. but we've got to keep -- we've got to be observant. the police department is going to do their job. we've got to work collectively with the federal agencies.
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>> congressman gregory meeks, thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate you reacting to the breaking news in this story. we greatly appreciate it. thank you. coming up at the bottom of the hour, live reports from the courthouse in new york city as we await the arraignment of the suspect faisal shahzad. plus a live report out of pakistan where they've arrested five suspects who may have a connection to this case. also ahead, at least 29 people have died from flooding in the south and rescuers fear that victims -- that there are more victims out there. we're going to head to tennessee where homes are still under water. plus, calm water today in the gulf keeping the huge oil spill just off the coast. going to take you live to sport sulphur, louisiana. there's some opposition to this. there are those who say this is crossing the line. and it's an infridnchment on a student's freedom of speech. so i was the guy who was never going to have the heart attack.
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the white house is reportedly in a public relations panic over its response to the massive oil spill in the gulf according to politico. earlier today president obama said the government will do what it can to help residents most threatened by the spill. >> we are committed to preventing as much of the economic damage as possible by working to contain the impact of this potentially devastating spill. >> but politico.com reports some officials say the white house is concerned coverage is getting away from them. especially stories comparing the obama administration's response with president george bush's response to hurricane katrina. meanwhile, weather is helping efforts to contain the spill. strong winds are blowing the bulk of the slick away from the coastline and helping it -- helping to break up the oil itself.
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nbc joins us from port sulphur. >> reporter: the weather is cooperating after a couple rough days other the weekend. this calm, this low in the weather is allowing officials out there responsible for the cleanup and containment of the oil spill to go out and continue booming. also more importantly to continue the skimming. they're trying to kor ral and contain this oil spill, this oil slick, into areas where they're hopefully going to try to let off and ignite some of the controlled burns that we saw earlier last week. meanwhile bp is moving ahead with some of the solutions they've been talking about for a while. one of those includes a 65-ton coffer dam. it'll basically be going down and capping the major oil leak down at the sea floor of the gulf. it's going to pipe up -- there's going to be a pipe connected to that coffer dam that's going to be piped up to a boat. that's going to be at least six days away is what they're saying here. they're also going to try to drill some relief dams. that's also at least weeks if
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not months away. meantime the closing off of the fishing, commercial fishing east of the mississippi river here is really causing a hardship on many of the fishermen andctñ shrimpers. they now don't have a way to make a living. they're trying to lobby and get jobs with bp who's responsible for this oil spill and the cleanup as well. they're trying to get positions, paid positions so that they can go out and use their fishing and slumping bo in shrimping boats to earn a living. they don't have the means to make a living at this point. >> thank you very much. now to the latest in nashville. that is where power is still out in almost all of downtown. officials say it could take days, days for the city to get back up and running. at least in that power perspecti perspective. as they continue to cope with the devastating flooding, at least 29 people are confirmed dead after this weekend's storms. and more than 300 inmates have just been evacuated from a correctional facility in nashville. 400 stayed behind and are being
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held in a gymnasium. a prison spokeswoman says some of the inmates have been helping with the sandbagging effort going on there. nbc's ron mott joining me live on the phone from nashville. i saw your "nightly news" piece. some of the video takes your breath away to see where the titans play, all that water. what is the latest on helping the folks there? >> reporter: well, hey there, tamron. it's a beautiful day here in nashville overhead. down on the ground it's an absolute mess. fortunately, the cumberland river crested last night. she's on her way back down, which is great news for folks who run businesses downtown and folks who live on the outskirts of town. today what they're trying to do is to get most of this water out of pockets of downtown that has stopped the flow of commerce. there's an economic impact here as well. they may still find victims once this water gets back down to normal levels. we're hearing some reports about a 7-year-old whose body was
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found near a tent camp, a homeless temp camp near downtown that had swept away. they were able to get a lot of those folks who live in those camps out of there but they apparently could not account for everyone. we're keeping close watch on that aspect of the story. the ú5vut-p'up has already begu. we were just in a hard hit neighborhood on the east side of town. a lot of folks there crying, holding each other. one woman i heard say she cannot do this again. she was flooded once before. she just says she didn't have the heart to recover again from a devastating flood. this is quite an incredible scene here in nashville, tamron. >> absolutely is. ron mott live for us in nashville, tennessee. thank you, ron. still ahead, more on our breaking news. the arrest of a suspect in the times square bombing. live to the new york city courthouse where he's expected to be arraigned. a star university of virginia la crosse player is accused of kilmeaú?ojk his girlfriend, a female la crosse player at the school as well. we'll head to the school's campus for more on that story and what his defense attorney is
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we've been watching new developments this afternoon concerning the arrest of a suspect in saturday's new york times square bomb scare. right now we're waiting for 30-year-old faisal shahzad to be arraigned. here's due to appear in federal court here in new york. he was arrested at jfk airport last night hours after being placed on a no fly list. nbc's michelle grafranzen joins from a federal courthouse in lower manhattan. investigators still at his house in connecticut. they've uncovered what they say is a lot of evidence. what can we expect? >> reporter: a short time ago we heard from attorney general eric holder who says that faisal shahzad has been cooperating
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with authorities, and during this questioning since his arrest overnight. and here at the courthouse he is expected to face formal charges that include an act of terrorism as well as thbqqx attempted us weapons of mass destruction as well as explosive charges. as you well know, this case has been going in many different directions in such a short time. it took authorities just over 53 hours to track down their prime suspect. again, his home in bridgeport, connecticut, a possible second home nearby, authorities gleaning more evidence from that home as well as in conversations with him. they're also trying to figure out what, if any, ties he has overseas. he's a pakistani-american who had traveled to pakistan in the past year. tamron? >> michelle, talk to us a little bit about the atmosphere around there. as you know, word travels fast. especially in your 24-hour cable news world. they know the arraignment is expected to happen. what's the atmosphere like, and do we know when this is expected
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to start? >> reporter: well, certainly a lot of people are walking by. some of them know that this may be going on today. but they're really happy that the nypd and the fbi have -- seem to have captured their prime suspect, the person they believe that is responsible for this failed car bombing attempt. it's bringing a little bit of a sense of relief with some of the people here as well as i imagine in times square. >> all right. michelle franzen live for us outside the courthouse in new york where this arraignment we're expecting it to start here very soon. thank you, michelle. more now on the suspect. faisal shahzad connection in pakistan. where he was actually born. also, where more people were possibly connected to this case have been rounded up today. carol grisnati is an nbc news producer. she is in pakistan, joins me now by phone. let's start off with the people who have been taken into custody. a, have they been arrested, and what do we know about them? >> well, tamron, there's a sixth suspect taken into custody tonight.
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mohammed rahan. rahan is the one who met faisal shahzad in karachi when he arrived from the u.s. last july. the two drove together to peshawar. the other five are believed also to be friends and perhaps facilitators of mohammed shahzad. they helped him get to training camps or wherever else he wanted to go and whomever else he wanted to meet when he was in pakistan. at least that's what the pakistani officials here believe at the moment tonight. little by little we are learning more about faisal shahzad's pakistani roots. earlier this evening we sent a local reporter to a small village outside of peshawar in the northwest of the country. the locals there said that shahzad's family is originally from this little village. but the family moved some time ago to peshawar. and a local tv reporter went to the family house in peshawar this evening. local tv is now showing pictures of family and friends arriving and leaving, in a way con doling
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the family members which would be according to local custom. we've also heard the family has another home, one in islamabad, here in islamabad, the capital. where the parents are tonight at this point is anyone's guess. shahzad's father is a retired air force officer. so the family would be comfortable and can afford to have two homes. cameron? >> carol, thank you very much for the latest developments out of pakistan on this story. breaking news we're getting in right now, the former cbs tv producer who tried to shake down david letterman over the talk show host's extramarital affairs has been sentenced to six months in jail. robert joe halderman pleaded guilty in march to attempted grand larceny. about 15 minutes ago he was led from court in handcuffs to begin his jail sentence. we'll be right back. [ crowd cheering ] [ male announcer ] competition... it pushes us to work harder. to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize
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welcome back.
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senators are coming out in force today against offshore drilling. they say the massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico should be a wake-up call. >> today we're calling on the president to stop his plans to expand offshore drilling and we're calling on the president to stop all scoping and seismic testing from any possible future drillings from delaware down to florida or anywhere else along our shores. it's time to believe our eyes and accept the obvious risk of drilling against the payback. and that's where i want to end. what is the payback? >> new jersey senator joined florida senator called offshore drilling, quote, dead on arrival. joins us from capitol hill, democratic senator benjamin carden of maryland. senator, thank you so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> have you had a reaction or heard a reaction from the president, specifically to your letter? and what did it say for our audience who have not heard it? >> i have not gotten a reply.
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what i've urged him to do is take the atlantic -- along florida off the plans for offshore drilling. i think senator menendez is exactly right. the risk reward here is against opening up new areas to drilling. we already have areas that have been designated. we don't want to see the mid-atlantic, anything like what happened in the gulf of mexico. the risk is just too great. >> senator cardin, what about those who say there is a need, we need this oil, but perhaps we should focus on a safer way to do it as opposed to saying no across the board? what is your reaction to that argument? >> well, the reality is, is that the united states has less than 3% of the world's reserves in oil. we use 25%. so we can't drill our way out of the problem. there's already millions of acres available for oil exploration where we could do it in a much more environmentally safe way. let's go there and let's develop alternative and renewable energy
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sources. and energy policy where we can be energy independent, but we don't have to jeopardize our environment. >> let's talk about what's still happening on the coast with bp. they are trying in their words, any and everything, to contain this. they're even looking at building a contraption, if you will, that would surround the well and hopefully allow them to siphon the oil into a rig standing by. but, you know, does it at all anger you to see that they have the ability to drill, but not the ability to contain such a disaster? >> of course, their plan said that they did. they said they could take care of any contingency. that the risks were very minimal. and they had all types of redundancy in regards to shutting off the valves. well, it didn't work. they were late in getting the information to the federal government as to the size of the spill. yes, it is frustrating that they didn't respond faster and they don't have the capacity to deal with this type of a catastrophic spill. >> what should happen next? as we wait, andu&ibr hopefully
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situation in the gulf coast will get better before it gets any worse, but what should happen? i know that many have called for an investigation, that bp as the president said is financially responsible not only for the cleanup but for the loss that these fishermen and shrimpers will experience as far as their income? >> i think the first priority is to mitigate the damage as much as we can. let's get this oil stopped from leaking out. let's do the cleanup. let's make sure it's done as aggressively as possible. bp is going to be fully responsible for the cleanup costs. but i think our first priority is to minimize as much as we can the environmental damage. then we have to find out what happened. we have to institute changes. we have to make sure there's adequate laws in place to hold these companies responsible for their damages. all that needs to be done in time. but right now let's stop any new exploration, as the president has indicated. let's, i hope, put in place permanent restrictions on areas
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that are sensitive where we don't have drilling today such as the mid-atlantic. and let's make sure we have adequate laws to hold those responsible accountable. >> senator benjamin cardin, we greatly appreciate you coming on. a lawyer for the university of virginia la crosse player accused of murdering his one-time girlfriend is now speaking out about the charges against his client. what his attorney says happened. we've got developments in the case. can i have some ice cream please ? no, it's just for new people. hey ! chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry ?
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[ male announcer ] there's a better way to get rid of odors. for all the things you can't wash, freshen it with febreze. to eliminate odors and leave a fresh scent. [ sniffs ] whoa. febreze. it's a breath of fresh air. now to the latest on the university of virginia men's la crosse star accused of murdering a leading player on the women's team. defense lawyer for george huguely says yeardley love's death was an accident. police say huguely admitted to kicking down love's door and having an altercation with her. they say huguely shook her and hit her -- and hit her head repeatedly against the wall. >> reporter: this is a tragic story. two seniors just 22 years old, weeks away from graduating. they were stars on their la
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crosse teams. now one is dead and the other one is behind bars. we have now heard from the attorney for george huguely who's been charged with first-degree murder. his attorney says that this was unintended, that it was an accident. that happened earlier this morning at a bond hearing. bond was not set. that was pushed back until june. until more evidence is uncovered. autopsy already under way for 22-year-old yeardley love who police say was murdered in her bedroom. her roommates found her, thought that it was alcohol poisoning, called 911. when the police arrived, they say that they turned her over and that there were obvious and serious signs of trauma. within hours, they were able to focus their investigation on her former boyfriend, george huguely. he was then arrested. he is now, of course, behind bars, in jail, awaiting bond. and, of course, his lawyers saying it was an accident. as far as this community here at uva, it is a tight-knit community. they are in shock. according to a spokesperson for
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uva, teammates for yeardley love are mourning mightily. back to you. >> that's nbc's norah o'donnell live in charlottesville, virginia. massachusetts just signed an anti-bullying law meant to protect kids from being bullied at school or online. but you've got some people asking if this law is a violation of the students' constitutional rights. and they're saying that it's crossing the line. we're going to take a look at the new argument out there on this one. [ male announcer ] howo the editors of consumers digest determine if a car is a best buy? first they drive it in the real world. and put it through its paces. they rate its fit and finish. and the amenities inside. they factor in purchase price and operating costs, fuel economy and resale value. in short, they do what you do to test its quality. the consumers digest best buys from chevy. put them to your own test. and may the best car win.
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crossing the line, you tell me. should bullying be illegal? the massachusetts governor just signed úlvastate's first anti-bullying law. it krins education and training efforts and outlines new rules and expectations for reporting bullying incidents. the january suicide of 15-year-old phoebe prince sparked a public outcry over school bullying and helped muster support for this new very tough law. joining us now by phone is serdina rocker whose son carl
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committed suicide after being bullied. thank you very much for joining us. for so many people, you're an inspiration. you've shown courage in the wake of the loss of your child. what's your reaction to people who say this is crossing the line, that we don't need this kind of law? >> my reaction is we definitely need this kind of law. our children in our schools, across this great nation, are under attack each and every day. they have to go to school in an unsafe environment. and they are being picked on by other children whom may have some type of problem. and we need to have -- schools need to have a law like this which requires professional development and training for staff, for teachers, for administrators, which also requires the school to notify parents of the victim of bullying and also parents of the bully that there is an incident
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in their schools. >> we are showing a picture of your beautiful son, carl, with you and other family members. there are 44 states that ban bullying online and in person. but the issue with the massachusetts law, for example, you have some opponents who say in this law it says if you repeatedly verbally or physically bully someone, that that's a violation. and in an article in the boston globe, it points to the example that if someone called an individual a loser twokñxn&#t t that that could fall under bullying because it is a repeated verbal insult of an individual and you've dpgot som groups who say this is a violation of freedom of speech. >> okay. this is -- i'm going to give you an example. you say you call somebody a loser. but what if you call somebody a loser first period and nothing's done? you call somebody, that same child, you call somebody a loser second period. nothing's done. you call that -- some child calls another child a loser third and fourth and fifth
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period. so by the end of the day, that person's self-esteem, that child's self-esteem is lowered. it may happen again and again, five days a week. then it might go into cyber bullying where, you know, the person is texting the child. or it could be on one of the -- on social networking sites. >> what about those who say it's free speech. >> you know what? it could be free speech to call me a derogatory name because i'm african-american. that could be free speech. but does thatgfñé7÷ mean it's r? no. i don't want my child to have to go to a school environment where somebody is calling him, you must be gay. you're probably gay. i don't want that to happen to my child. and i'm certainly sure that the people who are opposed to this law wouldn't want that to happen to their child. so much so that their child feels so desperate and takes their life. >> sirdiener walker, we appreciate you coming on to talk
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about what happened to your son, carl, and why you would like to see bullying legislation as exists in massachusetts. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we greatly appreciate it. >> thank you so much. >> crossing ining the line, you me. is this freedom of speech we're hearing from kids in these situations? some parents have even sued different states after their children were suspended. yesterday we asked if miami was crossing the line by enforcing a curfew on kids and punishing parents if the kids didn't get home in time. 22% of you said yes, it crosses the line. 78% of you say get your kid in before midnight. no, it's not crossing the line. that wraps up this hour. i'm tamron hall. thank you so much for joining me. join me every day, weekdays, 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. eastern time. peter alexander picks up our coverage. he's got more from bridgeport, connecticut, outside the home of the times square bomb suspect. [ male announcer ] let's take the garden into our own hands.
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it is clear that this was a terrorist plot aimed at
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murdering americans in one of the busiest places in our country. >> the government just releasing new details on the suspect under arrest in the times square bombing attempt. and new evidence emerging about how close he came to getting away. >> actually, i have a message for you to go back to the gate immediately. so make the left turn when able. >> good day, everyone. i'm contessa brewer in new york. five more people have been arrested today in connection with the man accused of attempting a terrorist attack in the heart of new york city. faisal shahzad was just minutes from taking off on a flight from kennedy airport to dubai last night. but the fbi had already placed him on a no-fly list. so instead of heading home to pakistan via dubai, authorities ordered the plane back to the terminal and apprehended shahzad. president obama said justice will be done in this case and americans will not live in fear of terrorism. >> as americans and as a nation, we will not be terrorized.
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we will not cower in fear. we will not be intimidated. we will be vigilant. we will work together. and we will protect and defend the country we love to ensure a safe and prosperous future for our people. that's what i intend to do as president, and that's what we will do as a nation. >> nbc's michelle franzen is at the courthouse now in new york. michelle, what's the latest regarding shahzad's court appearance here? >> reporter: well, we're expecting this afternoon that he will be arraigned. we don't know for "9lsure. but attorney general eric holder made it clear that he faces charges of active terrorism as well as the attempted use of weapons of mass destruction and explosives charges. this is what he will face once he makes it to this federal court. certainly it is important to note that it was within just 53 hours of saturday night's plot that started to unveil in times square when authorities were able to get who they believe is their only suspect so far in here in the states in that case.

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