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tv   MSNBC Live  MSNBC  May 1, 2012 11:00am-12:00pm EDT

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anniversary is not being remembered here as it is in the states. pakistan is a country trying to move past one of the most embarrassing events in the country's history. a lot of questions remain including how did the u.s. manage to breech its borders and how did the terror chief live here for so long completely undetected? pakistan is taking some steps to get to the bottom of some of those questions. they've formed a government commission to look into those issues. that has over 100 witnesses in the last year. as of today, they have no deadline of when to complete their report and no idea what their findings will be. thomas? >> nbc's amna nawaz. thank you very much. a programming note to remind you about "rock center" with brian williams tomorrow night. you'll see a special hour, a long look at the raid that
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killed osama bin laden. it's called "inside the situation room" airing at 9:00 p.m. eastern wednesday on nbc. the discovery channel is hosting its own special on the intelligence gathered in that raid on bin laden's compound. it's called "secrets of bin laden's lair." you can watch that tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. eastern on discovery. here's a quick look. >> in the aftermath of the raid on the compound, poring through the stash becomes priority number one. more than 200 analysts search against plots against america. their work is wrapped in secrecy. access to the highly classifd hall is only given to a select few outside the intel community. but for this program, our team in concert with nbc news is given an exclusive briefing. >> for years intelligence officials have said that his role with al qaeda had been reduced to an inspirational leader. they found that not only was he in charge but he was just as dangerous as ever.
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>> nbc's jim miklaszewski, who was featured in that clip, joins me to talk about this. mik, forgive me, it airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. on the discovery channel. let's talk more about the project, your involvement in all of this, and also what viewers can expect to see. >> well, you know, particularly what this discovery special explores is the state of al qaeda, what was found among all the documents that would have opened some light to what was going on, not only in bin laden's own mind but in al qaeda in general. what we found is that u.s. intelligence officials felt that bin laden himself was somewhat delusional and that he had come up with all these grandiose plans that he handled down to his operatives to go out and assassinate president obama, to go out and assassinate general david petraeus. yet the operatives knew that their ranks had been so decim e decimated by those relentless drone air strikes there in
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pakistan that president obama has o had ordered that they didn't have the means to carry it out. so, in fact, the al qaeda that carried out the 9/11 attack was dead and gone well before bin laden himself was killed. now, thomas, that doesn't mean there is not still a threat. in fact, u.s. officials tell us that the most serious terrorist threat against the united states is in al qaeda in yemen and specifically that master bomb maker ibrahim al asiri, who is responsible for the underwear bomber, the ink cartridge bomber, even planted a bomb inside his own brother's body surgically in an attempt to kill a saudi official. the brother was killed, the official was not. he still remains at large in yemen, which is why the u.s. today is ramping up those drone strikes by both the cia and the u.s. military in an attempt to take him and the rest of that al qaeda operation out. >> mik, what more do we know
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about the state of al qaeda today? >> well, the state of al qaeda today is that it's pretty fractured. there are many affiliates out there operating. the core al qaeda consists of only a couple hundred operators, really. and ayman al zawahiri, the number two who has taken over after bin laden's death, just doesn't have the kind of compelling control and charisma that blald had, and it's not clear that he's able to draw together all those separate entities that anybody is really sworn their e allegiance to zawahiri himself. and again, the most serious threat comes from yemen. in in they're pretty much considered criminals. in somalia, both kenya and ethiopian military forces have made great strides in taking out that al qaeda operation. but you'll see al qaeda trying to insert itself in places like syria and egypt, and so far they
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haven't had much success in capitalizing on the rash spring. >> you touched on with it with yemen and we're coming up on the 12th anniversary of what happened with the "uss cole" bombing in yemen and prior to what happened here on september 11th roughly a year later. have analysts never taken their eye off of yemen and what is seen to be a hotbed of terrorist activity and the fact that it is still continuing there? >> well, you remember that anwar al awlaki, the american-born muslim cleric who went over to al qaeda and was a huge propagandist for al qaeda and could actually communicate with potential lone wolves in the united states because he spoke their language, both in terms of arabic and of course in terms of radical islamic activities. but the focus on yemen has been primarily that is where the most significant threat from al qaeda has been now for a couple of years. >> nbc's jim miklaszewski.
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mik, great work. we look forward to catching that tonight. >> okay, tom. >> "secrets of bin laden's lair." tonight, 10:00 p.m. eastern on discovery. mik, thanks again. presidential candidate mitt romney is in new york city today, and this afternoon he'll appear with the man known as america's mayor, rudy giuliani. on the year anniversary of bin laden's death, a death that romney's campaign says the president is politicizing as he campaigns for re-election. >> the idea to try and politicize this and to say, oh, president obama would have done it one way, mitt romney would have done it another, is really disappointing. let's not make the capture or killing of osama bin laden a politically divisive event. >> to join the discussion is our panel, a.b. stoddard if from "the hill," doug fornell, former national press secretary of the democratic congressional campaign committee, and s.c. cup, a columnist for "the new
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york daily news." gang, great to see all of you this morning. a.b., the romney campaign releasing a statement this morning in reference to this anniversary of bin laden's death. it is says that that mission was the culmination of nearly a decade of hard work and sacrifice by our men and women in the military and intelligence communities. i xhepd all those who planned and conducted the bin laden raid and i applaud president obama for giving the go-ahead for the mission. let us never forget the thousands of innocent who is perished on september 11th, 2001. as we look at that and see that statement coming out and the fact mitt romney would say this is being politicized, is is he participating in the very game of politicizing all of this when he comes out to criticize the president? >> well, he was asked whether or not he would have ordered the raid because the president's advisers were suggesting perhaps a president romney would not have done the same. his response was probably not the best one to say even jimmy carter would have ordered the raid, but he's trying to make up for that today by commending the
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hard work of the navy s.e.a.l.s and president obama to take the risk and order the raid. this anniversary is an occasion for president obama to thank the s.e.a.l.s for their hard work, remind americans of the courage it took to order the raid. but i don't think it was appropriate for him to politicize it and have his top people suggesting that a president romney would have done this or that. we didn't know before president obama was elected he would be so militarily aggressive and such a national security hawk ultimately that he's turned out to be. so one doesn't know exactly what a president will do when he leaves the campaign trail and takes the oath of office. and so i don't think it was the right thing. there will be many appropriate settings, thomas, for president obama to talk about it. the debates in the fall. he has surrogates do it now and then. but i think to suggest that mitt romney might not have done it because -- he set off this fight himself. >> hindsight is 20/20 when you
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near the job, but guesswork about what somebody would do makes it completely different. let's take a listen to what mitt romney and the president had to say about this issue yesterday. >> would you have given the order, governor? >> even jimmy carter would have given that order. >> i just recommend that everybody take a look at people's previous statements in terms of whether they taught it was appropriate to go into pakistan and take out bin laden. i assume that people meant what they said when they said it. that's been at least my practice. i said i'd go after bin laden if we had a clear shot at him, and i did. if there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they'd do something else, then i'd go ahead and let them explain it. >> we're hearing a reference to jimmy carter that a.b. brought up about saying jimmy carter. then the president talking about
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the narrative of mitt romney being the flip-flopper, saying before in 2007 that's when mitt romney said it that he wouldn't spend the billions of dollars it might take to go after osama bin laden so, he's reminding people of where mitt romney might have stood on all of this. but you think this is a sticky wicket to even step in. right? >> yeah. you have to ask was this strategically smart. a.b.'s right. on the one-year anniversary of the death of one of the most evil men in the history of the world, we should be remembering our fallen brothers and sisters from 9/11 and celebrating the heroism of the navy s.e.a.l.s and even applauding the president for making that tough call. instead we're talking politics, and that's because the president put politics front and center hoop. you have to wonder if maybe this means he's miscalculated some of the political good will that he has on the left, not the right. when people like arianna huffington and john meacham and dana milbank are coming out and saying this is really uncomfortable to watch, i think you have to question whether
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this was a good strategy. >> you have to remember also in 2003 at this exact same time basically may 1st president bush showed up on that aircraft carrier with the banner that said "mission accomplished" behind him. he was re-elected. the mission was not accomplished. some would argue this mission is still not accomplished until day we saw osama bin laden dead. now we have the one-year anniversary of that. doug, the obama campaign has made the president's decision a year ago roughly about this executive leadership. as a.b. brought up the fact that the president's foreign policy and being basically a hawk about military actions has proven to be great risk, great reward for him right now. even the vice president has said they were not 100% sure that this was the right decision to make at that time. again, i get back to this. was this in reflection great risk/great reward and the president is just cashing in? >> well, look, i think this moment was window into the president's decisionmaking and leadership skills. this was a very courageous call
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that he made. you know, i think that this is also a policy disagreement, that romney said not only wouldn't he move heaven and earth but wouldn't take a unilateral strike against pakistan in 2007. he criticized the president for saying that. he criticized governor huckabee. so this is also a policy disagreement. i think the voters deserve to know how each candidate would handle a situation like that. i can bet you if i had $10,000 like mitt romney does i would bet you that if this was under george bush's watch they would be taking credit for it as well, and if it had gone bad, republicans would be launching investigations against the president right now. so this was totally appropriate, and it's a totally appropriate debate to be having in a campaign setting. >> all right. you say it's appropriate. the debate will continue. doug, s.c., a.b., thanks to all of you. there is something that rick santorum wants from mitt romney before he finally offers up an endorsement. we'll talk to a campaign rep about what that is.
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plus, the occupy protesters are expected to be out in full force today. across the country, possibly shutting down roads, ferry service, even bridges. can the movement still pack the punch it once had? [ male announcer ] dawn hand renewal with olay beauty. improves the look and feel of hands in just five uses. [ sponge ] soft, smooth... fabulous! [ male announcer ] dawn does more... [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪
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welcome back, everybody. the occupy wall street movement is urging a nationwide strike today to protest the arrest of 73 people over the weekend. now, police started detaining people on saturday after hundreds of activists gathered in lower manhattan to mark the sixth-month anniversary of that movement. now, several may-day protests are being held around the country as well as internationally. we're talking about from new york to san francisco to washington state, even across the pond to paris. the occupy movement is now the subject of a new documentary film. it's called "while we watch" and
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it chronicles how the movement utilizes social media to tell their story. take a look. >> we do not need the regular media to get this out at all. we are creating our own media. we use social media. we use livestream. we use youtube, and that's where people are -- objective journalism, where people will find the truth out, not through these pundit lap dogs they call the mainstream media. >> i'm joined by kevin breslin, director of "while we watch." great to have you here. explain what attracted you to this project? >> the energy of storytellers. when i went there, i wasn't sure i could make a film because there was so much political talk i didn't have the ability to tell such a broad story, there was too much information. but the people that were running around, dashing, feverishly working, camera people, guys scribbling notes, storytellers. i started to follow them and i thought they were significant. they're the occupy media people who try to bring out their story. >> again, it's called "while we
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watch." as you bring up, it's about storytelling. where were you able to find the ebbs, the flows, the peaks of all this that is the roller coaster ride of what we've been watching for the occupy snoousmt. >> they started before the park but the prominence was the park. they had little tents, wi-fi computers, in the rain, in the snow. they started a newspaper, started streaming, texting, blogging, whole communication team started in a park in new york city day and night. no money. they brought their information successfully, i feel, to the world. >> they were a little resistant to mainstream media as they've discussed. they realized they did need to imbrace th embrace that aspect to reach out nationally and around the world. how did they come to you about being the documenter of their project? >> as soon as they saw me, they
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said who are you with, where's your perez pass? i said i don't have one. they trusted me because i wasn't with a mainstream organization. slowly and incrementally i talked to people, the pr people, the writers, the texters. the live streamers were important as well as the people that started the newspapers. and they trusted me little by little and they did not trust mainstream media. >> right. >> they were at "the new york times" denigrated them at a certain time. and they felt that the mainstream media, including fox, wasn't fair to them. and this morning i was out filming them. they were in front of fox again yelling and screaming. they're right that they want their own story told their way. and they drive the narrative by having the marches in the streets and they cover it. >> what's the future of the movement? some say it has died down. some say is it a catch-22 for you to be here talking to someone who would be considered part of the mainstream media about the e venchial documentary. explain that to us. >> i'd like people to see it. they can learn about it, learn
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about a new form of media. it's on snag films. you can go to snagfilms.com and watch it tonight. it's very important. i have to sell a picture. but they're storytellers. they're mad they don't get the attention from mainstream media. they don't distrust it. they think no one's bothered, they're marauding in a park, they're young people fighting for major issues and feel mainstream wasn't attracted to that, that it didn't believe it leads. >> kevin breslin director of "while we watch" on snag? >> snag films this evening at 8:00. snagfilms.com. >> great to meet you. >> thank you very much. not a member of wosb. >> wonder l how they trued you. the verdict is in more rupert murdoch. why british lawmakers say he's unfit to run a major international company. and the waif of a former aide of john edwards is back on the stand and back right now in that corruption trial after an emotional day yesterday.
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welcome back, everybody. a widespread social media campaign to raise money for george zimmerman's defense. lawyers for the trayvon martin and the accused killer mounted this online offensive. gz legal case is on facebook, twitter, and has its own blog. zimmerman is accused of second-degree murder in the shooting of trayvon martin. he claims he killed him in self-defense. a scathing new report from british lawmakers blasting news corp. chief rupert murdoch, calling him, quote, unfit to oversee the very media em pair that he started that's been riddled with allegations of corruption and inappropriate behavior. they say he turned a blind eye to the phone hacking scandal
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that shuttered his biggest tabloid and forced his son to design but also spread to other wings of his media dynasty including those in the united states. nbc news national investigative correspondent michael isikoff has more details. they weren't holding back the words, michael, at least the british lawmakers, in coming out against the 81-year-old rupert murdoch. >> reporter: exactly, thomas. this report is a bombshell. as recently as yesterday the british press, the guardian which has been the best uncovering the story had been focusing on what the report would say about james murdoch, rupert's son, and the heir apparent for the company and whether he misled the company. and i think misled the house of commons. but what nobody expected is that this was going to go right to the top to rupert murdoch, and what it says has widespread ramifications for news corp. in the u.s. it talks about his lack of
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candor, lack of openness, speaks volumes about the lack of al corporate governance at news corp. and we conclude, therefore, he's not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company. now, right now news corp. is facing u.s. justice department investigations for alleged bribery in russia, in china, and in the uk, paying off british police officers. it's facing major shareholder resolutions to break up the murdoch family control of the company. what we're looking at is close to a shareholder revolt within news corp. and this powerful language about rupert murdoch himself is going to fuel all that. it's very hard to say exactly what the impact is going to be, but especially in terms of those shareholder resolutions, i think this is going to be very powerful. >> michael, when we talk about the fact of this being very powerful, how does it then talk
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about the holdings and the future of news corp. in general? >> that's what i'm getting at. i think the most immediate impact is on the shareholder resolutions. the company was already facing a lot of them in its last annual meeting, saying that the revelations about widespread phone hacking in the united kingdom raised questions about the murdoch family stewardship of news corp. now with this mounting evidence, with these mounting investigations, and with this report, i think that the support for those resolutions is going to be much stronger. and also there are members of the news corp. board who have their own independent reputations at stake. joel klein, the former chancellor of the new york city school system, a top justice department official now a top prominent lawyer in washington, and they have to look at their reputations. they've been close and supportive of rupert murdoch so far, but as -- in light of this,
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i think a lot of that is going to be called into question. >> nbc's michael isikoff. great to see you this morning. thank you. >> thank you. we're keaching a watchful eye on a developing situation in ohio. five men arrested for allegedly trying to blow up a bridge. and why this plane crashed in the desert. [ female announcer ] letting her home be turned into a training facility? ♪ this olympian's mom has been doing it for years. she's got bounty. in this lab demo, one sheet of new bounty leaves this surface cleaner than two sheets of the leading ordinary brand. bounty has trap and lock technology to soak up big spills and lock them in. let the spills begin. p&g. proud sponsor of the olympic games. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the typical financial consultation ttd# 1-800-345-2550 when companies try to sell you something off their menu ttd# 1-800-345-2550 instead of trying to understand what you really need.
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i should say that was steve anthony, who is in charge of the fbi office in cleveland, who was talking. but according to court documents, federal agents were aware of these men going back to last october. a confidential informant said he'd seen protesters acting strangely and they were monit monitored ever since. this is their final target, this bridge over route 82. they were arrested last night, the fbi says planting what they thought were two improvised explosive devices that would be remotely detonated. these are the five charged with the plot. but thomas, it evolve over time, according to federal agents. they talked about a range of thing, setting off smoke grenades on a different bridge to distract police to knock signs off tall bank buildings. they wanted to send a message to corporate america. over time they discussed a number of projects and possible plots and finally settled on this plot to blow up the bridge
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using explosives. they never did have any explosives, and it was an undercover operative who said he could hook them up with people who could provide explosives. it's clear, according to the government, they had as the -- steve anthony, you just saw there, said they were intent on committing violent destruction. that seems clear enough. but it's also fairly apparent that on their own they had absolutely no idea how to get explosives. they did research how to make them on the internet, but they never on their own obtained them, thomas. so this is another one of these sting operations. you always wonder what would have happened if they'd been left to their own devices, but of course federal agents say their desire to be violent was quite strong. >> pete williams, thank you, sir. more explosive testimony expected today in the criminal trial of john edwards. a day after the wife of his former aide had an emotional meltdown on the stand, cheri young is back on the stand again today, this after she broke down in tears while telling jurors
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how the former presidential candidate asked her husband to lie and say he was the father of a baby carried by his then pregnant mistress, rielle hunter. nbc's jay gray is live outside the courthouse in greensboro, north carolina. cheri young is expected to face some very tough cross-examination from the defense today. is this mainly going to try to tear her down and tear down the validity of the statements she's making, especially when they ask her about the money that the youngs allegedly took? >> reporter: yeah. i think, thomas, that's what we'll see, that cross-examination just beginning in the federal courthouse behind me. i think they'll specifically go after that money trail and refer back to her husband's testimony that a majority of that money from wealthy donors to john edwards to help cover up his affair with rielle hunter actually ended up going to the youngs to help them build their dream home in chapel hill, north carolina. but understand the defense, which was very aggressive with andrew young, has got to use some kid gloves when it comes to
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his wife. she's been emotional on the stand. she's humanized this case talking about the stress her family was under and how much they gave up for this presidential candidate. she talked extensionively about andrew young doing everything he could to help john edwards, cutting his yard, buying christmas present for his family, in turn te neglecting his own family. it's been emotional testimony, so much so yesterday she left early with a migraine headache. back today and the cross-examination as has begun. >> they are calling cheri the key witness on the money trail, correct? >> no question about that. she was the one that signed over a lot of the checks from the wealthy donors, signed them in her maiden name and ran them through her own private bank account and the family's bank account, ultimately giving what she did to rielle hunter at time, a monthly stipend, buying a car at another time, other lavish gifts and extravagant ray cases i'm sure the defense will focus on and also focus on the fact that the youngs got to go on some of those vacations, too.
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wasn't all bad for them. >> amazing testimony going on. jay gray, thank you. we want to move on to talking act this big meeting expected between mitt romney and former rival rick santorum. that is expected to take place late they are week. now, santorum has stopped short of endorsing mitt romney as the party's pick for president, and he looks like he wants some promises from mitt romney before that happens. joining me via skype the national communications director for rick santorum's campaign. hogan, good to see you. as we wait for this meeting to come up, it is still on the books scheduled for friday. correct? >> yes, sir. it sure is, thomas. thanks for having me. >> let's talk act the reports of out of this scheduled meeting rick santorum would like to hear some assurances from mitt romney about how he can continue to be a major person within the republican party, at least probably having a platform within the convention to gave speech. what do we know about what rick santorum would like to request of mitt romney? >> well, i think he's going to
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want some assurances from governor romney. he wants to make sure the manufacturing sector is well remitted by governor romney's campaign. he wants to make sure the conservative movement, the tea party times, have a voice in mitt romney's campaign. let's not forget, rick santorum did a whole lot with a whole little and was able to win 11 states. he won more counties than every other republican candidate combined. and so, you know, there is a movement behind rick santorum. a lot of people still want him in this race. obviously he suspended his campaign, but he wants to make sure that governor romney understands those people could be behind him but they'll snead some assurances from governor romney. >> when you talk act assurances, does that mean it's going to dispel any of the bad blood that may still exist or what was a nasty primary season? >> i don't think there's any bad blood. everybody knows that politics is a blood sport and it's tough and it's rough. after a while, everyone comes together and tries to accomplish a common goal. let's not forget, i mean, no race was nastier probably than
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hillary clinton and barack obama's, and now they're -- you know, hillary is serving in obama's administration, bill clinton is campaigning for barack obama. these things can be water under the bridge, but obviously you need to have a meeting, you need to have some conversations and figure out where the party is going to be moving forward and how much of rick santorum's agenda is mitt romney willing to push. >> is on that agenda potentially being a cabinet position? you bring up the fact that hillary clinton is working with president obama. is that something rick santorum would do if mitt romney were elected president? >> no, not the same comparison at all. i would not -- that's not rick's nature. he doesn't ask for things in that way. it's more of a movement for him. it's more of a vision and a platform. i will give you an example. we all know governor romney has promised to repeal obama care, and that is perfectly in line with what rick santorum is pushing as well. rick wants to make sure governor romney zits across the table from him, looks him million the
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eye and says i will repeal obama care and what i replace it with will not include a mandate. those things are important to rick and to the movement and things he'll be pressing forward on in the meeting this week. >> hogan gidley, thanks so much. great to see you. >> thanks, tom. other stories topping the news. secretary of state hillary clinton lands in china this evening for a series of talks with human rights high on the agenda. the issue placed front and center as the u.s. continues to address the situation of blind dissident activist chen guangcheng. he escaped house arrest and is reportedly in asylum today at the u.s. embassy in beijing, previously served four years in prison for exposing the country's practice of forced abortions and sterilizations. arizona police are hoping a sexual assault case might lead to clues about the disappearance of isabelle solis. according to several reports from arizona news outlets, police say a man in his 20s arrested a small girl half an hour north of isabel's home. police say they do not believe the two cases are related at
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this time. she vanished from her bedroom april 21st. could the body of whitney houston be encased in concrete? the daily starr reporting her family wants to encase the star's body to keep graverobbers from stealing jewels that are buried. private security guards have been stationed around the clock at her plot at a cemetery in new jersey. she was found dead in a bathtub at a hotel in beverly hills in february wp. a new report reveals home ownership in the u.s. is at the lowest rate in 15 years. according to the latest data, fewer people are purchasing homes. experts say it's because of high foreclosure rates that have forced many to rent. and the terrifying sight but it was all intentional. look at this. producers of a discovery channel documentary crashed a passenger jet into a desert in mexico on purpose last week. this video of the impact was posted on youtube. the documentary explores how aircrafts withstand impact. the 170-passenger plane was
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and where clothing is optional. nespresso. the best cafe. yours. welcome back, everybody. the fight over marriage equality goes to a vote in north carolina next week. what's at stake is a constitutional amendment to make traditional marriage between a man and a woman the only legal union in is that that state. and a new tv ad is pushing that very message. take a look. >> marriage has been one man and one woman since before north carolina was a state. it's what god created to give children a mother and a father. by defining marriage in the state constitution, only voters can determine what marriage means. everyone, gay or straight, is free to live as they choose. but nobody has the right to redefine marriage. 30 other states have voted to protect marriage. this is our turn. vote for the marriage protection amendment. >> vote for marriage nc --
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>> for african-american churchgoers this issue creates a quandary. while some religious leaders urge their congregations to stick with traditions, some high-profile ministers are speaking out against it to promote tolerance. ricky woods is a senior minister of first baptist church west and opposes this amendment. great to have you here. some say this issue has created this divide among african-american believers. on one side there's this desire to see political and social justice enacted. on the other side there's a desire to keep what is perceived traditional and moral values intact. how does that affect your role as a church leader in this debate when people are coming to you looking for guidance? >> well, there are two issues, thomas, for me. one is there is of course the issue of faith that the church deals with, but then there are the issues as a citizen in a democratic republic. i am saddened that this issue has been shaped in such a way where religion is being used to
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define something that should be done by the state. this is very troubling to me. the founding fathers were very care to feel say that we would have separation of church and state. i think this amendment infringes upon that. >> so there are many advocates for same-sex marriage. a group called protect all families, they oppose amendment one and say this really is a civil rights issue. a lot of people will know it was only a little over 40 years ago that north carolina accepted interracial marriage. it's rally proving that this amendment essentially making discrimination legal or that would be the opposition's argument to this. how do african-american church leaders reconcile that fact against history? >> well, that's a difficult question to fully answer. i come down on the side of it really being a justice issue. we should not be putting discrimination into our laws against any particular group regardless of how we feel about what their choices are. they should be free to choose.
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as a person of faith, i believe that god has created us all as free-will agents with the right to choose, and none of us should be trying to play god in the life of someone else for the choices they make. >> sir, what do you think is going to happen when voters go out to the polls on may the 8th? >> i think it's going to be very, very close. but what is interesting, the own speaker of the house in north carolina has said that if this amendment passes he believes it will be repealed. there is enough information out there to also talk about how if this amendment passes how it could impact business community and jobs in north carolina. and given the condition of our economy and our state and our nation, we have other issues that are far more important than amendment one. >> we will continue to watch and see how it all plays out. first baptist pastor ricky woods. thanks for your time. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> absolutely. so the first lady goes west. it's time for the poly sidebar.
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michelle obama will meet with campaign volunteers and supporters before moving to new mexico. she was campaigning in colorado and arizona yesterday. a golden touch from a former golden girl. actress betty white and her "hot in cleveland" co-stars are throwing their support behind california congressman howard berman. he's running in a very contentious race. take a look at this. >> betty, if you want a friend in washington, do you know what you do? >> get a dog. that's what i've been told. >> and what else? >> re-elect congressman howard berman. >> fyi, "murphy brown" might be coming back to tv just in time for the presidential election. diane english, the show's creator, said she'd love to bring it back on the air. it ran from 1988 to 1990. by the way, her son, aifrry, would be able to vote in this election. the character would be about 20 years old now. just call him the $13 million man. wisconsin governor scott walker
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so it could be a landmark case brewing in florida. a man who entered the country from mexico as an child, undocumented immigrant, seeking to become a lawyer. his case on the heels of new supreme court scrutiny. that man jones me now from tampa. jose manuel, great to have you here. tell us how your journey, your childhood, your life began when you were a child and how you were able to accomplish trying to become a lawyer here. >> well, i came from mexico at the age of 9 on a tourist visa, soon thereafter i overstay made visa, without knowing it, of course, when i was 9, and i
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lived my life normally, like any other child would and 2004 i graduated valedictorian of my high school class in florida where i lib, and that allowed me to obtain a private scholarship to new college of florida where i graduated in 2008 and i did well there, as well. so i was able to obtain a full scholarship at florida state university college of law, where i graduated with honors last may, and i passed the bar exam in july and now i'm just waiting for the florida supreme court to determine whether i can be admitted to the florida bar. >> your story is a reminder for only in america could a story like that truly happen, defying the odds, as you have, getting as far as you have, using education as your way up the ladder. you passed the bar exam, and granted an exception to take in the first place, but because of undocumented status you haven't
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been granted admission to the barr. what does it mean the florida supreme court is considering your case and could pave the way for yourself and others just like you? >> well, it's very important because this is one small struggle, but it's very symbolic for all of the dreamers who live in this country and also it's a step forward for us. but more importantly, it's important to stay back and see that the reason why this is happening is because congress has failed to take leadership on this issue and obama in particular has failed to take leader ship on the dream act. i inveet senator rubio to fill that leadership void and support the real dream act which would adjust my status and solve this issue in the first place. >> what do you think's going to happen in the meantime? if there were to be something in the short term for you right now, what would it be? >> what do you mean? something in the short term as
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far as? >> if this doesn't happen for you, say you're not going to be admitted to the bar exam, what do you want for your future and life here, if being a lawyer is not ultimate dream anymore? >> well, i take everything one step a a time, and i don't worry about everything at the same time, so for now, i'm just waiting for the supreme court to make a ruling and depending on that, then i'll see what my next step is. >> we'll continue to watch. jose manuel, thank you for joining me this morning. you have a great story here and we appreciate being able to highlight it today. thank you. >> thank you so much. that's going to wrap up things for me today. see you back here at 11:00 a.m. eastern time every weekday morning. follow me on twitter. "now with alex wagner" is next. what do you got coming up. >> good day. today's talking points revolve around the american dream, whether or not president obama and mitt romney really want
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everyone to succeed. we'll look at the candidates' two very different visions. and he may be the romney but is mitt the party leader? an article suggests the gop star is congressman paul ryan. we'll discuss that as well as occupy wall street's may day plans when "now" starts in 180 seconds. c'mon dad! i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i got heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief.
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