what did we know? america wants to know if we missed crucial clues. >> we've seen it in politics. pro sports jumps into the fight for gay rights. is it a whole new ball game? >> i'm krystal ball. the president marks a whole new milestone. >> there is a push to change this. and there is some bipartisan support. >> the boston marathon bombing investigation has taken yet another new turn. director of national intelligence claims clapper is ordering a review of how

intelligence was handled leading up to the attack. some inside the intel community are furious that he has demanded an investigation, fearing others will view it as an indictment that they did something wrong. remember, dni was designed in response to 9/11. its sole purpose is to make sure the 17 agencies that oversee and share information. a government report from earlier this year found there are still gaps in terror-related information sharing. labelling the issue as high risk. president obama today insisted, protocol was followed and clapper wants to determine if lessons learn. >> based on what i've seen so far, the fbi performed its duties, homeland security did what it was supposed to be doing. but this is hard stuff. are there things, additional thing that could have been done in that interim that might have prevented it? now what director clapper is doing is standard procedure around here. we want to see, is there in fact

additional protocols and procedures that could be put in place that would further improve and enhance our ability to detect a potential attack? >> on the legal front, admitted bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev is trying to avoid the death penalty. his lawyers are trying to work out a deal, tell the fbi whatever they need to know and ultimately spare his life. we start with nbc's pete williams. the fbi pulled a woman's dna off the bomb on monday. what are they doing with it today? >> they're analyzing it now to see if it matches dna found on the bomb come opponents. let's go back to what you said a moment ago. i think it is important to note the justice department is pushing back very strongly on what we said last night and what you just said. that there are any kinds of negotiations over the death penalty. what they point out is that number one, the death penalty

isn't on the table. because the justice department hasn't agreed whether to seek it under the federal rules. that won't come for quite sometime. he has not even been indicted. that is the next step. then the attorney general has to decide whether to seek the death penalty. so they say, they very strongly say there have been no negotiations over this. no discussions. what i have been told is that there have been some early discussions about what it would take. what kinds of things would have to happen. so you know, i don't believe there is an inconsistency here. i understand why the justice department is sticking by what it is saying. but i think i am duty bound here to point out that the people involved in the prosecution of the case strongly insist that there have been no discussions yet with the defense about any kind of negotiated plea, and they want that very clearly known. they say that's very premature.

they haven't had any discussions about that, of that nature whatsoever. >> okay. pete williams, setting it straight as always. thank you. back with us now, nbc news terror analyst roger cressey. he served as a top official in the clinton and bush administrations. let's go back to what we were about at the top of the show. john boehner last week, as well as some others expressed concerns about data sharing. and we know that russian authorities got in touch with both the fbi, the cia, about these alerts. but was that information to your knowledge and feel free to speculate here, would that have been shared with the other agencies that might be relevant for those kinds of concerns and do you think we have a problem sharing intelligence right now? >> the answer is yes. it would have been shared. it would have been brought in to agencies such as the national counter terrorism center whose sole purpose is to ensure proper

coordination of intelligence and then counter terrorism policy. and this is an organization that, where every agency who has a role in counter terrorism is represented. the two dozen plus data bases were all could you pleaser terrorism data resides, feed into the nctc. so there is no doubt in my mine the information was shared. the question still is, was there any additional information, either identified in the government data bases after this that would have been relevant or was there information the russians either had or could have found that had we known that, would have allowed the fbi to take next step? based on what we know so far, the answer is no. >> and based on the fact that tsarnaevs lived in boston, do you think that information would have been shared with the bpd, for example? >> it would have. through the join terrorism task forceful so every major metropolitan area has a jttf. it is led by the fbi. all the relevant state and local actor have a spot there.

they see a lot of the information. now certainly there are classification issues. you can discover secret information. if it is top secret, then there are other procedures in place. we're looking at information sharing for a lot of people for the first time in a number of years. and i have to tell you, it is light years better than what it was when i was in government during 9/11ful are there places to improve? without a doubt. that's what director clapper's inquiry, not a witch opportunity, is hopefully going to find. >> what you're talking about, there is room to improve. no improvement that could make us 100% safe. but there is room to improve. >> there is always room to improve. the role of government is to look at what happened and identify what did we do right as a federal government and then with state and local authorities and what we can do better. it doesn't mean we'll hang anybody out to dry but there is an accountability question.

we still have challenges. one is classification issues and the second is source and agencies. some are reluctant to share everything. but the probe has been put in place to alleviate some of those concerns. you can always do better. this isn't a michelangelo final master piece. this is still evolving. >> the president spoke a bit about the boston bombing and in particular the threat from radicalized individuals in the states versus actual al qaeda operatives. let's take a listen. >> because of the pressure that we put on al qaeda, because of the pressure we put on these networks that are well financed, one of the danger that's we now face are self-radicalized individuals who are already here in the united states. in some cases, may not be part of any kind of network.

those are in some ways more difficult to prevent. >> roger, given as the president was saying that these sorts of attacks are very hard to detect. very hard to prevent. the information is widely available that the tsarnaevs used to construct their bombs. the material are widely available. should we be amaze that had we don't see more of these attacks? >> well, we should be amazed but we should also remember there is a reason why there haven't been many successful attacks. it is because of the great work of law enforcement and the intelligence communicate. there have been various plots of attacks that have been disrupted and for a couple reasons. the first is federal coordination and counter terrorism is fantastic right now. but also and this is more important when it come to the question of boston. a community based approach. so we've had examples where members of the muslim community have seen something going on in their immediate neighborhood. their immediate community and notified law enforcement who

then took action and then disrupted potential plots. we've seen it in washington with the plot to bomb the washington metro. and there are dozens of other examples across the country. that part has worked really well. as we look forward to how to make sure this doesn't happen again, this issue of downering streelism has to be done at the community level as well as what the federal government can do. both have to work well. >> before we let you go, i want to pick up on your point about michelangelo in response to toure. isn't one of the biggest problems though that we have this tremendous overclassification at this point? >> well, yeah. look. the government and the intelligence community is gently predisposed to overclassify. there were time i was in government and i would get reports. it was a press report but it was a classified secret. why is it a classified secret? that's because our analysis is attached to it. i'm sorry. that's just silly.

so we can clearly do better on that. but the overclassification is not the biggest issue here. the real question is, what we've done so far in improving our information sharing and our counter terrorism work. can we do anything better? if we can, we should certainly go down that road. >> thank you. >> you bet, s.e., thank you. one of the 20 survivors from the boston bombings is still being treated, 35-year-old jarod clary. he is recovering from severe burns and shrapnel wounds. his three friend all lost limbs. they were outside a bar when the second explosion hit. they were standing near this fence. his latest surgery was yesterday to remove more shrapnel. he and his doctor just finished answering questions at brigham and women's hospital. >> i put both my hands on the ground right about where that white sign is on the vague. i stopped for a split second and

i just remember feeling engulfed. and thrown out into the street. i stood up and i was pretty lucid. i remember trying to down my fingers. i look at my hand and it was too much to look at. i tuck it in and i feel my legs. i look down and i, i didn't want to look at those anymore. i knew to get to the middle of the road. that's when the state police got to me. >> up next, the reaction just keeps getting louder to nba player jason collins' decision to come out as gay. we've got the executive editor of "sports illustrated." the magazine that broke the story. and talking about whether an out athlete in the nfl is next. "the cycle" rolls on for tuesday, april 30th. [ male announcer ] at his current pace, bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire.

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collins says i'm an nba center, i'm black and i'm gay. >> that's right. he came out as black and gay. even more shocking, he came out as a player for the washington wizards. you've got to wonder how his parents took it. >> see, i told you, it's not a real team. in one day, jason collins has gone from marginal nba player to household name. he told gma this morning that he is the happiest he's ever been after coming out of the closet and starting to live his truth. >> you always knew you were gay? >> yeah. i sort of describe it as you know that the sky is blue but you keep telling yourself that it's red. >> so you fought it.

>> yes, in the beginning. i think they call it like the 12 steps. you can through anger, denial, and it is just, when you finally get to that point of acceptance, there's nothing more beautiful. >> collins is the first openly gay unretired team sports athlete in american history. and many players have been supportive. kobe bryant tweeted, proud of jason collins. don't suffocate who you are because of the ignorance of others. hash tag courage, if collins returned to the wizards, he would be welcomed back with open arms. president obama said he was impressed by collins' courage. a few people couldn't miss the chance to stick both feet in their mouths. one person said, all these beautiful women in the world and the guys wanta mess with the other guys? he apologized. have we reached a water shed moment when a gay member can

come out and be accepted by the other players? joining us now, "sports illustrated's" executive editor, john who was inside the room for the collins interview which of course is this week's s.i. cover story. also, a friend of jason's clis, punner and gay rights advocate. you've been doing great work for a long time so i'm not surprised. you are in the room when this interview was happening. the feeling that he sort of seemed to have as he is unburdening himself of this stuff. he talked about not being able to sleep for most of his life. after did this interview, he can finally get a good night's sleep. so he must have had this emotion coming out of him. >> yeah. exactly. he really hadn't could be fronted this until he was 33 years old. a year ago. that's when he said, look, i need to start living genuinely. it was a gradual process. it is hard to believe it was less than a week ago.

when we were there wednesday, he was funny, charming, thoughtful, he was not nervous. there was no apprehension. he was ready to go. he was pretty firm in this. this was unprecedented but he was ready to deal with whatever fallout there would be, good or bad. >> fantastic. let's talk about what it's like to be inside a team where one of the players come out. i know there are some team in the nba and the nfl where there is an openly gay player. he is open to his team mates but not to the rest of the world. so there are teams where there is a person who everybody on the team knows is gay. and one of the things jason said, loyalty to my team is the real reason i didn't come out sooner. so what do you think the dynamic is on a team where there is an openly gay player? is it that people will rally around him and do the charles barkley thing if he can play, then he's down with me? or people who will make it uncomfortable for everybody else? >> i think the majority of players will rally around that person. when you're on a team, you're bonding with those guys. during the season we see each

other more than we see our own families. so you get to know guys pretty well. there will be some guys lou don't understand and don't get it. but i think for the most part, a gay player would be accept. i think the real thing is whether or not coaches and management are able to accept and it look past the whole distraction issue. i would say that in jason's own words, he felt like he was baking in an oven for 33 years. imagine how much better he could have played if he didn't have to worry about hiding a core part of who he is. >> you wrote in an accompanying piece about some of the homophobia that has populated pro sports. you talk about 49ers quarterback chris culliver's comments. i don't do the gays, i can't be with that sweet stuff. and tim hardaway said i can't be with gay people. times have change. it is not the gay athlete but rather the homhomophobe.

isn't it only because it was caught on camera and shared with the public? do you really think that behind closed doors, in closed practices, that other players and team members are intolerant of foamo phothe rhetoric? >> i think sports and the nba in particular are a lot more progressive than people think. i think this is larpgly a generational issue and i think there are a lot of athletes that are straight and have no issue with this. i have to say jason mentioned chris's name ten minutes into the conversation. it meant a lot about there are straight athletes like chris who are very vocal about this. peeve tim hardaway has back tracked. he has back tracked. i think it is much different than even a few years ago. >> you are absolutely to be commended for being a straight ally and helping give people support and courage in this process. now we see we have an openly gay active nba player. amazing step forward.

we still don't have an openly gay active nfl player. do you think it is more difficult for some reason in the nfl? do you think that we'll see sort of a ripple effect across the sports world? >> well, i think it is not necessarily more difficult in the nfl than any of the other sports. it is a very brave thing to do no matter what sport you play. that being that, i think a lot of gay athletes are probably going to be watching what happens with jason and seeing, okay, is he going to be able to find a job? is he a legitimately allowed to could that pete for a job? and if he proves his worth, is he allowed to have that job? if he's not, that really sets the whole thing back quite a long ways. >> does it really set the whole thing back? he is sort of a marginal player. he is older and a lot of team might not take him any way even if this hadn't happened. >> you look at i. you cannot teach seven feet tall. like you said in the article, i'm a guy who goes in. i spell someone for ten minutes

and i have six hard fouls to give. and i have to believe in the nba, there is a team that needs someone who is seven feet tall who can give you six hard fouls. and fills that role sflfl the president is not seven feet tall but he looked it when he came running back to the podium today because it was so important to make the point that he wanted to support this. pep sports are central in an american life so this is significant. on the nfl point, is part of the issue here that people think of these sports as representing a sort of masculinity? that somehow is not matched to our stereo types about gay culture? >> yeah. i think people kind of have this preconceived notion that athletes are club dragging troglydytes. straight out of stone age. you generally don't hear with them because they're busy staying at home taking care of their business. they don't really do anything. unfortunately you hear about the guys who get in trouble.

and that kind of reinforces that notion. >> john, congratulations on a big scoop. chris, congratulations on being open. congratulations to jason collins as well as brittney grin here came out last week. thank you to all of you for being here. up next, the president and the media. we're all chummy at the white house correspondence dinner, what a difference 72 hours makes. we'll spin on the president's news conference today. [ kate ] many women may not be absorbing the calcium they take as well as they could because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

ncht this morning president obama faced the cameras facing questions from the sequester to jason collins and he once again faced that nagging question, are you going to be able to get anything done this term in.

>> you are 100 days on your second term. on the gun bill, you put everything in it to try to get it passed. congress has ignored your efforts to try to undo the sequester cuts. there was even a bill that you threatened to veto that got 92 votes voting yes. so my question, do you still have the juice to get the rest of your agenda through this congress? >> if you put it that way, jonathan, maybe i should just pack up and go home. >> maybe? all kidding aside, the lack of progress with the 113th congress has been laughable. so with gun control a goner, budget control negotiations a disaster and with the new debt ceiling debacle in the offing, do americans have any reason to feel optimistic? let's spin. why should we get out of bed? >> let's just all pack up and move to another country. >> let's throw in the towel. i want to start with what i

thought was a very significant mome. if there is any reason to be optimistic on syria, i think we lost it here. >> u.s. military action. >> by game changer, i mean that we would have to rethink the range of options that are available to us. now, we're already, as i said, invested in trying to bring about a solution inside of syria. obviously, there are options that are available to me that are on the shelf right now that we have not -- >> that is shifting of language and nuances around the idea of what a game change meant is i think really dangerous. whether you're on the right or the left, a hawk or a dove. no one in any smart foreign policy circle thinks asserting

red lines and then caving on them or changing the definition of a red line is a good idea. and as red lines have changed, the first red line on syria was the know that chemical weapons were being move around. when it was clear that they were being moved around, then his red line was on using they will. now it is clear that they've used them. and as chuck todd said, i think he very much regrets having put the red line out there. game changer, red line, unacceptable. those words have real meaning internationally in places like iran and north korea and other actors around the world. and i think it is a real strategic political and moral failure to put that out there and then sort of walk it back. >> how many cliches are you going to bust out? >> i didn't come out with the game change. he did. >> double down, red line, game change, walk it back. >> and then attempt to change the meaning of game change. >> what jumped out at me, here

we are in this recession. we have this press conference. an single question on jobs. we did geto the sequester which i think is very bad for the economy. that was a real high poin thoug t psintai wn>> the fact that congress responded to the short term problem of flied delays by giving us the option of shifting money that is designed to repair and improve airports over the long term to fix the short term problem, that's not a solution. essentially what we've done is we've said in order to avoid delays this summer we're going to ensure delays for the next two or three decades. >> amen. again, and i think that hits the whole point. you have this a.d.d. congress that says we don't want to deal with any real problems.

we want the sugar high of saying, yeah, look, we got these big cuts. we said they would be terrible but they'r good and they don't hurt anything. then actually, no. they can shut down the airports. they can really have a toll not only on people who are flying which as we've discussed can be annoying but also, an economic impact, never mind the other things going on that are less visible. they're having the less politically important people. let's rob peter to pay paul. let's take long term infrastructure and deal with the fact that a sequester is really bad. really bad like john boehner said a week before it kicked in. so president obama is very good at running out the clock in these press conferences. to me that was the moment where he really indicted this congress. that he is stuck working with that doesn't want to deal with the fact if you keep cutting, you'll hurt the economy. >> i think the media has this a.d.d. how is he doing? a completely false test. it is like, let's go to the kitchen as you're beginning to make the meal and see if the

meal will be good. we have to see how it goes over the long term. the grade, if you're going to grade him right now. it has to be incomplete. surely, there is a bad or difficult trajectory. you talk about what's going on in syria, what's going on with the gun control debate. what's going on with the sequester. talk to me after we get through immigration reform. talk to me after we get through climate change. talk to me at the end of the material about job creation. any success is going to be judged as may know. at the end of the term, or at the end of the day to go into cliche land, nobody is going to judge this based on syria and everybody will judge this based on job creation and what you can do on immigration and perhaps what you can do on guns. which we influence from the beginning, guns would be extremely difficult getting change on immigration is massive and difficult. and that will be a major change for america. >> i agree with that. immigration reform is something

we've been trying to do certainly since president obama tried and failed. i don't think you can understate the importance of health care reform. another thing that we've been tryingo do for decades, those are really important. i think you're right. the job creation numbers. i wouldn't be so quick to dismiss syria depending on what happens there. that could be an important part of the legacy. another thing that the president addresses at the press conference today that could be part of his leg is i is guantanamo bay and what happens there. let's take a listen. >> i think it is critical to understand that guantanamo is not necessary to keep america safe. it is expensive. it is inefficient. it hurts us. in terms of our international standing. it lessens cooperation with our allies on counter terrorism efforts. it is a recruitment tool for extremists. it needs to be closed. >> now we haven't heard much about gitmo lately and the

reason this is coming up now is because out of the 166 detainees that we have left there, about 100 of them are engaged in a hunger strike. it has been highlighted in the new york times. so they are calling attention to their own plight. in a lot of ways i think what has happened in guantanamo bay is sort of a microcosm of the larger story of the obama presidency. he came in, tried to solve this crisis i and this stain that was created by the bush administration. idealistic obama comes in, wants to close it. is blocked by an utterly obstructionist congress. he is sort of being the pragmatist that he is decides it is not worth spending that much political capital on. he has other priorities at that moment. now the question is, in a second term when he no longer has to worry about re-election, is he going to return to that idealism and be willing not just to say he will doomething about it but really spend some political capital and make this a priority. ultimately, i think if

guantanamo bay is not closed by the time he leaves office, that will be a stain on his legacy and frankly, a stain on the united states of america. >> i think you're right. it was a political capital issue. and that he might have more now and might be more grags on it now. but he was also a practical issue. no one was able to say what would happen to these people. and maybe that's why he's calling on congress to meet and work that out and return to those questions of there are still legitimate practical concerns about how to deal with gitmo. well, you know where we all stand. did the president's press conference today give you hope that things can and will be done before obama leaves office? immigration, job creation, lots of angles you can take. make sure you like us on facebook and then weigh in. up next, before you tap out that next message, some concerns information about how easy it is for the government to get your e-mails. we had never used a contractor before

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you can do what you want. >> the race to get the bad guy, we're taught to trust the good guy. let eddie murphy do his job, save the day and privacy be damned. that's why we have laws except sometimes those laws have huge loopholes. while the government must have a warrant to search your home, today it can search and read everyone of your e-mail without one. that's because of a glitch in an obscure 1986 law, the electronics communications privacy act. it was supposed to update the wiretap statue for the coming age but instead it gave the government a giant loophole. for users of web based e-mail like a hot mail or g mail

account, that mean the government can read your e-mail archive without giving you a warning or proving probable cause. the senate is trying to fix this problem in an effort led by a pretty unusual alliance. but at a time when we just saw technology help break the boston bombing case wide open, can privacy proponents beat the politics of fear? joining us now, a veteran in the clinton white house in capitol hill. he also teefs technology policy at georgetown law. how are you? >> good to have you. good to be on. thank you. >> either way. >> he's happy to be here. we're all happy to be here. what i want to talk to you about is that we have the politics of fear but a really strong progressive libertarian alliance. why is that? >> it's an interesting thing when you see as we pointed out, peel on the far left and people on the far right actually agreeing when it come to privacy. and i think that this comes from

a certain american value that we have. the right to be left alone. whether you're a conservative who fears the government coming after your privacy, or progressive who fears a large corporation snooping on your hard drive, both those feelings come from the same notion that we have the right to be left alone. this goes back to the founding of our country. the warrant clause that you mentioned comes from the fourth amendment. we didn't want british soldiers busting in and searching our houses so we had the warrant clause. the fourth amendment added. what this bill that you just talked about does, it updates that warrant requirement to apply to current technology. the values are still the same. the right to be left alone. and at the same time, though, i have to point out. there is always that counter valg balance that says what about security, what about getting in in time to stop the bad guys. >> you love that. >> i love that. i'm showing my '80s here. i'm sorry.

>> the truth is we balance these all the time. you subject yourself to all kinds of invasions of privacy, right? you do it because you want to feel safer on the plane. and we have this balancing act going on in congress right now on the issue of privacy. >> i agree with you on this one. but i have to remind you that another bill that recently got bipartisan support, it blows my mine that both democrats and republicans could completely abandon their principles and have not huge problems with cispa. i remember from the left and the right. on the right conservatives wanted government out of their private lives and big brother, too. so it strikes me that republicans and democrats don't really know where they stand on giant issues of internet privacy and internet security and they take them as a case by case basis. >> i would rephrase it. it is not so much a democrat or

republican issue. it is a are you a privacy hawk or a security hawk? you're right. cispa which is design to combat cyber security was passed on a very bipartisan basis in the house. there you have democrats who care much more about cyber security and national security voting for it and democrats who were concerned about privacy including, i might say, president obama. saying they're gulf of mexico it. >> he wants to veto it. >> he put out a veto threat. let me say when it come to cispa, the reason the privacy hawks are so concern is, that bill would allow you to get back at the people hacking at you. you can go burn down their house and you're immune from liability. really. >> so there's a question there about whether on the national security side, does that go too far? buzz the politics of this are fascinating. the old labels do not apply. this is not about democrat or republican or conservative. >> clearly. this is really about, are you a

privacy hawk or a security hawk? >> we're going to keep our eye on and we'll keep you on as our resident privacy hawk on the next one. >> thanks. an unusual solution for america's prison problem. summer camp behind bars. >> i was like, y're going to catch will camp? i'm too big for camp. i'm 14. she is like, your father really wants you to go. it is a camp for you to go see your father. i said where do we camp at? in the prison? so delicious? because every flake is double-toasted... splashed with sweet honey... and covered in rich double-roasted peanuts. mmm. [ hero ] yummy. [ male announcer ] kellogg's crunchy nut. it's super delicious! si have to look my best keon camera.unchy nut. whether i'm telling people about how they could save money on car insurance with geico... yeah, a little bit more of the lime green love yeah... ...or letting them know they can reach geico 24/7 using the latest technology.

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the first of its kind of camp hope is a week-long summer camp that gives children the opportunity to spend time with their fathers who are serving sentences in a maximum security prison. >> for the first day that i was there, we were through all these different doors. taking off our shoes. and i felt like the time has come. the moment is here. i describe it as a first nervous, when you get in there, and you see him and give him a hug and you feel great. you feel relieved. most of all you feel happy. >> inmate dads who complete a parenting program and have clear conduct for a year before the camp are giving the opportunity to play basketball, dance and hang out with their kids during the day. the kids camp outside the prison at night and an increasing number of prisons are opening up

to the idea because they say it is as good for the inmates as for the families they've left hip. the california department of corrections just announced it will start holding similar camps and begin a father/child reading program in all 33 state prisons. camp hope is just one innovative outreach effort created by our next guest. with us is the founder and executive director, carol. thank you for being with us. i want to play devil's advocate here. at the beginning, why should we want fathers who are convicted criminals to be spending time with their children? >> first of all, whatever you think the fathers and whatever they've done to end up in prison, their children didn't do anything. the second thing, i always wonder when someone asks me that question if we would be asking the question if we were about mothers in prison.

for mothers we assume it is a good thing their children should be with them. dads we don't consider that. dads are quite often missing in their children's lives. their the documentary almost made me cry. i think it almost made crystal we're going to play a little bit of the doc about camp hope. >> okay. >> at his age is when i started going down the wrong path. at a very young age using drugs and alcohol is what led me to prison. you don't ever want your children to repeat the mistakes that you've made. our ultimate goal is to get back together in this lifetime, no matter how long it may take. you know, i'm incarcerated with life plus 40 years consecutive on first-degree murder charge. so it's a very serious situation and it is something i wish had never happened. >> carol, kids who have parents in prison are far more likely to end up in prison, themselves. what does this program do to break that chain?

>> well, first of all, very few of our kids in this program end up in the criminal justice system. and i think that -- and we also, i think, have to be careful about putting out the numbers that are attached to children who have parents in prison. because they already deal with the stigma because of their father's incarceration. but spending time with their dads helps them to know they haven't been abandoned. that they're loved. that their dads care about them. and our kids do better in school after that. kids in our reading program, for instance, are 90% more likely to read more when their dad starts sending them books. communication opens up. and that's just better for the whole family. colby's dad, who i saw last week, talked about the relationship that grew between them. when colby first came to camp, he called him carlos instead of dad because they had no relationship. and now he calls him dad and they have a close relationship. and that can be nothing but

good. >> you know, carol, under the federal sentencing guidelines, they have downward departures for family ties. where you can get a lesser sentence because your children are nearby and you want to play a role in their life. do you think there's a bigger place for reform here at the federal level to try to have family ties be a bigger metric to reduce the overall prison time that at least nonviolent offenders have? >> i think for every prison system, whether it's a federal or state or local, we need to consider families and the need to the they have for the father or the incarcerated parent, whether it's a mother or a father, to be in the life of their child. and, you know, our programs are primarily in the federal system. we only have -- we're only in two state prisons at this point. of course, we're helping the state of california and our partner organization, the place for grace, out there, to get their programs launched in the coming years. but right now we're just in federal prisons and they're very

welcome and receptive and they always have been, i have to say. we've been in the federal system 12 years. >> well, carol, i think your point is so true. a lot of times we focus on the individual who is incarcerated and don't think about the broader family and community impact. thank you so much for being with us and for the important work you're doing. all right. up next, we cycle back to a story we covered earlier in the show. s.e. on where the impact of jason collins' announcement may be felt most. ♪ there's a new way to fight litter box odor. introducing tidy cats with glade tough odor solutions. two trusted names, one amazing product. to find out we filled this car with trash, attached a febreze car vent clip, and let in real people. it smells good. like clean laundry. i could sit in this all day. [ laughs ] febreze keeps your car fresh. breathe happy. febi had[ designer ]eelingsh. enough of just covering up

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with the announcement isn'ter jason collins is the first openly gay active male athlete in a major u.s.

professional team sport, now comes the debate. is collins a he roro for comingt as he did? heroism depends entirely on the stakes. what did collins risk by coming out? he's a well liked veteran nba player with if he's been smart a ton of money and the trappings of celebrity. when asked to wonder what a rookie would be risking, endorsement deals, salary, playing time, friends, fans, if he were to come out at the start of his rear? even riskier come believe would be a big star with many endorsements on the line joining collins. let me come back to collins in a minute. another celebrity who's earning the hero moniker is ben affleck. who recently announced he'd live on $1.50 a day to bring attention to the plight of poverty. while a well-intentioned adventure, i'm sure, again, one must question the stakes. while it would certainly be difficult for a man accustomed to the finer things in life to subsist on a paltry daily announce, unlike everyone else in poverty, ben has the comfort of knowing when his week is done

he can return to his lavish lifestyle and freedom of not having to worry if he can afford diapers for his newborn son. poverty isn't just a fun math problem to solve. it takes a very serious emotional toll that ben will fortunately never know. it isn't brave to choose to be poor for a week. now, like ben, collins has the luxury to announce he is a gay man, when countless others before him had to suffer real consequences, as dire as murder in matthew shepherd's case. unlike ben, collins isn't a straight man who decided to live as a gay man for a week. just to see what it would be like. he's lived with his homosexuality, often uncomfortably, for decades, and his coming out is a decision to live an honest life. that's commendable. while the stakes might be lower for collins than they were for others before him, and this hardly seems like a hostile climate in which to be a famous gay man, what he did may save a life. lgbt young teens and adults have

the highest rate of suicide in the country. he could send a message to young gay men that being gay doesn't make you less of a man and that is a very good thing. but heroes are the unsung, the uncelebrated, the unrewarded. average people risking their lives performi ining extraordin acts of selflessness, valor and compassion. jason collins performed an invaluable service yesterday. the effects of which we may never fully know. incidentally, i decided i'd ask some others to weigh in on whether or not collins is a hero. read what donte stallworth, mou howard fineman, michael steele, and others had to say in my column in tomorrow's "new york daily news. that does it for the cycle. martin, it's all yours. it's tuesday april the 30th. the president meets the press and leaves