rice as his national security adviser. she has been a lightning rod since delivering the benghazi talking points. we'll have more on this when james carville joins the conversation. but first, boys of summer. topping our agenda today, a new statement from the mlb players association. what appears to be a huge developing story coming our way. espn's report that the mlb is set to suspend around 20 players, including alex rodriguez for using performance enhancing drugs. it traces back to an antiageing clinic in miami. espn reporting the found e of that now closed clinic has reached a deal and a deal that will tell on major league baseball on players he supplied with banned substances. they could suspend ryan braun, melky cabrera and a-rod and

suspend them for 100 games. nbc news has not confirmed the reports, but this statement just in says the commissioner's office has assured us no decisions regarding discipline have been made until those interviews are completed. >> you know what i worry about? about baseball being affected as a game, the whole thing and what's it's been through in the last 15 years and that's my concern. but i always worry about my players. always. >> joining me here in our studio, nbc sports network host and analyst, dave, it's great to have you here. the players association says it has every interest in trying to protect the integrity of its players. this entire story hinging on tony boesch. he ran that defunct clinic. if he starts naming names, he's

really the lynch pin that could bring down so many big players. >> yeah, we've never had anything like this. we've had rumors and used the word king pen. he was the guy who prescribed the drugs and may have administered them. we're talking about alex rodriguez, and ryan braun, a bigger name in terms of a player at the top of his game. alex rodriguez, all but done. >> what has sweetened the pot for boesch to spill? >> well, he has nowhere left to turn. he's broke. apparently bouncing from relatives house, one to another. he has no money. the feds are going to come after him at some point. he has nowhere left to turn. what the major league baseball has reportedly offered him is security and help with the feds. they will use their influence to keep the feds off his back. hopefully, keep him out of jail. that's all his goal is at this point. >> and a 100-game suspension for a-rod, braun, cabrera.

these are suspensions that could you know, sideline them for a long time and for a-rod, people speculate this might make him totally toxic to comeback. >> believe me, the yankees have already explored ways to get rid of him. they owe more than $80 million. he's at this point, a mediocre ballplayer. if the yankees can get out of that contract, they're going to do it. a 100-game suspension, he's washed up. but look, this is a game changer because we thought the game was clean. we thought they had cleaned it up. done everything, all the testing is in place. major league baseball players and their doctors are miles ahead of where the game is and where the commissioner is. they're often a day late, but they're going to go after these gu guys. >> for a-rod, is this more about the deny lallal of the crime and then the cover upthat has ensued? because he had that 2007

interview on 60 minutes when he came clean in '90. >> he said he used from 2001 to 2003. these reports link him from 2009 to 2012. that put his entire career in question. not just one period with the rangers. everything he's ever accomplished now is in question. is it about the cover up? 100%. major league baseball sayinging we gave you the chance to come clean. you looked in our face and lieded. that's why they want 100-game suspensions and every single guy uncovered. is there another doctor here? there has to be. there can't simply be 20 players in all of major league baseball who found a new and better way to cheat. this has to be more widespread. not the black eye baseball needs in june. >> so, boesch is just the tip of the iceberg. >> if you're going to see boesch for your career, you've got to use your head. this guy's running a strip mall. he's nonlicensed. he's not a doctor. and these are guys using him with a bad reputation.

he had a bad reputation going back to 2009, so you're tossing it all out. you are reckless with your own career. look at him. you trust this guy with his reputation with your career? again, these baseball players will do all they can to d discredit that man. they will tear him apart and try to make him look like a noncredible witness, which he is. >> great to have you here. back in washington, if republicans thought the controversies rocking the white house would result in a meeker, milder obama, they would be wrong. one day after appointing three judicial nominees and daring congress to block them, the president plans to appoint one of the favorite targets to a post. he will name susan rice as his next national security adviser. rice would replace tom donilon, who is resigning. >> this has been an open secret for months, to be honest, the idea that when susan rice was

passed over or however you want to describe it, secretary of state. >> this has been a poorly kept secret in washington. i think the president has tremendous respect and affection for susan rice. >> rice's deployment comes as she continues to fuel fire over her appearance on five sunday talk shows following the deaths of four american diplomats in bengha benghazi. joining me now, joseph crawley. sir, good to have you here and susan rice certainly came under fire from republicans. senators like john mccain calling her not very bright and today, senator mccain is tweeting obviously, i disagree with the appointment of susan rice, but i'll make every effort to work with her on important issues. the benghazi scandal cost her a lot. the potential nomination of secretary of state to replace hillary clinton. this post does not need a senate confirmation, so do you see this as a bit of a redemption, almost a consolation price for ambassador rice?

>> i wouldn't suggest the national security advisor is a consolation prize at all. it's a person the president need to rely upon for fast decision making. one who has incredible experiencen and can make those decisions quickly. i think that's what ambassador rice brings to the table. she's one of the finest and most capable public survey vants today and the president's making the right move. >> we should note most reported this was likely to happen months ago, so it's not so much of a shake-up, but the president is going to then nominate samantha power, a pulitzer prize winner on her book, to replace susan rice. in articles, "the daily beast" has called her the femme fatal of the humanitarian assistance world. she's also been quoted by the human rights watch, the foremost voice forhuman rights within the white house, but she's not going to run an agency. in many ways, she's going to

have more or just as much power as a cabinet head. >> well, what i know of her as you said, she has an incredible record on the issues of human rights and women's rights. as does ambassador rice. both these women are incredible talents and i think our country will be well served in both of the capacities that they're chosen to fulfill right now. i think samantha has incredible skills and i think she'll do a fine job as the ambassador. >> thanks for making time for me. >> thank you. zwl joining me now, james carville. we have a number of new polls i want to flow out there this morning to show the current trio of scandals inside washington. raising doubts among the majority of americans about honesty and integrity at the white house although the president's job approval rating is holding steady. in your experience, how big of a

deal are these numbers? >> i don't think they're an awfully big deal. i think the white house was pretty satisfied with this. self-identification in front of the democrat as 13-point differential in the parties. i think on the whole, the white house looks at these numbers. >> so his approval rating is up since april. although the favorable, unfavorable rating is at 47 to 40%, which is unchanged. the president has to take into account that the country is starting to pay attention, certainly taking a huge hit with independents, although the majority don't seem to hold him personally accountable for the controversies in and of themselves, but this for the president's legacy, he doesn't want this. >> look, this thing is going to take a while to play itself out.

let's talk about independents a second because people make a big deal out of it. the president lost independents in the -- election. when you have 9% of the country identifying themselves as democrats that be republicans, you're probably going to lose independents. what you really want is you want to kind of advantage that democrats have in terms of self-identification. look, do i think without all of this background noise that his approval would be 51? yeah, i would think that that would be probably a reasonable number and it has some effect, but the way the white house looks at this, i don't know if it's the right way, i kind of disagree with i it, they look at how much better off the republicans are. i think that's their add constitut. >> what do you think of the decision to name susan rice? >> my guess is that he wanted her to be secretary of state and

he felt like she kind of got railroaded there and this is kind of in your face appointment, but he obviously thinks a great deal of ambassador rice and like i say, wanted to be secretary of state. so it's not confirmable and it's like a message that he's going to stick by. he views her as a competent person and probably as a friend of his. you know, i think it's in your face appointment. >> and a majority of americans think republicans, they have a right to pursue their investigations. dana milbank compares republicans behavior now to the late '90s. then congressional republicans found themselves about clinton administration scandals, but the indicators kept point tog a booming economy. house republicans marched toward impeaching him. are republicans in danger of repeating history? are we living through that once again?

>> i think we know what happened in benghazi. that's just kind of -- we knew they did -- you know, the report by ambassador pickering and admiral mullen, we know what happened. look, about the irs -- democrats control the house. you would be jumping up and down. at the end of the day, you've got to let this thing play out. i'd be shocked and surprised if the white house had anything to do with it. i think that to be fair, that the democrats, i would be screaming for the democrats to pursue this. and i think the public is kind of yeah, their attitude is let it play out a little bit more. it's going to be like a pistol. it's a low grade fever, but it's not causing significant damage and i think that the perfectly

fine with that right now. >> wait to see if the fever breaks. thanks. great to see you, sir. breaking news from philadelphia. take a look at these pictures. firefighters at the scene of an apartment building that has collapsed. one person being carried out on a stretcher. as we see the wider shot, you can see the apartment building in the background. people say the apartment was under demolition when this collapse happened. we're going to monitor that story and bring you more. i don't know what the cost is and i quite frankly don't care. we're not going to be penny wise and pound foolish around here. >> kris christie, master move or playing politics. the move to hold a special election and then one of the men who broke the book on christie's rise to power is is going to join me next, plus, the gut wrenching case of a 10-year-old pennsylvania girl in desperate need of a lung transplant. i'm going to talk to her dad about kathleen sebelius' decision about not to step in. that leads to our big question

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government spending authority expires september 30th. christie's pick might be the person that breaks the fever. the republican that stands up and says enough with the gridlock. if christie means what he says, he'll do it that way. if he's a phony, he'll get

another job from mitch mcconnell's army. >> leaders have decided it is more important to be popular, to do what is easy and say yes ratr than to say no when no is what's required. in recent year, we as a country have too often chosen the same path. it's tooç easy for leaders to y not us and not now the take on the tough issues, so a lot of people are going to be watching his values, his principles in action. i want to get to the governor of mississippi because he stepped in it yesterday. take a listen to what he had to say about working moms. >> how did america get so mediocre? i mean, these -- these statistics across the board, every single one of -- >> you want me to tell the truth? tell the truth, you know, i think parents became, both parents started working an a mom is in the workplace. >> so, immediately, he knew he pretty much had stepped in it. he has backtracked, clarifying

saying that parents today in society, parents are so challenged, they're working overtime, but right out of the gate, his gut reaction is lay it on mom's doorstep and that it's the working mom's fault that kids are so mediocre. >> right and this is the second time this week this is gotten to be a national skotory. there was controversy when eric -- taken to the wood shed by fox's own megan kelly, so this is an issue that's still floating around and still dangerous territory for republican politicians, conservative move in the general because it is a genuine wedge issue. it's something a lot of traditional conservativesç believe, but even within the republican sphere, there is a lot of very accomplished, very hard working mothers who really don't like to be told they're the reason for society's ills because they're working 40, 50, 60 hours to support their children. it gets into dangerous territory and as long as this is the topic being discussed in the press,

there's always going to be openings for this kind of flap to happen. >> thanks so much. you can find more from our panelists on our website and check out an exclusive web story there detailing mississippi's governor's comments and you can tell us what you think. want to show you now live pictures in manhattan, the funeral of frank lautenberg. chris christie is also attending this funeral. lautenberg's casket will be taken to new jersey before being transported to washington, d.c. by amtrak. his final ride. in tribute to his championship of the rail service, lautenberg, a world war ii vet, will be b r buried at arlington. we want to pivot back to that breaking news we've been following out of philadelphia. new information coming into our news room on the apartment

building collapse there at center city in market at 22nd.ç wcau reporting eight to ten people may be trapped in that rubble. they are searching to find out how many people could be there. the philadelphia fire commissioner is on the scene as well. apparently, first responders were able to walk to this site there at 22nd and market. also, new information from wcau talking about the injured being treated at an area hospital, but again, we're going to keep you posted on that story happening now. a major thoroughfare in philadelphia at an apartment building there that has collapsed. fire officials saying they aren't certain how many people might have been inside that we'll keep you updated on the latest developments. energy efficient appliances. you can get a tax write off for those. a programmable thermostat, very smart, saves money. ♪ cash money sorry. i see you have allstate claim free rewards, for every year you don't have a claim, you'll get money off your home insurance policy. put it towards... [ glass shatters ] [ girl ] dad! dad! [ girl screams ]

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hey, we need more people to come in here and eight people now being treated at local hospitals. i could just tell from the sound of your voice, vince, you're a calm guy. it's a hectic scene out there. >> it is, there are people spilled out of their apartment buildings. we're right on 23rd street. people are coming out of their apartment çbuildings, coming o of their work offices and they're just standing. there has to be i counted more than a dozen emergency personnel here from the philadelphia fire department, crews from verizon. we have philadelphia police, they have mobile command center set up. mayor nutter is in the area. we're trying to locate him and find out where he is at his command center, but the gentleman, bernie, who was in his car when the wall came crashing down, he didn't know what happened. he got out of the car and looked over and the wall was on his car. he couldn't believe it.

he said he just counted his blessings. it is an amazing skaen down here. >> when you look at these buildings before the collapse, you mentioned it was an adult bookstore that was being demolished. >> we've been listening to the chopper reporter there and the anchors giving us details about this building collapse that happened in center city in philadelphia at 22nd and market. there was a controlled demolition when that apartment building then came down as well. they don't know how many people might have been at the time, but we are hearing from those reports that eight people have been taken on to the hospital and they're searching actively, first responders searching actively for anyone who might be trapped in that rubble. we're going to keep you updated on that story, but ourç next story keeps us in philadelphia, where today, a 10-year-old girl is lying in children's hospital in the fight of her life. she's at the top of the list to

receive new lungs.

we would never ask sarah to be pushed to the front of the line. i'm devastated with the comments. in our legal counsel. at the same time, i don't think we've heard her answer this very direct question. excuse me for doing this, but i want to make suruç i get it correct because she seems to be answering questions other than what she may be being asked. madam secretary, do you feel or support a fair process for all children base d on medical judgment and need and not an arbitrary age barrier? >> so, what would be the fair

allocation or what would be fair in your estimation to help your daughter and where as she would not jump ahead in the line against other patients who might be more ill than she is? >> what should be fair is and i want to note one other thing. so, there are a lot of folks talking about lung allocation score and that's used to determine who is in what position as an adult if you're over 12. now, it is required that anyone who's waiting for a lung no matter what your age including all children under 12, are given a lung allocation score. it's required. it's in the rules. sarah has a lung allocation score. it's currently 66, which is extremely high. all we are asking is that children under 12 be allowed to compete based on their lung allocation score and medical severity, not on their age. >> fran, your online petition

has nearly 350,000 sick natures to it. how do you hope to utilize that in the next step ofç your figh? >> again, we're hoping that, i mean, outside the signature, the issue goes back to madam secretary and her discussion of not being able to do anything, which i find shocking. being her role. what i hope that madam secretary or others above her, the folks she reports to, i'm very curious to know their opinion on my question that i proposed to madam secretary. of course, that being the president and vice president. for an administration that one of their conner stone initiatives is free, equal access to health, that does not discriminate, i would love to hear their opinion, also. >> fran, we're going to have to leave it there. we wish you and your daughter, your entire family all the best in your fight.

>> thank you. >> we're going to be going back to philadelphia, the breaking news and there has been a building collapse there. there was a controlled demolition down in center city, but then an apartment collapse. we have a local reporter there on the scene. let's listen. apartment collaps. we're going to work on getting that reporter up. again, eight injuries so far searching the scene for any other victims who could have been in that apartment complex.d back after a quick break. their fruits and veggies with produce from walmart. it's a fresh-over. that's great. tastes like you just picked them. so far, it's about the best strawberry i've had this year. walmart works directly with growers to get you the best-quality produce they've ever had. all this produce is from walmart. oh, my gosh. i'm shocked. [ laughs ] i know where i'm going to be shopping for strawberries now. find fresh berries and all your quality produce backed by our money back guarantee. walmart. let's say you pay your guy around 2% to manage your money.

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more details on the breaking news. these are live images from wcau, as first responders are on the scene of an apartment collapse. there were workers in the center city area of 22nd and market that were there to demolish a parking structure next to a four-story apartment building. according to reports from our affiliate, during that controlled demolition, something

happened. the apartment building, a four-store one collapsed on the corner. they've been pulling four people out, we understand, that have been sent to the hospital. no word on their conditions yet. more first responders have been coming to the scene through the rubble right there. our affiliate saying 8 to 10 people have been pulled out from the rubble, but they don't know how many people may have been in the apartment complex at the time that it just collapsed. again, a control demolition going on in a parking garage next door. our affiliate had a chopper in the air. this is what they saw. >> reporter: they saw the smoke go up in the air, and then they rushed off the roof they were on, down and jumped into the basement of the salvation army building action where people were trapped. they had they helpedç get abou 12 people out of the building from that trapped rubble. >> so now we have heard from the mayor the fact that firefighters, first responders working as fast as they k

they're pulling bricks, debris, looking for any survivors that may have been caught in this accidental collapse. this happens on the corner of 22nd and market. this is a busy interserbs in center city there. a frond-end loader, as we can see, has been brought in to help firefighters so that they can dig through that rebel. there you see the frond-end loader to the right of the screen. four people have been taken to the hospital. again we don't have word on their condition, but reporters on the scene that more gurneys were being brought out from first responders, and on site, ready to transport people and treat any medical conditions, as they are searches frantically through that rubble. again, because they didn't know exactly how many people could be inside that apartment building. there was a controlled demolition taking place next door at a parking garage when the apartment building collapsed. we'll keep an eye on this story and bring you the latest right here on msnbc. that will wrap up this hour for

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welcome back, susan rice. it's wednesday, june 5th, and this is "now." this afternoon president obama will make the official announcement that national security adviser tom donilon will resign his post. susan rice will now be at the epicenter of president obama's foreign policy circle. the benghazi brigade will be decidedly ham strung, mostly because the post of national security adviser does not require senate confirmation. though it is not traditionally a public role, the