♪ listerine® whitening... power to your mouth. good morning, i'm chris jansing. right now, the president is on his way to buffalo, new york, to talk about education and the cost of college. as he tries to pivot back to the economy and the plight of the middle class, there are so many other issues looming large this morning. let's talk about the gun debate. we're hearing for the first time those 911 tapes from an incident at a georgia elementary school. police say michael brandon hill had nearly 500 rounds of ammunition when he fired shots outside the school. the bookkeeper there got him to surrender after 25 long minutes. >> he's on the ground now with his hands behind the back. don't come in shooting at anything. they can come in and i'll buzz them in. >> okay. >> hold on, sit there. i'm going to buzz them so you know when they're coming, okay?

okay. just stay there calm. i'm going to sit right there so they'll see you're trying not to harm me, okay. okay. it's going to be all right, sweetheart. i love you, though, i'm proud of you. that's a good thing you giving up and don't worry about it. we all go through something in life. >> well, it's not just school safety and gun legislation. the obama administration today saying it's deeply concerned about chemical weapon attacks in syria. now the pictures we're about to show you are very disturbing. they show what could be the worst chemical weapons attack since the late 1980s. hundreds of civilians were reported dead and now 35 nations are calling for a u.n. investigation. yes, many of those who were killed were just babies. all of this renewing calls for president obama to do more. i want to bring in the national journalist chris fraigts. good morning. >> good morning. >> you have the president

kicking off this two-day bus tour. he wants to focus on college affordability, but there's so much going on. you do have to wonder if anybody's going to hear that message. >> well, that's right, chris. and the president is desperately trying to get his mojo back with his agenda here. as you point out, in the last month, the events that have unfolded have been completely out of control. whether it's chemical weapons in syria, whether it's a situation in egypt. and so he wants to try to bring the discussion back to the economy ahead of congress getting back next week. he wants to talk about college affordability in the -- with the message of that's important to kick starting the economy. and that's going to lead into these fiscal negotiations that are going to consume washington in the fall. he's trying to stake out a line and edge his way back into a conversation that he really needs to because he's at risk here of losing any control of his agenda going forward. >> well, "commentary" magazine has a headline asking is obama already a lame duck? and the real clear politics

shows his approval rating has been dipping over the last year. liz, obviously this is always a difficult job. but you have all of this stuff going on. on top of the fact that you have a congress that has been very difficult to deal with. how does he move forward? >> well, i think you're starting to see him attempt to do just that. as chris said, you know, going out and using one of his strongest tools, which is taking the argument directly to americans. you know, he's trying to frame the debate on his own terms ahead of the fall where we're going to seal budget issues, immigration issues. i doubt the gun issue's going to come back despite what happened in georgia. but there's a lot of big legacy issues that he wants to get done. you know, is he a lame duck? look, the president always has a measure of power and a significant measure of power. and he has the bully pulpit and will continue to have that. i do think all of this talk about hillary clinton running for president and biden, you know, possibly running for

president. both of them possibly running for president, nobody's made any decisions. but all this talk about '16 does threaten the president in terms of whether he is a lame duck status. i think the fall is going to be pivotal for him to show strength. and i think you're starting to see him try to do that right now. >> let me bring in senator richard blumenthal. good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> i know you were close to the newtown families and two parents talked to ann curry after what happened in georgia. let me play a little bit of that. do we have that tape? well, let me read to you what mike barden who i know you know said. here we know after a day after an individual stormed into an elementary school with an assault rifle. and there's silence. we are a nation in denial. is she right? and is this going to restart the conversation? or is liz right?

is it unlikely that anything's going to get done? >> we need to restart the conversation, chris. absolutely mandatory that this nation faces the problem of gun violence. the assault weapon that individual brought into the atlanta school. by the way, the fact that an individual there, a clerk in the school was able to talk him down, certainly refutes the nra's contention that the only way to defeat bad guys with guns is to give guns to good guys. here was a person who was calm, rational, sensible and smart talking down a person with a gun. so this nation needs to face the need for background checks, which would've prevented this individual from having a gun because he's a felon and a ban on assault weapons like the one he brought into the school and other measures like a ban on illegal trafficking and high-capacity magazines.

this agenda and debate needs to come back to this country. and i have every confidence it will because majority of the senate has committed he's willing and able to bring it back. >> you mentioned the fact that part of the conversation afterwards by those opposed to gun control was the only way to answer somebody with a gun is for people in schools to have guns. the other thing they said as you well know, senator, we have to deal with the issue of mental illness. and yet, i don't see where anything has been done on that either. was that a smoke screen? was it a lie? >> we need to address that issue of mental health. >> clearly that was an issue in georgia. >> very much so. and should put that issue back on the agenda. and bring us to the fact that we still years after a law was passed requiring mental health parity for insurance coverage still do not have that regulation in effect from the federal government.

this delay is inexcusable, and i call on the obama administration to act quickly and sensibly to issue that regulation so that we do have mental health parity in insurance coverage and we do have mental health back on the national agenda. >> have you had any conversations with the administration about that? >> not recently. not since the georgia incident. but certainly in weeks and months before this incident, the need for mental health insurance coverage is very much front and center. we'll have hearings of this issue of covering mental health treatment just as we do treatment of physical ailments or illnesses or diseases on a parity. it was part of the bill that was passed. >> i'd like to talk to you about

syria, as well. those pictures are so extremely disturbing of this attack. and i want to play what the president said last year. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change my calculus. >> is there any doubt in your mind, senator, this is a chemical weapons attack. and if that is, that does seem to be the consensus, has that red line been crossed? what do we do? >> first and foremost, there needs to be a u.n. inspection of that incident of the casualties, the bodies, unfortunately very gruesome and deeply troubling, alarming. and i think it has been -- >> a red line has been crossed. >> red line has been crossed if chemical weapons have been used by the syrian government against their own people. certainly if the facts and

evidence established that chemical weapons have been used in the way that's been depicted photographically then we need to consult with the world community. we need to act with our allies. we need to bring to bear the moral suasion in no instance should we use troops on the ground. in no way should we involve ourselves in a protracted land war. i think the american people would act very negatively. >> always good to have you on the program. >> thank you. >> you think it's very difficult to restart this conversation. can i play that 911 senator blumenthal talked about this woman who was on the other line in the room with the shooter. let me play that. >> let me talk to them, let's see if we can work it out so you don't have to go away for a long

time. no, it does matter. i can let them know you have not tried to harm me, if you want to -- that doesn't make any difference. you didn't hit anybody. okay. let me ask you this, ma'am, he didn't hit anybody, he just shot outside the door. if i walk out there with him so they won't shoot him or anything like that, he wants to give himself up, is that okay and they won't shoot him? >> yes, ma'am. >> first, liz, can we talk about how calm she was. how composed. wow, that was unbelievable. >> looking politically, i don't argue that isn't -- it's a powerful moment. i think it is. i think when you look at what congress is dealing with right now and all the issues that are very, very pressing, not suggesting that gun control

isn't a pressing issue, i'm just saying that the mountain of issues that congress can't and the white house can't reach an agreement on is daunting. we're also looking at the politics, we've got the 2014 midterm elections coming up next fall and everything's quickly turning to that. and i question whether or not there's the political will. >> the gun issue or the mental health issue. can i play a clip from a woman who knows the shooter well? >> i don't want anybody to think that he's a monster because he's not. he always protected those he loved. >> chris, he has a history of mental illness. his mom dies a couple of years ago. the report said that he had a history of schizophrenia. now, the republicans were all over this as i said after newtown about how we have to do something about the issue of mental illness.

and your colleague wrote exhaustively about this about how many republicans were in favor of addressing the issue. is there anything out there at all? >> this will bring back some of the bills we saw go down in flames this spring after newtown. and the one that jumps to my mind is the joe manchin and pat toomey background bill that was lost. i spent time in west virginia with joe manchin, his home state where he was taking a lot of heat for the background check bill. it had several mental illness provisions in it. one of which, you could not get a gun if you were deemed to be mentally ill. and i think that will be an avenue for joe manchin to come back into this debate. and he has made the case that if something, another tragedy were to happen and we just avoided one with this school shooting where nobody died thanks to that very calm and composed school employee, i think, you know, he makes the point that folks are

going to try to come back and ban assault rifles and ban high-capacity magazines. some of the things that senator blumenthal was talking about which is a much more liberal approach to gun control, he's argued that's why we need to take a more common sense approach, like his bill with senator toomey that would make expand background checks and get to the issue of mentally ill and criminals not having guns. >> thanks so much to both of you. >> thank you, chris. >> of course, we want to remind you about the president's speech later today in buffalo. we'll have it live at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. meantime, we've got the first exclusive interview with hannah anderson. setting the record straight about those phone calls the day she was kidnapped by james lee dimaggio. here's what she told the "today" show. >> the phone calls weren't phone calls, they were texts. he was picking me up from cheer camp and he didn't know the address or where i was so i had to tell him the address and tell

him i was going to be in the gym and not in front of the school so he knew where to come get me. >> also talks emotionally about her mother and brother who were killed by dimaggio and the amber alert she says saved her life. we'll have more on hannah's compelling story in her own words later on in the show. my insurance rates are probably gonna double. but, dad, you've got... [ voice of dennis ] allstate. with accident forgiveness, they guarantee your rates won't go up just because of an accident. smart kid. [ voice of dennis ] indeed. are you in good hands? thto fight chronic. osteoarthritis pain. [ voice of dennis ] indeed. to fight chronic low back pain. to take action. to take the next step. today, you will know you did something for your pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a pain reliever fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens,

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there are new accusations of voter suppression in north carolina where republicans are already under fire after recently becoming the 30th state to pass a voter i.d. law. there's an effort to shut down early voting at historically black winston state university. and voted to close a polling location at appalachian state university and push back for a

student at elizabeth state university to run for city council. the naacp has staged what they call moral monday rallies to protest the law which requires a photo i.d. and restricts early voting as well as same-day registration. i want to bring in the president of the north carolina naacp william barber, good morning. >> good morning, chris, how are you? >> i'm well. let me get your reaction, first of all, where republicans are accused of trying to suppress student voters. >> well, it's political hysteria. they are scared to death of the people voting. and we're going to fight back against all they're attempting to do. it's clearly against the constitution. the case in '79 says you can't deny college students the right to vote. ever since the supreme court ruled about section iv, and the senator said in the legislature that the headache had been removed, we have seen this undemocratic attempt to suppress the vote, spread like a cancer

across north carolina. and we're going to cut it out with the power of the constitution, the power of our moral protests. we're already now working with our lawyers, the advancement project and others to plan out and plot out a legal strategy to stop this undemocratic attack on our college students. it will not stand. >> well, i think you know, obviously, after signing the voter i.d. law that republican governor said, look, people have to present photo i.d.s to get onnon an airplane, cash a check. he says our right to vote deserves similar protection. what do you say to him? >> first of all, governor mccoy is way out of line and he's moving contrary to history. he doesn't know the difference between suedofed and the right to vote is protected by the constitution then he did not tell the truth when he swore to uphold the constitution. the fact of the matter is, we

have the -- and when you sign, you get a five-year felony. millions of votes studied, there's no fraud anywhere. and, in fact, he said that bill was a common sense bill. and i've said, no, there's another definition of common and that means vulgar, it's a vulgar attempt to manipulate the political process. it's a straight up voter suppression, worse than alabama, worse than south carolina in same-day registration, rolls back sunday voting. disallows straight ticket voting and even disallows the counting of people's vote when they go to the wrong precinct even if that vote has nothing to do with the particular precinct they live in. >> i was just going to ask you really quickly, you said that you had -- were working on a legal strategy. and i know that senator kay hagan is asking the justice department consider intervening to stop it. what are your lawyers telling you the chance of that

happening? >> we're extremely excited and hopeful about this because it's clear against the constitution this is about voter suppression. it is not about protecting the right to vote and the governor and his allies know that. our lawyers are very hopeful about this. we're also asking the attorney general. we're also looking at another angle now we will look at relative toward young people on these college campuses. they know, chris, that the south has changed. that the solid south is wide open, there's a new electorate that's going to tear up the old white southern strategy and one party rule. and that's why they're trying so hard to deny the right to vote. but as you audience can see, the thousands and thousands of people mobilizing on moral mondays and across the state, we're going to do what dr. king said, go back to alabama, go back to north carolina. we're going to stay home and fight, fight, fight. and we will be successful in this regard because it is fundamentally a crime against democracy. what the extremists and the

republican party are attempting to do. >> good to have you on the program, sir. thank you. >> always, thank you, god bless. >> rachel maddow will be live from north carolina tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. bradley manning wants to live the rest of his life as a woman. in a letter read exclusively on "today," manning says as i transition into this next phase of my life, i want everyone to know the real me, i am chelsea manning, i'm a female. given the way i feel and have felt i want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. i also request starting today you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun. the army issued a statement saying it does not provide hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery. on "today," manning's attorney said he will fight to get her that treatment. the attorney also talked about why manning came out now. >> chelsea didn't want to have this be something that overshadowed the case.

wanted to wait until the case was done to move forward to the next stage of her life. the ultimate goal is to be comfortable in her skin and to be the person she's never had an opportunity to be. >> manning will likely serve his sentence at ft. levinworth. you like to keep your family healthy and fit. and now there's a new way to do the same for your dog. introducing new purina dog chow light & healthy. it's a no-sacrifices, calorie-light way to help keep him trim... ...with a deliciously tender and crunchy kibble blend he'll love... ...and 20% fewer calories than dog chow. discover the lighter side of strong. new purina dog chow light & healthy. and you know what i walked out with? [ slurps ] [ dad ] a new passat. [ dad ] 0% apr. 60 months. done and done. [ dad ] in that driveway, is a german-engineered piece of awesome.

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his district, but instead of politicking, he's using his medical skills. he had to give up his practice to go to congress. it's a way for him to get back to the people of kentucky. he's doing free eye surgeries. and another slip-up for anthony weiner. listen to what he said in last night's mayoral debate. >> we are losing middle class jobs and we're creating jobs at the very low-end spectrum. a lot of restaurant worker job and poor people jobs, we have to stop that, we have to make this a middle class capital again. >> he meant help the shrinking middle class, but the twitter response to poor people jobs was priceless. and if you read only one thing this morning, remember that hamburger grown in a test tube and grossed a lot of people out, well, there's an easier way to get your daily dose of protein and a lot of other countries have caught on to it. see it and be amazed and be maybe even more grossed out from a test tube burger. it's in "time" magazine on our

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the president working the fence line and the folks waiting to watch him speak about making college more affordable. we'll have that speech live in the 11:00 hour. >> my country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty of thee i say, land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride from every mountainside let freedom ring. >> that was martin luther king jr. 50 years ago at the march on washington. this weekend, around 100,000 people are expected on the national mall to commemorate it. and next wednesday, president obama is scheduled to give a speech on the steps of the lincoln memorial. the "new york times" michael shear writes this today.

mr. obama's mere presence on the lincoln memorial platform on wednesday will speak volumes. the election of the nation's first black president serves as a testament to america's sometimes halting progress toward what dr. king that day envisioned as an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. joining us now martin luther king iii and the president of realize the dream as well as the civil rights leader in his own right, lee saunders is the president of the american federation of state, county and municipal employees. good to see you, good morning. >> i want to read a little bit of your op-ed. quote, in the 50 years since the march on washington for jobs and freedom, we have made tremendous strides in the fight for equality. we must continue to move forward not back ward. i fear that what tore this nation apart 50 years ago is happening again today. what is your imperative right now as we look back to where

we've come over these last 50 years. what is your imperative moving forward? >> my view is, we have got to find a way to put america back to work. in 1963, the mantle was jobs and freedom. today it's jobs, freedom and gestures. we probably should be further along than we are. but i believe we've got to find a way to bring this nation together to get congress engaged to just move forward. we are stalled right now. and this is terrible. this is one of the most terrible times as we approach this anniversary. >> lee, in today's washington post, reminding folks of what i think they've forgotten, the great gathering was the march on washington for jobs and freedom. jobs came first, which was an acknowledgment that the ability to enjoy liberty depends on having the economic wherewithal to exercise our rights. it's no coincidence that you're here on the program today with martin luther king iii. where do we stand on this?

on the whole jobs issue? >> i think that it's ironic. we have come a long way since the first march on washington. but we've still got a long way to go. we are suffering in this country. working families are suffering in this country. unemployment and minority communities are still very, very high. economic inequality, the gap is larger than it's ever been in the history of this country. when you have the top ceos making 354 times the amount of the average worker in this country, the largest gap in the history, something is wrong with that picture. when you have the top 1% controlling 40% of the wealth, something is wrong with that picture. and we've got to recommit ourselves and rededicate ourselves. obviously we're commemorating the 50th anniversary. but we've got to rededicate ourselves to the fight that

continues. and that fight is for economic justice and the creation of good quality jobs in america. >> is that number one, mr. king? is that where it all starts? with economic equality? >> well, i certainly believe that is paramount. we've also got to address violence and whether or not we should have assault rifles, assault guns. i think people should have -- if they want to have guns, that's fine. but assault rifles, that's a whole different discussion. i also think we've got to deal with what is happening with our education system, the foundation. our primary public education system is abysmal. but we can do better. we're a great country, we often show that whenever a crisis occurs. whether it's a tsunami, tornado, or hurricane. so all we've got to do is -- we have the ability, we must match up an ability with will. >> your father without a doubt matched his actions with that

soaring oratory. i wonder what you think barack obama can do on wednesday to inspire americans to move forward for the next 50 years. >> well, i know, number one, the president along with congress because it can't be done by one person. and quite frankly, all of us have to be -- more of us have to be engaged. i think if more of us were engaged, maybe we as a nation would be further along. we can't leave it up to the president, the president is doing his part, will make an incredible speech. that's what the march will be about on the 24th on saturday. we've got to petition our congress, we've got to recreate our voting rights act no one ever is discriminated as it relates to voting rights. >> we're out of time, but i want to ask you what's the one message you hope the president gets out. is it a call to action? >> i think it's a call to action. this march commemorates the 50 years, but also a call to action

to rededicate and recommit ourselves to the fight that lies ahead. we've got to stand up for economic rights, civil rights, human rights, labor rights, worker rights, all those rights are under attack right now. voting rights, all those rights are under attack and it's up to us, up to the average working americans to stand up and coalition with our partners to say we've got to move this country forward. >> thank you, gentlemen. >> thank you. >> thank you. checking the news feed this morning, under increasing pressure to step down, there is word that san diego's mayor bob filner has reached a tentative dealing. the proposed settlement will be presented to the city council during a closed door session tomorrow. there's no word on whether a resignation is part of the deal. although, he was seen leaving the office in an suv packed with boxes. at least 17 women accused filner of sexual harassment.

more revelations about the nsa. turns out they've been collecting american e-mails since at least 2008. that's when a law went into effect that allows warrantless surveillance on noncitizens abroad. but a federal court found the nsa actually collected the e-mails of americans with no terror ties. as many as 56,000 of them in three years. the nsa devised a new set of procedures for handling the internet traffic in question. fascinating and revealing, that's the final set of secret recordings from richard nixon just made public. here's a cameo by ronald reagan offering his support of the embattled president who may have had a few drinks. >> behind you out here and i wanted to know that you're in our prayers. ron, we have got to build peace in the world.

>> well, i'm lucky. >> you're lucky. >> the tapes end on july 12th when the system is publicly revealed. nixon is finally forced to resign later. just moments ago, deposed egyptian president hosni mubarak was taken by helicopter to nearby military hospital. he will be put under house arrest. he served two years on corruption charges and waiting to appeal a life sentence on charges stemming from the death of protesters near the 2011 arab spring. after wentworth miller has come out to protest anti-gay laws in russia. he wrote a letter to the government declining an invitation to a film festival there. saying, quote, i cannot in good conscious participate in a celebration hosted in a country where people like myself are being denied their right to live

and love openly. meantime, an american journalist went on tv and put on rainbow suspenders and criticized russian law. >> we're not going to be silent in the face of this horrific oppression that is perpetrated by your pay masters, vladimir putin, that's what i'm here to talk about. >> all right. >> that's what i'm here to talk about. >> i don't know how as a journalist you can go to sleep at night. >> it went on for several minutes before the government-run network pulled the plug on the interview. they also canceled his cab ride home. check out this absolutely incredible video from western russia. a military ship comes closer and closer to a beach filled with people. fortunately, no one was hurt. the russian defense ministry said the ship was out for a regular training exercise and the beach is actually on the property of a military firing range. new ammunition for the cola

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it's being called the hottest political campaign of 2013. the race to succeed ben bernanke as fed chairman. in one corner, larry summers, the economic adviser during the depths of the recession. the other, federal reserve vice chairman janet yellen. here's how the washington post put it. rarely has the appointment of a new fed chairman been accompanied by so much commotion penetrating even the political dead zone of mid august. the opposing camps have waged

high-profile media campaigns featuring dueling op-eds. to talk about we have jared bernste bernstein, and cnbc contributor ron ensana. good to see both of you. >> good morning. >> all of this politicking, the fed's supposed to be apolitical, the white house doesn't like the vetting process to be public. why, jared, has this gotten so wild? >> well, i'm sure from the white house perspective, that's a great question. this is not at all the fight they want to have right now. i think it's gotten wild because the president himself came out fairly strongly suggesting even though it's not been completely -- we know it's going to happen, that bernanke will be leaving his post at the end of this year. so, of course, that opens things up and the next thing you know you've got the two front runners and we do have a frenzy that's nothing like i've ever seen before in terms of a fed pick. >> let's talk about the two leading candidates, starting with janet yellin, several

democratic senators signed a letter from the president. pros and cons? >> all pros from me. i think janet yellen who has experience at the federal reserve is the intellectual heir apparent to ben bernanke. she has been so integrally involved in setting a policy at this juncture during this time of recession, crisis, deflation, getting the economy back on its feet. i think she would be exactly the right person at the exact right time. i don't think necessarily that larry summers is temperamentally suited to run the fed. and i also think his views on some of the policies the fed has undertaken might not be appropriate for this time either. >> let me make that point, larry summers was portrayed in "the social network" a few years ago. >> that's all right.

>> this idea is potentially worth millions of dollars. >> millions? >> yes. >> you might be letting your imaginations run away with you. >> sir, i don't think you're in any position to make that call. >> let me tell you something, mr. winklevoss, mr. winklevoss, this action, this meeting, the two of you being here is wrong. it's not worthy of harvard. it's not what harvard saw in you. you don't get special treatment. >> what i love, jared, is summers said that's an accurate description of the encounter. and senator pat roberts recently said he wouldn't want summers to cut his grass. you've worked closely with him, does larry summers have the temperament to be the fed chair? >> i thought you were going to ask does he have the temperament to mow his lawn? the answer is no, no, he doesn't. look, i take ron's point and others have made the same point, and larry himself as you suggested has admitted as much.

but i think that what it comes to running the federal reserve, the difference between these two candidates is actually a lot more narrow than the last few weeks would lead you to believe. i think on the economy. i agree with ron. in terms of the continuity candidate, that would be janet yellen, but i don't think what larry summers would bring to the table is markedly different whether we're talking about monetary policy, regulatory policy or probably even consensus building. >> in my last 20 seconds, i would ask you both quickly. ron, you first, is this the second most powerful position in government? >> yeah, maybe the first. and i think right now it's the most important position because so far ben bernanke's been the only adult in washington for the last five years. >> jared? >> i agree. you have to ask yourself, why is the only person that's been targeting unemployment in this town been ben bernanke. and by the way, right at his side, janet yellen. >> you guys are going to have to come back when we get closer to

this. it's juicy. thanks so much. today's tweet of the day comes from "today" show's jenna wolfe who showed a pic of her newborn baby girl. thanks for the kind words and well wishes. other than that, i'm speechless. well, we're not here at jansing and company. congratulations, stephanie and jenna, she is gorgeous. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything.

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more now from the exclusive "today" show interview with hannah anderson. the san diego teenager is still dealing with the aftermath of her abduction by a family friend. as well as the loss of her mother and brother. nbc's kate snow sat down with hannah anderson and is live with more in san diego. good morning. >> good morning to you, chris. hannah anderson isn't ready to talk about the details of her kidnapping but she did really want to share her thanks to all

of the people who helped rescue her. hannah didn't even know that her own mother and her 8-year-old brother ethan had been killed by the very same man that kidnapped her until she was rescued. >> he had a really big heart. >> hannah struggled as she tried to talk about ethan but says her mother instilled a strong spirit within her that is helping her through tough times. >> she was strong-hearted and very tough. she knew how to handle things. >> tonight, an amber alert spreading across several states and a growing man hunt. >> hannah says she had no idea there was a nationwide search going on for her and had never even heard of an amber alert. >> i didn't really know what it was but i know it helped people find me and made them realize that it's hard to find people out there.

but with everyone's support it can help a lot. >> despite all the law enforcement resources dedicated to the amber alert, it was a chance encounter with four horseback riders in idaho that led to hannah's rescue from a place called the river of no return. >> i'd like to say thank you because without them i probably wouldn't be here right now. >> reporter: hannah also talked about letters she wrote to dimaggio before she was kidnapped. she said a year ago she was having trouble with her mom, he was a family friend, she called him uncle jim. and so she wrote him these letters asking him his advice. also she said she used social media so much after her rescue, chris, because she said i'm a teenager and that's how i communicate. she also said doing that helped her to grieve. chris? >> kate snow in san diego. thank you, kate. that wraps up this hour of "jansing & co." craig melvin fills in for thomas

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take the next step. talk to your doctor. cymbalta can help. hello, everyone, i'm craig melvin in for thomas roberts. president obama heads back to school. in a matter of minutes the president will take the podium at the university of buffalo. it's his first stop on a two-day bus tour. one that will take him to universities throughout new york, throughout pennsylvania, as well. he's going to be rolling out a lesson plan to help lower the cost of college and hold schools accountable. >> who's doing a good job and who's not and ultimately start to move financial aid, move resources towards those universities that are very serious about this mission. >> so this is what the president essentially wants to do. rate colleges by the 2015 school year using things like tuition,

graduation rates and also how much money school graduates earn. they would be used to compare colleges to one another and financial aid would be partly based on those rankings. and here's the thing, though, there are portions of the president's plan that will require congressional approval. again, we are expecting the president to start speaking in just a matter of minutes when that happens, we will, of course, bring it to you live. nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker is traveling with president obama in buffalo. kristen, again, we've gotten some details in already about the president's plan. break down for us what else the president is expected to say. >> well, craig, just to put this in a larger context over the past several weeks, president obama has been crisscrossing the country on a so-called middle class jobs tour. he's been talking about things like housing, investing and infrastructure projects. the focus is on college affordability. he will be rolling out a plan that will