>> the unemployment situation in ohio is very odd. en there's a bad situation in the economy, when there's a deep recession, unemployment numbers are higher than the national average. we're actually lower at this point. whether or not that will help him make his argument remains to be seen. >> a critical state and clearly the president and the white house knows this, 21 times in ohio since being elected in 2008. hangs to all of you. howard wilkinson, so glad you were with us. lenny mcallister, maria, han th to you, as well. they're moving on later to the state of virginia. you see him exiting along with the first lady, michelle obama, who helped kick things off there. "your $$$$$" coming up flnext. more analysis later on. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe, even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. visit your local jcp optical today to learn more about authentic transitions brand lenses that fit yo

ohio? this number we discovered today. in 25 of the last 27 presidential elections, the candidate who won ohio won the white house. here's david kerley. >> reporter: bounding off air force one in ohio, the president was apparently so fired up and ready to go he forgot something, doubling back for one of his strongest weapons, the first lady, with a knowing smile of his misstep. >> president barack obama! >> reporter: it's the first official campaign rally but the themes are familiar. >> this is not just another election. this is a make or break moment for the middle class, and we've been through too much to turn back now. >> reporter: the president has refrained from naming his presumed opponent -- until today. >> governor romney doesn't seem to get that. >> reporter: while trying to frame differences. >> i don't care how many ways you try to explain it. corporations aren't people. people are people. >> reporter: mr. obama called romney "a rubber stamp of failed republican policies." >> ohio, i'm here to say that we were ther

state university in columbus. ohio is a key battleground state. a campaign has opened 18 offices there. later this afternoon the president heads to virginia, another state up for grabs in november. in guantanamo bay, cuba, a major disruption during the arraignment of five alleged 911 terrorists. one of the defendants just shouted out, quote, they are going to kill us. the five charged men include the alleged mastermind of 9/11 khalid sheikh mohammed. if convicted, all five face the death penalty. >>> protests turned violent in cairo today. one person killed and more than 300 people injured as demonstrators clashed with government forces. the protests broke out following deadly clashes earlier this week. demonstrators want the military government to move quicker toward civilian rule. speaking of the president earlier who is officially continuing his campaign today? remember when he sang one of al green's songs? i caught up with the legendary soul singer during the new orleans jazzfest during its second and final weekend along with jimmy buffet, zach

ohio state. >> okay. susan, how about your take on the polls in both ohio and virginia? what's your read? >> i think they're both definitely in a swing state category. ohio's a quintessential state. no republican has ever won the presidency without carrying ohio. definitely a targeted state for mitt romney. virginia is a new swing state. until president obama carried it in 2008, no republican -- no democrat had carried it since 1964 i think. so a long -- very traditionally republican state. it has become a swing state because of the influx of new voters in virginia. >> we're going to switch gears a bit and talk about the april jobless rate. it does relate directly to the re-election campaign. the numbers drop slightly. the number of jobs that were added. that was a disappointment. let's listen to what the president said about it. here he is. okay. that's not exactly what we were looking for right now. let me just paraphrase what the president said or quote him. our businesses have now created more than 4.2 million new jobs over the last 26 months. more than 1 million jobs in the last six m

he was with president obama in ohio on saturday. ks for coming on the show tonight. >> it was great seeing the president in front of 14,000, pretty enthusiastic ohioans. thanks. >> now the president went right after mitt romney. was that a surprise to you, and will it play well into ohio? >> yeah, governor romney's got a bunch of things he's got to answer to. he's got everything from his offshore accounts to his support of the budget that really goes after medicare and goes after meals on wheels and food stamps and all kinds of middle class and working class and programs, too, for the poor. but he's also in ohio. governor romney's got to answer his opposition to the auto rescue. he's got to answer his support for rolling back collective bargaining rights which is a shot directly to middle class. he's got a lot of explaining to do in ohio, and i think you are going to see the president making the contrast between what governor romney believes and what the president believes. and i'm there with him because i have an opponent the same t

>>> president barack obama held his first official campaign rally today in columbus, ohio. he made the case for a second term in the white house and said if mitt romney were elected, he would rubber stamp the republican congressional agenda. >>> new court documents filed by attorneys for jerry sandusky suggest there are at least 17 accusers in the child sexual abuse case. there were ten cited in the criminal charges. he faces more than 50 counts of sexual acts with boys. he pleaded not guilty. >> the arraignment of the 9/11 conspirators before a military court in cuba today had some fireworks. what should have taken minutes took hours, including one of the men blurting out they're going to kill us. chris lawrence is in guantanamo. >> fred, when thecome raws were off and the court was in recess, khalid shake mohammed and the other defendant laughed, talked to each other, and even had a copy of the economist magazine that they passed back and forth, but then when the court was in session, they tuned out, refusing to participate or answer questions. one man gestured at one poin

it is good to be back in ohio! > ohio and virginia have 31 electoral votes twens thembetwe along with political and economic landscapes that make them battlegrounds. ohio unemployment has been dropping for eight straight months, but voters there say when it comes to the economy the presumptive republican no, mami would do a better job than the president. the president has visited there 21 times since taking office, more than any other state that doesn't neighbor washington. virginia is just a trip across the bridge for the president, and he take that is trip frequently. mitt romney will be a regular as well. >> you're going to hear it all right here in virginia. this may well be the state that decides who the next president is. >> at the moment romney trails obama by seven points in virginia. not only is the ground game already at full tilt in both states, the air war is under way as well. >> mitt romney stood with big oil for their tax breaks attacking higher mileage standards. >> he said i don't care how long it's

talking up the president's policy as unemployment in ohio going down. and a lot. o thank for that? in the past year and a half the jobless rate has slipped from 9 percent and around 7.5 percent. governor, republican governor, john kasich. we have chatted about this before. i know you say, look, if the president benefits from it, so be it, i want the people from ohio to benefit it, but does it bother you on that level that the administration is taking credit for what you are doing? >>guest: it doesn't bother me but i will point out a couple of things, we were near death before, in the state of ohio before we filibusters things with $8 billion hole. we balanced our budget. we cut taxes. we streamlined our regulation. we private sized our development operation and we are now the number one job creator in the midwest. we were 48 in the country and we are number five in the country. we are outperforming the other states in our region and it is fantastic. we have a long way to go, unemployment is still high but what we have done is provide certainty to companies so they

a video captures a store robbery in ohio. >>> a montana river bursts in nepal. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with ratcheting up the campaign. august conventions may be months away but mitt romney is moving on to his next phase in the white house, selecting a running mate. meanwhile president obama isn't wasting any time at taking shots at the presumed republican rival. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: kicking off in ohio and virginia, president obama took off the gloves and took on mitt romney. >> i don't care how many times you try to explain it, corporations aren't people. people are people. >> reporter: romney's presumptive nominee, his former parties are pulling together. >> you look at what he's done with his life. >> so you have endorsed him. >> reporter: and attention is turning to a possible running mate. florida senator marco rubio could help deliver hispanic voters. >> this president asked us to hire him four years ago on the promise that he knew how to fix this econo

what about here in ohio? check this out, a brand new poll from quinnipiac, when it comes to the economy, mitt romney has a slight advantage or president obama right here in the crucial battle ground state. >> all that hammering home of his business executive background i guess, maybe folks are listening. how many trips has the president made to ohio now? i have lost track. >> reporter: 20 already, this is 21 to ohio. >> must be a very important state. paul thank you very much. >>> he fled house arrest in china, now the activist who appealed to president obama and hillary clinton is under guard at a hospital in beijing. his next stop might be the u.s. the chinese government says chen guangcheng can apply for a travel visa. >>> to canada, canadian hang gliding instructor has been granted bail. the woman in the glider dropped to the ground. investigators say the instructor may have tried to hide the key evidence by swallowing a memory card that has video of the fall. it's now in police custody. >>> visionary, tra

virginia, 49% up from 49% in ohio in march. down slightly in virginia in a poll that gave him a whopping 17-point lead at that time. now, striking in all these polls combined with our new nbc news/"wall street journal" results, consistency. bottom line, is 48% a good or bad thing? 48% is the nice edge when it comes to an incumbent running for re-election. not close enough to follow over the 50% finish line but close enough it doesn't take much either. a number to follow in the months ahead. if the president's numbers are moving towards 46%, 47%, regardless whether he's ahead of romney or not, that's trouble for him. holds at 48%, everyone turn of his machine has to work perfectly. where bush was in '04 and creeps to 49% 50% lots of margin for area in various things. moving on to a block of voters who could decide the election and could certainly move the map. mitt romney spoke to a latino group at a summit near washington but didn't want to seem to speak to a latino audience specifically. didn't mention immigration or mark rubi

and we see those voters, for example, in ohio. it is a difficult state for the obama campaign. ou have to assume that the romney is going to put as much money into states like ohio where he already has an advantage in terms of demographics to make sure he can do everything he can to win that state. president obama is going to do well with women. the chances of the gender gap between now and november dissipating by even a small margin is very action very small. the president is probably going to do better with latinos. he is probably going to do better with single women with single men. romney has to do all he can with white males, evangelcals, people who are very, very socially conservative. >> that's why you can imagine what kind of ads we are going to see between now and november in those states. >> thank goodness i am not a white male voter. michelle appreciate your insights into this. donnie, i will ask you to stick around. we are going to be back. after the break, we will prove it is indeed possible to take the fun out of las vegas. we need the right company and it's someth

surveillance video captures a brazen store robbery in ohio. >>> and wave of terror. dozens are feared dead after a mountain river bursts its banks dozens are feared dead after a mountain river bursts its banks in nepal. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. today we begin with ratcheting up the campaign. august conventions may be months away, but mitt romney is already moving on to the next phase in his race for the white house, selecting a running mate. meanwhile, president obama isn't wasting any time taking shots at his presumed republican rival. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: kicking off his re-election bid this weekend in the battleground states of ohio and virginia, president obama took off the gloves and took on mitt romney. >> i don't care how many ways you try to explain it, corporations aren't people. people are people. >> reporter: other than romney's presumptive nominee, his former rivals are helping him bring the party tog

governor romney not in ohio. he was in another huge battleground state.e had the industrial states as he drew this contrast. >> we are able to help create over 100,000 jobs and secondly, on the president's watch, about 100,000 jobs were lost in the auto industry in auto dealers and auto manufacturers. so he is hardly one to point a finger. >> our chief political analyst, glor gloria borger is here. that will be key in battleground, ohio. if you ask the voters, president obama carried it in 2008. republicans had a great year in 2010. as we head into 2012, they seem a bit conflicted as to the psychology of this election. how is the economy doing? >> one of the reasons ohio is such a battleground state. there is a mixed message there. by a 2-1 margin, people in ohio believe the state is in a recession. the country is in a recession. 55% also believe that the economy, the recovery has begun. people that believe that, that's good for president obama. people who believe they are still in a recession and it is terrible, 2-1. that would be better for mitt romney.

this is a big issue and i think it's going to be a big issue in ohio, because ohioans, i think, wouldsider this a form of economic patriotism. investing in your country, just as our forebearers did when they bought war bonds during world war ii. knowing that this country needed investment. and i think that says something about mitt romney that is very basic to his character, to his values, and to his judgment. and i'm going to be talking about that for the next five or six months in ohio and anywhere else, where i can go to represent the president. >> governor wilder, it seemed to me that the message in both places, both columbus and virginia was, there were two parts to the message. one was about targeting one type of swing voter that swings between voting and not voting. so democrats that don't always show up to the polls. and the other one was that small slice of independents that we know do decide elections, but a very small group, 8 to 10%, maybe, total. what did you hear from the president that talked to those folks? >> well, chuck, you always follow and have really grasped the

jessica yellin is in columbus. >> reporter: hey, randi, president obama won ohio by four points in wait latest polling shows statistical dead-heat in the state with romney ahead when it comes to the economy. so, mitt romney will be back in the state next week, and the president is making a big statement by officialsly launching campaign here. on the campus of ohio state university, pockets of enthusiasm for the president's first official campaign rally. >> are you excited? >> reporter: the excitement of 2008 is missing. >> do you want to sign up? >> no. >> reporter: the campaign is pouring resources in ohio to keep it competitive. the state director has been here since 2009. his message, the auto bail out boosted the local economy. >> one out of every eight jobs in ohio is related to the auto industry. >> reporter: the campaign has 18 field offices, romney opens his first next week. democrats say they will try to use that local presence to win over undecided voters. >> 30 second ad, not a direct mail, voter to voter contact. that kind of validation between volunteer from that neighborho

same is true in ohio a key national bellwether. in pennsylvania the president has a slight lead. >> romney will campaign in pennsylvania for tomorrow. aides say santorum will eventually endorse romney but not going to happen tomorrow. there will be springs attached including santorum will insist if and when romney will be president he repeal obamacare but the replacement have no mandate. >>> carl cameron, thanks. >> there is some positive movement in the jobs picture tonight. benefit applications last week were down by the most in nearly a year. chief white house correspondent ed henry tells us one static that could mean more than any other to president obama reelection hopes comes out tomorrow. >> after getting tomorrow's unemployment numbers from april, president obama will hold the first ralph his reelection campaign on saturday hitting virginia and ohio. two battlegrounds he has been visiting frequently with official events for taxpayers. >> you have gone through struggles. ohio is a great example of the strength and decency of

that's basically dead even right here in ohio. in about four hours the president will hold that rally. you can see the cnn election express. we'll have it all over the campaign trail between now and election day, which is six months from tomorrow. >> wow, six months to go. okay, paul, thank you very much. keep it right here today at 1:00 eastern, cnn will bring you president obama's first campaign speech of the election from columbus, ohio. that is scheduled to get under way, once again, 1:00 eastern right here on cnn. >>> and now to canada, where a canadian hang gliding instructor has been granted bail after he was charged with obstructing justice related to a fatal accident one week ago. the woman in the glider with him dropped to the ground. investigators say the instructor may have tried to hide key evidence about what happened by swallowing a memory card that has the video of the fall. that video is now in police custody. >>> he is being called a visionary, a pioneer and a legend. ♪ you gotta fight for your right to party ♪ >>

we have to put ohio in perspective. appening to ohio is part of the pattern that's happened across the country where states are trying to make it harder to vote for those who turned out in record numbers in 2008. black voters, latino voters, students, college students and the elderly. this is really about suppressing the vote. the idea by the right wing is that if you make it harder for those groups to vote, they won't turn out. if they don't turn out, you win. that's what this is pattern of. this is ridiculous. if you show up at the wrong polling place, the poll worker doesn't have to tell you where to go. why are we making it harder for people. the reason we're making it harder is because we don't want them to vote. that's the right wing conspiracy. >> well, i think it speaks volumes about how they feel about the elderly in this country. the elderly come in. they may not be as secure as younger voters. they ask questions. they don't get answers. i'm amazed that the republicans would go so far to have workers, what are

he told the residents in ohio while it was a slow recovery, there would be no recovery under romney. and romney picked up another

in 2008? >> good question. >> we're going to find out. ohioa are the places he's officially beginning the campaign. >>> fineders keepers, usually that's the case. what happens if you find the lottery ticket in the trash and it turns out to be a winning tibet. do you get to cash it in and keep it forever? our legal guys will be joining us. this case has gotten pretty heated. in fact, it involved the winner of that ticket -- the original owner of the ticket gets to reclaim p it. the finders keepers rule doesn't apply. we'll explain. >> i was at jazzfest, this is the second week of the jazzfest, it's an incredible conglomeration of music, fun. >> we saw you walking around, enjoying yourself. >> i got to stop off and talk to some greats like this man, one and only al green. of course i asked him about that iconic moment, what's become an iconic moment of president obama singing his song. has he a grade for the president. >> was it good or bad, i just want to know. >> you'll have to watch. you'll have to watch. >> i'll watch. >> you know in the job

i am shocked people aren't showing up. >> i was in ohio in 2000, 2004, i was with bill cunningham and2006 which was bad year. you could feel that dramatic a difference. that is telling. >> and in ohio, josh mandel is doing great. that is suner and mark from "time magazine" all the stuff coming out of chicago, that is wake-up call. i'm with dick, ann coulter is with dick. >>> you are from ohio, everybody is pushing bob portman, but he is boring, he a great guy. >> he is walk for ohio, but that doesn't mean you go to jeb bush but rob portman zbleesz do you agree with me is he boring? >> by law, they must be. >> so with obama. >> and tsunami and blaming me and blaming fox and blaming others. >> you are right. >> you have no idea. i'm going to go to your apartment and rip down that. >> if you want to make a bet, it would be fun. >> sean: we'll come back with one segment and back to the one segment and back to the inter [ male announcer ] the inspiring story of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees...

now in ohio, scott brown up over josh mandel 48-47. 's a tight race between republican senator scott brown and elizabeth warren. a race and a nail-biter, if you will. brown 48, warren 47. we'll be right back. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. free-credit-score-dot-com'sur boargonna direct you ♪ts ♪ ♪ to check your credit score before it gets too late ♪ ♪ and you end up strapped for cash ♪ ♪ patching your board with duct tape ♪ ♪ so hit free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ find out what credit's about ♪ ♪ or else you could be headed for a credit wipeout ♪ offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. it was in my sister's neighborhood. i told you it was perfect for you guys. literally across the street from her sister. [ banker ] but someone else bought it before they could get their offer together. we really missed a great opportunity -- dodged a bullet there.

what about rob portman in ohio?let's always presume when we're talking about vice presidents that they won't have an impact on his home state. the last one to have an impact is lyndon johnson. that was a long time ago. generally vice presidents cannot turn their state. they can help. but romney is also pretty strong in florida, so when i look at virginia, i'm not sure he helps that much or hurt the national ticket. he has some controversial -- >> hello. >> can you hear me? [ laughter ] >> yes, exactly. >> well, i appreciate you coming on. i think you are right on the money on much of your analysis. it's a friday night here in "the war room," we love to parse this stuff. coming up a new report blows the roof off of alec's stable of corporate backers, and you will be shocked which companies are ponying up. and mitt romney thinks he found a winning horse in today's so-so job support. and he does know his horses. >> i have a missouri foxtroter, so my is like a quarter horse. it is a much better gate. it moves much smoth

it's going to fall lower in ohio. it's going to be higher in place like new jersey. chris christie has been forced to deal with gay marriage. his solution has been i don't want to deal with this myself. i want to put this on the ballot. it's put democrats in an interesting position. there's the principle of we don't want to put minority rights to a majority vote. if you put it on the ballot, it might pass. >> there was a pro-gay marriage measure put to a vote. the same people who lost that vote in 2009, is seeking to put it on the ballot for this november for 2012. that will be the first time that the pro-gay right side has sought out a vote. one they think they might be able to win. when you got a record of now 33-1 against you, i tend to be skeptical that it might work in maine. you see the advocates thinking about this differently. >> the pace of change different. i wrote a piece about this. they are all in favor of gay marriage. that's how i read joe biden's comments. this is a guy that's interested for running for president in 2016 of course he's taking steps. t

surveillance video captures a brazen store robbery in ohio. >>> and wave of terror. dozens of feared dead after a mountain river bursts its banks in nepal. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we are going to begin this morning with ratcheting up the campaign. august conventions may be months away, but mitt romney is already move on to the next phase in his race for the white house -- selecting a running mate. meanwhile, president obama spt wasting any time taking shots at his presumed republican rival. . >> reporter: president obama took off the gloves and took on mitt romney. >> i don't care how you try to explain it, corporations aren't people. people are people! >> reporter: now that romney is it the presumptive republican nominee, his former rivals are helping him bring the party together. >> if you look at mitt romney, it's all about his proven track record and what he's done with his life. >> so you have endorsed him. >> as far as i'm concerned, yes. >> reporter: marco rubio co

romney are mobilizing in ohio.etting up a mobile call center at ohio state university. just yesterday, romney met his former rival, rick santorum, who dropped out of the race a month ago. details on what the two discussed were not released. romney hired santorum's former campaign manager to increase support among conservative groups and is courting santorum allies. >> ama: a major explosion at this gathering in armenia. police think it wasn't just an accident. >> alan: japan goes nuclear free. the last of the country's 50 nuclear reactors is turned off. >> leigh: what a warmup today. temperatures climbing into the mid-to-low 80s in some locations. clear sky will mean terrific viewing for the super moon. plus look ahead to the forecast. >> alan: jerry sandusky may be facing more charges of abuse. recently filed court documents suggest there are at least 17 people who are accusation sandusky of molesting them. he is currently facing more than 50 counts involving ten boys dating back to 1994. the attorney general's of

be here most of those days. >> vice president biden, i think he's going to getting a new address in ohiorom lightning rod on same-sex marriage to a more familiar role, hitting swing states to the attack romney's record. correspondent joe williams joins me now. biden was in full throat, full voice. and listen to this. i don't know if this was a fraudian slip or not, but with joe biden, you don't know. >> i resent the fact that they think we're talking about we're envoy. it's job envy, it's wealth envy that we don't dream. my mother believed and my father believed that if i wanted to be president of the united states, i could be, i could be vice president. >> i'm told actually that he does want to be president. he does want to run in 2016 and this hillary clinton joe biden match-up is already shaping up. but anyway, joe biden, the importance of ohio, he's going to be there. the president's going to be there. they already are there. and you know, this is really where it's at. this is defining the campaign. >> that's right. and basically, joe biden is fulfilling the role that he was brought