revealed has caused irreversible and significant damage to our country and to our allies. >>> nbc's kristin welker the reaction from what you're hearing there? >> reporter: mara, i can tell you president obama has been briefed on the situation by his national security team but there is a fair amount of consternation here at the white house. this say blow to the obama administration. yesterday the administration put out a pretty strongly worded statement urging hong kong to act quickly to extra diet snowden. that, of course, did not happen. he is now in moscow. today one senior administration official tells me that there are concerns about this from the administration, the fact that hong kong would allow this to happen. so that is how the administration is handling this. of course, behind the scenes it really only creates more tensions between the u.s. and beijing. there have been a lot of tensions due to accusations on diver attac cyber a being at thats on both sides. what's been interesting, mara, they're really bipartisan calls for edward snowden to come back and face justice. mike rogers earlie

. >>> we have kristin welker joins us. united states is going to get involved in militarily helping the rebels in syria, based on this report that the government in syria has been using gas? >> well, chris, what the administration is saying is they have aiding to some extent the opposition forces they haven't used the specific term militarily, but that is what we believe based on what members of congress have said on the hill. they believe 100 to 150 people have been killed due to the use of chemical weapons. as you know, president obama has said that would be his red line. that would change the calculation for him inside syria. so, today, the white house making the pop layers toss opposition forces. this comes on the heels of a u.n. report, chris, that found that 9 on,000 people at least have been killed inside syria. when asked specifically about what some of the other plans were that the white house is considering, they wouldn't be specific, except to say this is a game changer inside syria. chris? >> i'm just wondering

. >>> and rejoining us now, kristin welker and msnbc editorial writer, jonathan.kristin, i know you talked about immigration. jonathan, we'll hear from the senators on the gang of 8 and what they've accomplishinged. >> yeah, andrea, this vote that's about to come up is very significant. they're all looking for some pathway, if you will, to get to a magic number in the senate, anyway, of 70 votes, and hoping that 70 vote approval of the senate will put some pressure on the house to pass an immigration bill, but as we've been talking about for weeks now, getting an immigration bill to come out of the house that could then get the approval of the senate is going to be a pretty tall order. >> andrea, it is going to be a tall order. i've been talking to white house officials who say they're hopeful the president keeps his distance so he doesn't scuttle or get in the way of the talks that are going on right now. >> kristin, going back to syria for a moment. you hear all of this debate on the floor. the state department under pressure. secretary kerry leaving tomorrow on

invited guests today, crist matthews, susan page, and another member of our white house team, kristin welker. we heard from the president five years ago, so striking to see the aging process that takes pre-president into five years into the presidency. he said this is our moment, this is our time. what is the significance of this time, this moment, as he makes the remarks. >> i'll wait to hear what he has to sake but clearly the relationship between the east and west is troubled, and everything is about the united states and what we're you will to. our relationship with israel, you know, you have to understand that the soviets, when they were the soft yen action have had a long allied relationship with syria. here we are trying to many tole that government, and we're surprised the guy has a frown on the face? let's how talk about how we're going to bring down your alliance, and we're chatting about it as if we're having a college dorm room conversation about it. of course he's upsit. i'm amazed they're open to the conversation. it's their ray lie. if they were trying to topple one of our lon

nbc's kristin welker is in neighboring palm springs.rs, what was the focus, do we know? >> reporter: the focus was the economy and cyber security. two leaders have been meeting for more than an hour now, alex. i can tell you rompers got a brief glimpse of them while they were walking around the grounds of the sunnilands estate and asked president obama how is it going? he responded terrific. they were sort of out of earshot but report essay they believe they may have been talking about exercise. sort of a lighter part of the conversation that they have been having over these past two days. that's really part of the idea of holding this summit at the sunnylands resort. it's a 1 2 00 acre estate and the goal is to foster a more candid relationship, to lay the groundwork for a better relationship as they deal with difficult issues including north korea and cyber security. that is certainly one of the big topics that they have been discussing yesterday after their bilateral meeting. president obama said they had talked about it at the 40,00

kristin welker is traveling with the president. she is in johannesburg good morning. >> reporter: lester, good morning to you. that meeting between president obama, the first lady and nelson mandela's family will happen later on today. the white house saying the president will not be visiting the former south african president in the hospital. president obama called mandela a personal hero. he was able to meet him in 2005 when he was a senator. president obama wrapping up a news conference with the current president. he noted the bond saying they are both the first black presidents of their country. the president saying that today his thoughts are with the former south african leader. >> our thoughts and those of americans and people all around the world are with nelson mandela and his family and all south africans. the struggle here for freedom. the moral courage, this country's historic transition to a free and democratic nation has been a personal inspiration to me. it has been an inspiration for the world. >> reporter: he's in

. >> and nbc's kristin welker is traveling with the president. she joins us live from dakar. said he has not called president putin, quote, because i shouldn't have to. it appears he's being very robust on the issue of mr. snowden. >> he is, and i think to some extent he's trying to downplay the media frenzy you heard him say he shouldn't have to, because they are going through the legal channels to try to get snowden back. he also said he want going to allow this one individual to rise to the level of his having to wheel and deal with the two countries. some of his critics are saying he's almost semisive, in part because of the sound bite you played. i think the president revealed one of his concerns that edward snowden has a number of classified discussions -- and the concern is russian -- are potential looking through those documents, so i think there was a real concern, but certainly trying to downplay it in the eyes of the media. >> kristin, i have to ask you about the president and first lady's visit to goree island. he stood in what's known as the door of no return. i

nbc white house correspondent kristin welker joins us from inside the white house briefing room.ria? >> reporter: i can tell you it will be held by ben rhodes i can tell you it is rare we would get a conference call. it's likely -- i can also tell you that "new york times" is reporting that, according to u.s. and european officials and i want to be very clear nbc news has not confirmed that report. that is a "new york times" record, but martin, what we have seen is the pressure mounting on this administration to take more action in syria. today the u.n. reporting that as many as 93,000 people had been killed inside the country due to the war that rages on there, and of course the obama administration saying they had early indications that chemical weapons may have been used, the president saying he wanted corroboration about that before taking any further action, but as we know, the president said about a year ago that the use of chemical weapons would be a red line for him. what specifically does that mean this we don't know, about you we do know that a number of possibilities a

welker. she is traveling with the president there just ahead of him in senegal. kristin, we'll speak to you in a minute. chris, i want to begin with you if i can to get a sense of where we go in regards to the supreme court decisions right now. there are some real question marks right now, like, for example, what happens for same-sex couples that were married in iowa and then move to a state like indiana where it is still legal. there are still some things that need to be ironed out. nonetheless, this is an historic seismic shift in society today, didn't it? >> it does, peter. i think the point pete williams made earlier, which is the entire defense of marriage act was not struck down, the states recognizing or having to recognize marriages in states that it is illegal, that part was not challenged and therefore not struck down. we are still not sort of in a place where if you're married and you go to another state you have all the rights and benefits if that state does not have a provision approving of gay marriage. that said, it's looked at broadly as possible from a p

thank you as well, kristin welker. >>> get you caught up on breaking news.s at least one fatality as a result of this building collapse in the heart of philadelphia's downtown area. we are waiting to hear more from the police department but we know at least at this hour, 14 people removed. 13 of those transferred to hospitals. not in position to come -- not in a position to comment on the 14th person. that's according to the fire department. department. a they have two dogs working with rescue teams right now searching the debris. as we speak. this all happened around 11:00 a.m. eastern time. building collapse. near a salvation army. you see the damage there, it is incredible when you look at before the and after images. wcau is reporting there may be at least one fatality with the building collapse. man: how did i get here? dumb luck? or good decisions? ones i've made. ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow. here's to good decisions. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners,

joining me now is kristin welker. good morning. >> alex, good morning to you. legal analysts say these charges were a long time coming. they were filed in a federal court in alexandria, virginia and unsealed friday night. snowden faces three charges, including theft of government property, as well as violating two espionage laws which make it a crime to reveal classified information to anyone not authorized to receive that information. each charge carries a maximum of 10 year prison sentence. pete williams, part of the reason why this took so long is because officials were going back and forth with officials in hong kong where it is believed snowden is hiding out to make sure these charges conform to the extradition treaty that the united states has with hong kong. so the question is what happens next? well, united states has essentially filed a provisional arrest warrant asking authorities to arrest edward snowden. once that happens, the u.s. will begin the process of extraditing him. snowden said he will protest. it could go on many months. it is a process th

andrea mitchell reports with kristin welker is up next. made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals: help the gulf recover, and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i've been with bp for 24 years. i was part of the team that helped deliver on our commitments to the gulf - and i can tell you, safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge safety equipment and technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all our drilling activity, twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. safety is a vital part of bp's commitment to america - and to the nearly 250,000 people who work with us here. we invest more in the u.s. than anywhere else in the world. over fifty-five billion dollars here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor. our commitment has never been stronger. where we've switched their fruits and veggies with produce from walmart. i

i'm kristin welker in for andrea mitchell. >>> with the president's red line in syria now definitively crossed, the decision to arm the rebels gets a green light but the obama administration's chief critic on syria, john mccain, says it may be too little, too late to change the equation on the ground. take a listen 367. >> i applaud the president's decision. 93,000 people dead later, over 1 million refugees in the countries in the surrounding region erupting into sectarian violence. >> joining me now, new york "times" national security correspondent mark mizetti. based on my reporting and your reporting, we know that the administration is supplying small arms and ammunition but the opposition says that it actually needs a lot more, including antitank and antiaircraft weapons. do you think at this point in time that the obama administration is seriously considering ramping up its weaponry to the opposition forces? >> well, what we are hearing from officials yesterday was that it certainly is possible that it could -- the support could increase to anti-tank weapons but there does seem to

kristin welker is traveling with the president. ng to you. president obama hosted china's president here in southern california. they discussed a wide range of issue, everything from north korea to cyber security. but what also dominated the weekend, questions about whether the obama administration is overstepping its authority. under mounting pressure, the obama administration is vigorously defending its surveillance programs, which collect phone and foreign internet records. >> so the notion that we're trolling through everyone's e-mails and voyeuristically reading them or listening to everyone's phone calls is on its face absurd. we couldn't do it even if we wanted to, and i assure you, we don't want to. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with andrea mitchell, the director of national intelligence, james clapper, said the program has thwarted at least two terror plots in 2009. clapper argued the policy is essential to national security. >> we're trying to minimize those invasions of privacy and keep them to an absolute mini m

kristin welker is at the white house. wh what options do they have? >> reporter: we expect the u.s. will bring charges against edward snowden. just to give you a sense of the magnitude. that is what we expect moving forward. that's not happened yet. there are a number of key questions here. chief among them where is edward snowden. at last check he was believed to be in hong kong where we should say there was a protest. people out protesting hailing him has a hero for these recent leaks. this all comes as a number of members of the u.s. government as well as lawmakers on capitol hill say the leaks may have harmed national security. they say they are concerned about the united states enemies being tuned in and clued in to how the u.s. launches these types of investigations. take a listen to what eric holder had to say earlier this week. >> this case is still under investigation and i can assure you that we will hold accountable if person responsible for those extremely damaging leaks. >> reporter: other lawmakers including ron paul have said that snowden has done the right thing by v

kristin welker in san jose, california, today.hank you very much. >>> new details on wildfires burning in the west. >> yn an update on that. good morning. a destructive wildfire is 80% contained. however the blaze in northern los angeles county destroyed 24 homes, 30 other structures, as well. the flames tore through 47 square miles. >>> anti-government protests sweeping across turkey have the program calling for an end to the demonstrations. citizens have taken to the streets decrying what they say is the prime minister's autocratic policy. at least three people have died so far in clashes with riot police. >>> in britain this morning, prince phillip is in the hospital. she undergoing a planned exploratory surgery to find the root of his abdominal problems. he will likely spend his birthday in the hospital. but doctors say he is extremely fit and healthy, despite his age. >>> we want to head to wall street. kayla has the latest from the new york stock exchange. >>> wall street is watching the all-important employment report due o

we want to start with kristin welker. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the federal government brought criminal charges againstedward snowden. the charges were filed last week in alexandria virginia and were unsealed friday night. snowden faces a number of charges including theft of government property and sharing classified information to anyone who is not clear to receive that information. now each of those charges carries a maximum ten year prison sentence. this is all going on as the past week the political fallout continues. president obama was traveling overseas for the g8 summit. they were called to testify on capitol hill with the director of the nsa saying the surveilness foiled terrorist plots. they expressed concerns the programs infringe on individual privacy concerns. it's a debate that continues as the proceedings against snowden get under way. >> thanks very much. erica? >> the question now is what happens next? if he's in hong kong that's where snowden is believed to be hiding out. ian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, erica

kristin welker is there traveling with him. what are you expecting him to say today? >> betty, good afternoon. this is president obama's key note speech of this entire trip. first of all, i expect him to talk about the impact nelson mandela had on his life as you pointed out earlier. they toured where nelson mandela was held for 18 of the 27 years he was imprisoned. i expect him to invoek another larger than life figure which is robert kennedy who gave a speech here in 1966 against apartheid, speaking out against it. i expect him to talk about how far they have come since then and talk about the challenges that remain and the big announcement today will revolve around how president obama will announce a partnership between the u.s. and six african nation says over the next decade and announce that so far between the government and the private sector, they have come up with about $16 billion to begin that. that's one theme. i expect him to talk about opportunity and the importance of investing in food security, health, to try to combat hiv and aids which is a pressing

kristin welker is traveling with the president and joins us. she's in palm springs.nt and china's president are going to be focusing on the economy, and they will also be focusing on cyber security as an extension of that. we heard from both leaders last night after they had met in a bilateral meeting and then they also had a dinner and according to president obama after last

. >> for the latest we're joined by kristen welker at the white house. kristin, you broke the news on air yesterday that the white house was about to hold a conference call on the subject of chemical weapons in syria. now that the administration believes the red line has been crossed, are we getting any details as to what exactly that may mean in terms of supplying arms and filter hardware? >> well, martin, we understand that the obama administration will be sending small arms as well as some other ammunition to syria to aid the opposition forces. they're asking for more weapons, larger weapons. they want anti-aircraft weaponry. at this point in time, it doesn't appear that is part of the calculation. certainly something that the obama administration is considering. now, as you just pointed out in your opening comments, martin, senator john mccain is calling for even more including a no-fly zone. today, deputy national security advisor ben rhoades made the point that the president is not ready to move forward with a no-fly zone. he has argued that it is expensiv

us now is clarence page, a columnist with the check tribune and nbc's kristen welker live with us from the white house. kristin, if i might begin with you, the president is quite popular in germany. in fact, we have a chart showing his popularity versus bush's. how pleased is the white house with the reaction to this speech? the heat and the teleprompter issues aside, or course. >> well, those heat issues the president had to remove his jacket and the teleprompter wasn't working. so you saw him reading from his notes there. we will put those issues aside for now, martin. look, as one official says it's hard to beat the optics of the president standing in front of the branden berg gate this symbol of german reunification 50 years after jfk stood in the same spot and talking about the importance of nuclear disarmament. so this are pleased with that. as you point out, he's very popular. if you look at the polls, 88% of germans say that they view him positively. but of course, there were some issues that overshadowed his comments today. as you pointed out. some germans skeptical about guantanamo bay still being op