he's ambassador ron kirk. this is overheard. (upbeat music) let's be honest. so is this about the ability to learn or is this about the experience of not having being taught properly? how have you avoided what has befallen other nations in africa? i don't mean to say that he'd made his own bed, but you caused him to sleep in it. you saw a problem and over time took it on. let's start with the sizzle before we get to the steak. are you going to run for president? i think i just got an f from you. (upbeat music) mr. ambassador, welcome. - i'm thrilled to be here. thanks for letting me come home. - very nice to see you again, sir. - thanks for letting me come in this building. you know, i've been by here millions of times. i don't think i've been here in years. - welcome to this great stage. we're happy to have you here. you've spent more than 20 years alternating between public life and private life. you did a stint as secretary of state, seven or so years as mayor of dallas. you resigned to run for the senate. then you went back into private life, practiced law

you know, i think ron kirk wants to run for something again.into it. i am telling you. [laughter] -- he came up here. he was getting into it. i am telling you. [laughter] [applause] president obama: listen, i love ron. i really do. it is true. ron and matrice could not be better friends. he was not only a great mayor of the city, but he was a great ambassador on our behalf across the country so please give him a , round of applause. [applause] president obama: your current mayor, mike rawlings is here. [applause] president obama: he reminds me that he had to clean up all kinds of things after ron was mayor, but it turned out ok. one of our most wonderful representatives, somebody who has been an incredible friend and partner to me over the years, during my presidency -- betty johnson. she has always had my back. [applause] president obama: and hall of famer, and a dear friend and really a pretty good dancer, emmitt smith is in the house. looking sharp. [applause] president obama: so, i came to texas because i wanted to visit sxsw yesterday, and

including jim cownie, ron pearson, fred hubble, gary kirke and bill knapp ... all signed an open letter to legislators encouraging cannabis legislation. their letter read in part ... as iowa business leaders, we join the 76% of iowans who believe that medical cannabis should be legally produced, iowa. now is the time to help suffering iowans and their families get hereby call on iowa lawmakers to debate and pass comprehensive medical cannabis legislation this session. an emotional day of testimony wrapped up the trial of a des moines man charged in a deadly crash. 24-year-old troy mure is facing one count of vehicular homicide following the death of his passenger, scaliticy perez boyd, last november. he claims they were being chased by several men following a recent shooting at evolution nightclub. mure says at least one of them was armed and he lost control when the pursing car tapped his bumper. today, authorities described the violent crash into a telephone pole at speeds of more than 80 miles per hour. 06:19:25 the force of the impact of the telephone pole,

there are going to be a lot of united states senators now lobbyists from kirk to ron johnson to rob portman think he'll bring down senatorial candidates? >> i believe the republican party for all intents and purposes is giving up on winning the white house in 2016. they are trying to save the party. they understand they really don't have a good shot at winning the white house with donald trump or ted cruz. ted cruz is an easier candidate for democrats because he fundamentally does not change the map and donald trump changes the map because you have to defend the areas where trade is a big issue in the midwest. donald trump is an anchor beyond anchors, beyond anchors on the rest of the ticket. >> not necessarily in house races. i have to tell you, i talk to a lot of republicans who say that donald trump runs very well in their conservative districts. in the senate, the control of the senate is at stake and that's why you see harry reid tying mitch mcconnell to donald trump because as much as he is playing for control of the senate. >> a quick point to bakari and other democrats. i've got to

. >> yeah, if you are, you know, ron johnson in wisconsin, if you are mark kirk in illinois, elise, you'vee really nervous about this, because, yes, there might be some blue collar down-ballot, you know, success for you, right? you might energize more blue collar voters who might vote for your senate candidate but you will energize those who will come out and vote for the senate opponents for the vulnerable purple state republicans. >> exactly. >> that's for you, elise. >> just because this -- hi. no, this has been just a crazy primary process and it's just figuring out how is trump really going to shift the dynamic. more harmful than helpful and i personally think probably more harmful. there's just a huge risk not only could they lose the white house in the fall to hillary clinton and lose the house and the senate any chance they have at it. >> and very quickly, robert, we haven't heard flint mentioned very much by republicans. there was one question that marco rubio took at the most recent debate. how does disaster in michigan and flint with the republican governor trying to save money

ron so for more on that nonexclusive tag go to wjla.com. you know how johnny manziel used to do this move there? kirk can do it now. jonathan: kirk has more class than johnny manziel. robert: that is true. very true. jonathan: mobiletrak7 is out on pothole patrol now. it doesn't take long and you don't have to go far to find it. the blitz is on to find all the holes that opened up over the winter. look at that! nasty stretch of road. jeanette reyes shows us where some of the road is being done. jeanette: it has been a rough winter. not just for you but probably for your tires, too. the good news is there is relief on the way. prince george's county pothole blitz kicked off early this morning. and take a look. crews are still hard at work making your ride a little smoother. fluctuating temperatures this winter are mostly to blame. snowplows didn't help either. >> softens up the road. it's not too much you can do about it really. it doesn't bother 10,000 potholes. thus far we have received over 800 requests. and so i suspect that especially with the blizzard and the road conditions being impacted by that through the

>> mark kirk, republican from illinois indicated a short time ago that he will be one of the senators that takes the meeting. ron, thank you so much. luke is on capitol hill for us. luke, you tweeted last night and abraham said, my son, god will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering, i believe that's from genesis. is that how he is being viewed on the hill right now, as a sacrificial lamb? >> craig, well, let me commend you for also being a sunday school graduate like myself. that's what i was getting there at that tweet is that this is a sacrificial lamb because there is no clear path forward for judge garland to not only get a hearing in the senate judiciary committee but also a vote on the senate floor. republicans knew this was going to come soon enough. they were ready. they have two main talking points. number one, it's not the person, it's the principle. meaning it doesn't matter who the president was going to give us, they were going to go down. we believe the next president should make this decision. the president has a right to nominate, we have a right to have a hearing or a vote. listen to what

ron mccoy of its who is in prison on corruption charges. term, -- he is serving a 14 year term. merrick garland is meeting with two more senators this morning. also, a meeting with senator mark kirkis. puerto rico's delegates are grouping a proposed bill to resolving a debt crisis. the measure calls for a board that would hire experts to help puerto rico restructure a debt. they do not want to hand over control to a federally appointed panel. they are pushing something similar. global news 24 hours a day, powered by 2400 journalists, in more than 150 news bureaus across the world. betty: bonnie, let's get caught up on the action. markets in your are closed. they are still celebrating easter. it asian stocks were mixed -- the nikkei, up 0.7%. one big story comes out of japan. it is active investor has urged the owner of the 7-eleven stores avoiding nepotism determine the next ceo. the ceo is 83 years old and is doing with chronic health problems. daniel says he investor says he may try to name his son president of 7-eleven japan and eventually the president of the company. it the current president of 7-eleven japan should be a leading candidate for the post, but instead, he may be

mark kirk in illinois say, we can meet with him, kelly ayotte, vulnerable new hampshire in 2016 say i'll meet with him but i'm not comfortable with a vote. you'll see some of those folks, ron johnson of wisconsin, some of these people, rob portman who are in races in swing states -- >> ted strickland won big in ohio. rob portman has a race on his hands. >> the real dividing line is will you see a bunch of senate republicans call for confirmation hearings or vote, i'm still skeptical. >> chuck grassley do? he is up. he has to think about a general election now. >> he does have to worry about a general election but you don't want to hurt all your base. so i think grassley will stay put. this is a base election for both sides. and i don't think garland will bring out those activists in any way, shape or form on either side. that's probably a good thing. some people care about process, not many voters. they care more about bigger issues. this is not going to be about the supreme court. this is about economics and what are you going to do for me personally and have you been a good senator. one of the thing is that hurt rubio is he spent so much time campaigning and not enough t

kirk of illinois became the first republican senator to meet with judge garland. gop leadership says it will not consider the judge's nomination during a election year. prosecution says they will not retry rongoya they are asking for a resentencing date. rejectedsupreme court the appeal and left intact his conviction on 13 corruption charges. he is serving a 14 year term. a new rating of car headlines modelsre than 30 midsize is only one great or good. the study says that of the rest about one third are rated acceptable. a third marginal and a third or. at the top of the list, the bottom, the, at the bmw 3 series. global news 24 hours a day, powered by our 2400 journalists in more than 150 news bureaus around the world. i'm mark crumpton. alix: you cannot mention oklahoma and natural gas without ginning a pioneer, tom ward. the former ceo is leading a privately owned capstone energy. in his relationship with the late aubrey mcclendon which is brought a great deal of attention. the two met when they were 23 and work together for 23 years at chesapeake for parting ways. mcclendon was indicted for conspiring with another company to release rigged bids. the other company was sandridge. mcclendo

ron bronstein, as you know, judge merrick garland is now being considered, supposedly, for the united states supreme court. he met with his first republican senator today. they had a formal meeting, kirkto his fellow republicans. >> we need for rational adult open-minded consideration of the constitutional process which judge garland's part of it. he's dully nominated by the elected president of the united states to fill a vacancy which we know exists on the court. we need the open-minded, rational people to keep an open mind. >> are with ebeginning to see the first cracks in the republican wall there? >> i think we've seen the cracks already. wisconsin is a state donald trump should win, 57% noncollege, only 35% evangelical. if he doesn't, i think it will be a signal of something shifting. on this, i do think, look, i've said before, on cnn, that if donald trump is the nominee, or ted cruz is the nominee and they don't look more competitive in september, particularly trump than he does today against the democrats, i think you'll see a lot of pressure among republicans to try to confirm judge garland before the election. because i think they will believe that they will get a younger,