. >>> now let's get the latest in sports from my colleague alex witt, hey, alex, good morning. >>> let'set to baseball as fans flocked to stadiums as they celebrated independence day and the white sox closed their game with a dramatic end when adam dunn's walkoff run in the ninth gave them a 3-2 win over the orioles. >>> the twins failed to get a win against the yankees but chris parmele hustled to give minnesota fans one spectacular sight right there. the first baseman went into the stands to make a circus catch on a foul ball. >>> americans in afghanistan marked independence day by participating in their version of atlanta's peach tree road race. over 600 servicemen ran that grueling 10k course kick off a day of morale boosting activities. that event has been held since 2004. >>> the winner of the dwight howard sweepstakes is expected to be announced later today, and sources say the nba's most coveted free agent is still undecided but hall of famer hakeem olajuwon says he's 85% sure howard will be in a houston rockets uniform next season. >>> one chaotic scene erupt in a las vegas socc

from my colleague alex witt. alex, always nice to see you. >> and right back at you. good morning. good morning, everyone. let's get to baseball fans as they celebrate independence day with america's favorite pastime. the chicago white sox see adam dunn's walk-off home run. it gave the sox a 3-2 win over the baltimore orioles. the twins failed to get a win against the yankees but chris parmley hustled to give minnesota fans a spectacular highlight. the first baseman going right into the stands to make a circus catch on a foul ball. american soldiers in afghanistan marked independence day by participating in their version of the peachtree road race. over 600 servicemen ran that grueling 10k course kicking off a day of morale boosting activities for the troops. the event has been held since 2004. >>> the winner of the dwight howard sweepstakes expected to be announced today. the most coveted free agent's fate is still undecided. >>> a chaotic scene erupting in las vegas soccer game. fighting in the stands spilled o

that's a wrap of this hour of "weekend with alex witt." next "up with steve kornacki." keep it right here on msnbc. ♪ i'm a hard, hard worker every day. ♪ ♪ i'm a hard, hard worker and i'm working every day. ♪ ♪ i'm a hard, hard worker and i'm saving all my pay. ♪ small businesses get up earlier and stay later. and to help all that hard work pay off, membership brings out millions of us on small business saturday and every day to make shopping small huge. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. with olay, here's how. new regenerist eye and lash duo. the cream smooths the look of lids... softens the look of lines. the serum instantly thickens the look of lashes. see wow! eyes in just one week with olay. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ is . >>> investigators are looking for answers after it slammed into the runway alt san francisco international airport. we're standing by for a live report on exactly what w

. >>> to the latest in sports from alex witt. >>> fans flocked to stadiums as they celebrated independence and the white sox closed their game with a dramatic end when the walkoff in the ninth gave them a 3-2 win over the orioles. >>> the twins failed to get a win against the yankees but chris parmele hustled to give minnesota fans one spectacular sight right there. the first baseman went into the stands to make a circus catch on a foul ball. >>> americans in afghanistan marked independence day by running a grueling 10k course. that event has been held since 2004. >>> the winner of the dwight howard sweepstakes is expected to be announced today and the nba's most coveted free agent is still undecided but hall of famer hakeem olajuwon says he's 85% sure howard will be in a houston rockets uniform next season. >>> one scene erupting in a las vegas soccer team. fighting in the stands spilling out on to the fields as fans and players clashed using bottles and rocks as weapons. more than a hundred officers tried to regain order. >>> marion bartoli will battle sabine lisicki at the all england c

"weekends with alex witt" starts right now. >>> a new push for the middle class. more this morning from president obama on trying to even the economic playing field. a live report from the white house in a minute. >>> a tale of two countries. how the north and south are marking 60 years since the end of the korean war today. >>> what happened in the zimmerman jury room. the latest juror speaking out. >>> what does your car insurance cost have to do with a college degree? the answer in a new report. >>> good morning, everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex witt". president obama is ramping the push for his economic agenda. he's calling for congress to work together wore job growth with the goal of strengthening the middleclass. >> threatening to default on the bills this country has already racked up, shutting down the government. none of those things add up to an economic plan. none of that will take this country where it needs to go. >> let's go to the white house. kristen welker, good morning to you. >> well, alex, the strategy right now seems to be for preside

welcome to "weekends with alex witt." i'm betty nguyen. alex is off today. now here's what's happening today. the jury in the trial of george zimmerman begins its first full day of deliberations this morning. it was handed the case yesterday afternoon, but did not reach a verdict and recessed in the early evening. sarah deloff joins us now from sanford, florida. we understand deliberations get underway in just a couple of hours from now. >> reporter: that is correct, betty. deliberations begin at 9:00 a.m. this morning. and after that, the judge is really allowing the jury to set their own schedule. it is up to them to decide how late they want to deliberate tonight and if they don't reach a verdict, if they want to come in sunday. it was the final time for the defense to argue their case. >> he's not guilty of anything, but protecting his own life. >> reporter: followed by the prosecution's rebuttal. >> and it's not a case about self-defense. it's a case about self-denial. >> and we love our charts. >> reporter: friday morning saw a parade of visual aides b

we appreciate your time. >>> that is a wrap of this hour "weekend with alex witt."ead more political talk on "up with steve kornacki." stay with us. ♪ [ male announcer ] clearly this isn't one of those speed-eating contests. that's a hebrew national hot dog. a kosher hot dog. that means we're extra choosy about the cuts of beef that meet our higher kosher standards. and only a good, old-fashioned slow-motion bite is gonna capture all that kosher delight. and when your hot dog's kosher, that's a hot dog you can trust. hebrew national. what are you guys doing? having some fiber! with new phillips' fiber good gummies. they're fruity delicious! just two gummies have 4 grams of fiber! to help support regularity! i want some... [ woman ] hop on over! [ marge ] fiber the fun way, from phillips'. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can help make this a great block party. ♪ [ male announcer ] advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodil

high noon in the west, welcome, i'm alex witt. we have news to share about a woman who fell to her death from a roller coaster in tech. they have identified rosie esparza of dallas visiting the park for the first time. live in arlington tech texas. charles, good day to you. what else do we know about the victim and the circumstances. >> good morning, alex. according to investigators, rosie esparza, this was her first time to the park according to family members. they say she was having a pretty good time. now investigators are focusing in on the first few moments of a thrill ride that turned deadly within seconds. investigators today are working to answer tough questions at six flags over texas in arlington, a day and a half after the woman was ejected from the texas giant roller coaster. >> the guys behind the lady said right after the first bump she flew out. >> reporter: witnesses revealing terrifying moments and possible insight into the cause of the accident. brown told news she expressed concern about the security of her sec

. >> "weekends with alex witt" and welcome. crowds are gathered in brazil to see pope francis for the final day of his international trip. more than 3 million people turned out in rio de janeiro for world youth day and the upponti has wrappeded up the mass. claudio is joining us from there, and all dressed up with the event. claudio, with a good day to you, and 3 million people, and incredible to see the pope. what has the mood been like? >> alex, it is incredible mood, both festive and somber. while the day started with 3 million people in copa cabana beach with the biggest flash mob dance ever, and we don't know if it broke the guinness book of world records, but it was quite a spectacle to see it here, and we have seen even others joining into the event and then the mood was somber when the pope said mass. i was downed -- i was down there on the sands and amazing to watch the pilgrims crying with emotions. the pope has left and the mass is over and he is going to head to the airport later on to go to rome later tonight. but

welcome to "weekends with alex witt". president obama is

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i'm thomas roberts filling in for "weekends with alex witt." we begin with new reaction from all sides. we're hearing from the family of trayvon martin through their attorneys who say they are dealing with this decision as best they can. >> going to church this morning, they're confused about the justice system and how all of this has transpired, so we're trying to educate them, as ms. fulton and mr. martin said, so they can answer questions of their children, and that's what many parents are doing around america this morning. >> attorney general parks also representing the martin family weighed in as well. >> without question every one in america sitting at home this morning knows that if a 28-year-old black man shot and killed a young, white boy anywhere in america, that person would be arrested and face a trial, without question. >> those comments come after zimmerman's defense team reacted last night by expressing gratitude to the jury of six women that found their client not guilty. >> we are ecstatic with the results. george zimmerman was

for a body in motion. >>> i'm alex witt in for tamron hall.on is following developing news. emotional words from trayvon martin's mother sybrina fulton, this at the national urban league conference. >> i'm just asking you to wrap your mind around that. wrap your mind around no prom for trayvon. no high school graduation for trayvon. no college for trayvon. no grand kids coming from trayvon. all because of a law. a law that has prevented the person who shot and killed my son to be held

welcome back to "weekends with alex witt."n the federal government today to prosecute george zimmerman for fatally shooting trayvon martin. the organization's president saying the group will pursue civil rights charges with the department of justice. joining me right now is the president and the ceo of the naacp, ben jealous. it's good to have you here. let's start out of the gate with this because a lot of people will be curious as to how you want to pursue these charges with the department of justice against george zimmerman. what's the first step? and do you think you can actually be successful in getting traction in that effort? >> well, the most important message right now we want folks to understand, this is not over. there may be a civil case. yes, the doj could bring civil -- excuse me, criminal charges. we are pushing them to do just that. they tell us they continue to look at this case. this case is open. i think it is almost certain that if a civil case is brought, they would wait until that is done to see what come

welcome to weekends with alex witt. president obama is wrapping up the push for his economic agenda today. he's making a call to congress to support job growth with the goal of strengthening the middle class. >> repealing obama care, gutting critical investments in our future, threatening to default on the bills this country has wracked up or shutting down the government just because i'm for keeping it open. none of those things add up to an economic plan. none of that will take this country where it needs to go. >> let's go to the white house. kristen welker. what is the president doing to turn the talk of all this economic agenda into a reality? >> reporter: well, i think his strategy at this point and of course it's not clear that it's going to work but the strategy at this point is that president obama is getting out of the white house. out of washington, d.c., taking his message on the economy on the road. we saw him do that this past week. he unveiled his vision for moving forward in illinois. he made a stop in mi

i'm alex witt. thanks for joining us. a very busy morning already. their interim leader after the military ousted president mohamed morsi. is this the next phase of the arab spring? >>> a major delay in implementing the president's health care law and a push for immigration reform faces an uncertain future in the house. what happens now? >>> and before tonight's fireworks another fourth of july tradition the nathan's hot dog eating contest. live this hour, one of this year's mustard belt contenders. >>> but first, repeating the revolution for the second time in just over two years, egyptians have od

>>> i'm alex witt in for tamron hall. the news nation is following developing news. emotional words from trayvon martin's mother sybrina fulton, this at the national urban league conference. >> i'm just asking you to wrap your mind around that. wrap your mind around no prom for trayvon. no high school graduation for trayvon. no college for trayvon. no grand kids coming from trayvon. all because of a law. a law that has prevented the person who shot and killed my son to be held accountable. >> those calls come after juror b-29 spoke with abc news and said she, quote, felt zimer man got away with murder but couldn't find him guilty because of the law. she also offered her apologies to trayvon martin's parents. >> what would you like to say to trayvon's parents? >> i would like to apologize because i feel like i let them down. >> joining me now, b.e.t. columnist and cnbc contributor keith boykin and criminal defense attorney john burris. keith, i want to start with you. let's play part of that interview that everybody's talking about today. here's some of that. >> georg

i'm alex witt. thanks for joining us. a very busy morning already. egyptians welcoming their interim leader after the military ousted president mohamed morsi. is this the next phase of the arab spring? >>> a major delay in implementing the president's health care law and a push for immigration reform faces an uncertain future in the house. what happens now? >>> and before tonight's fireworks another fourth of july tradition the nathan's hot dog eating contest. live this hour, one of this year's mustard belt contenders. >>> but first, repeating the revolution for the second time in just over two years, egyptians have ousted their leader and once again the country finds itself at a political crossroads. this time, it was islamist president mohamed morsi elected to office a year ago pushed to the brink by massive anti-government protests before being removed by the egyptian military wednesday. egypt's former chief justice was sworn in as an interim president this morning. millions of egyptians responde

right now time for a review of weekends with alex witt. e country on the justice for trayvon vigils. they were organized by reverend al sharpton's national action network. he will join me ahead. aclu exposes a program to monitor your every move. fast-food giant raising controversy about minimum wage struggles. why some are taking aim at mcdonald's. don't go anywhere. i'll be right back. and in this corner, the best generation of dawn power, platinum! [ bell dings ] here we go! [ female announcer ] dawn platinum power clean's micro-scrubbing enzymes give you the power of an overnight soak in 3 minutes, and 3 times more everyday grease cleaning ingredients. for all your dishes. so if you like dawn, you'll love platinum. [ sponge ] the champion! [ female announcer ] dawn platinum does even more... [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a b

. >>> welcome back to weekends with alex witt.n the george zimmerman trial entering the seventh hour of deliberations. four possible outcomes, guilty of second-degree murder, guilty of manslaughter, not guilty or a hung jury. two familiar faces for us as we go through this case here. a hung jury. >> a hung jury is a possibility that not enough people are talking about. that's because there are only six people on this jury. it is more likely just by numbers that you will get a unanimous verdict. it's possible. a hung jury mean there's a divide. it could be 5-1, 3-3. that leads to a mistrial. that could lead to another trial or a plea for george zimmerman. >> george alex, what can the judge do if that happens? >> it's a possibility. it's less likely in the case where the jury has been sequestered. they're going to bond better than a mixed jury but they will be bonding and talking about their families because they couldn't talk about the case until now, until the deliberations. when you bond like that it's easier to reach a consensus

i'm thomas roberts filling in for "weekends with alex witt." all sides. we're hearing from the family of trayvon martin through their attorneys who say they are dealing with this decision as best they can. >> going to church this morning, they're confused about the justice system and how all of this has transpired, so we're trying to educate them, as ms. fulton and mr. martin said, so they can answer questions of their children, and that's what many parents are doing around america this morning. >> attorney general parks also representing the martin family weighed in as well. >> without question every one in america sitting at home this morning knows that if a 28-year-old black man shot and killed a

i'm alex witt at msnbc world headquarters coming on early because we want to take you to sanford, floridas expected to be a tremendously powerful day of testimony in what is also expected to be the final day of testimony in the prosecution's case against george zimmerman. of course charged with second-degree murder in the case of trayvon martin's death. we are looking at the court attorneys who have been gathered there around the judge. there's motions under way right now. most notably why we are on early as you see trayvon's mother sybrina fulton has been sworn in, sitting there in the witness chair, we do expect her to talk at length about her son, most notably about that tape in which she said she could hear her son screaming and pleading for help moments before a shot was fired and no more voices were heard. nbc legal analyst lisa bloom joining me for this extended coverage on msnbc. before we get to sybrina fulton's testimony what is going on with the attorneys right now? >> well, they're up at a side bar which means they're making legal arguments not appropriate for the jury to be h

eastern and now it is time for "weekends with alex witt."he best moment ev ever. >>> and now with president obama, he is vowing to do one thing for the rest of the days in office. and plus we will have an interview with spike lee and the chances off a trayvon martin documentary. and we also talk to star jones and her interview with o.j. simpson in his civil trial and what is coming up next for her, and it is pretty huge so don't go away. o make it inside. and here's the play. oh dad did not see this coming. [ crowd cheering ] now if kevin can just seize the opportunity. it's looking good, herbie. he's seen it. it's all over. nothing but daylight. yes i'd love a cookie. [ male announcer ] make a powerful first impression. the all-new nissan sentra. ♪ using night-vision goggles to keep an eye on my spicy buffalo wheat thins. who's gonna take your wheat thins? i don't know. an intruder, the dog, bigfoot. could you get the light? [ loud crash ] what is going on?! honey, i was close! it's a yeti! [ male announcer ] must! have! wheat thins! >>> a

now it's time for a preview of "weekends with alex witt." >> you know, we did the war overnights whenover a decade ago. this guy has been everywhere. we're all going to miss him. also thanks to you, melissa. i'd like to have you please join me. cross the studio set here. i want your reaction to president obama making those surprise and very personal remarks at the white house about race and what it's like being a teenage african-american man. we are going to discuss the timing and the tone of his message. plus, vigils across america calling for federal civil rights charges expected to start in just a couple minutes. we have live reports from across the country. how did one of america's greatest cities fall into bankruptcy and how can san antonio, texas help? the oppressive heat wave is taking an unprecedented turn. is relief in sight? don't go anywhere. i'll let you know. i'll be right back. all your important legal matters in just minutes. protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. >>> 100 cities, thousands of voices, rallies and vigi

right now it's time for a preview of "weekends with alex witt," hosted today by richard.ng. i was following that last story and i'm going to have to stick around tomorrow for that. you have a good rest of the day. >> thanks. >> right now we are going to be on hour six of verdict watch for the george zimmerman trial. a live report from the courthouse just ahead. plus, a new book about a mafia informant who allegedly killed or ordered the death of 50 people while working for the fbi. the five-time emmy award winning investigative reporter tells us his story. and nsa leaker edward snowden has not budged from the moscow airport. so will a phone call between president obama and vladimir putin change things around? >>> and place your bets. a royal birth, and putting money on it. don't go anywhere. we'll be right back. soft would e really just need "kid-proof." softsprings got both, let me show you. right over here. here, feel this. wow, that's nice. wow. the soft carpets have never been this durable. you know i think we'll take it. get kid-friendly toughness and feet-friendly s

i'm alex witt. we're closely watching compelling testimony coming out of sanford, florida. we heard for the first time from sybrina fulton testifying about the 911 call she heard. >> i heard my son scream. >> i understand. the alternative, only alternative, would you agree, would be that if it was to the your son screaming it would be george zimmerman, correct? >> objection as to speculation. >> sustained. >> you certainly had to hope that was your son screaming even before you heard it, correct? >> i didn't hope anything. i just simply listened to the tape. >> just a short while later we heard from trayvon martin's brother, older brother jahvaris, talking when he heard the 911 tapes. >> do you recognize any voices on that tape? >> yes. >> whose voice do you recognize? >> my brother. >> trayvon's? >> yes. >> what parts of the recording do you recognize as your brother's voice? >> the yelling and the screaming. >> so i'm back with nbc analyst lisa bloom, as well as here in studio gilani cobb following this trial for "the new yorker" and lisa, are you surprised by the brevity