arkansas is a small state with a small economy. having the world's largest private employer here means that it is tremendously influential. >> i know the arkansas times say the governor pushed for inclusion of amendment with nondiscrimination language but some lawmakers of the bill particularly sponsors refused that. so is that an indication that there was some discomfort from the beginning from the governor? >> i think that's fair to say. there's a companion piece of legislation, senate bill 202 that passed earlier in the session, he let it become law without his signature, it passed the legislature. that's a bill that would prevent local ordinances at the city level from banning discrimination against other protected classes. so the fact that he let that become law without signature indicates he has had some discomfort with this sort of legislation, but he indicated before he would allow this bill hb 1228 to become law, and rumors we have been hearing, he tried to broker some compromise between the right wing of his party and opp

arkansas.dam shapiro is following this story. >> they have the muscle. i do not think that they will be successful. that is how much in taxes they paid etc. late. one of the largest companies in the world. their ceo the head of walmart has come out and said that the passage of this bill present throughout the state of arkansas. the governor has already said that he would sign it. even those based in little rock are saying do not do this. he has already gone on the record saying that he would. >> arkansas is. that state is walmart. we saw what happened. there is no way that this goes through in the state of arkansas. >> the governor holds his press conference. send it back. clean it up. satisfy walmart. move on. >> how do you satisfy the critics. the critics have already said that what is being sought for here is legislation. special status or protected status to gay or lesbian people. >> a campaign that he is looking forward to. politics have to be playing in the back. >> you have this huge bac

which is the state capital of arkansas. and little rock, arkansas, is a nice place. it has the state capital. the bill clinton presidential library, and presidential complex thing, which is a big thing. the convenient little downtown airport. i was in downtown little rock the night the house of representatives first passed obamacare. and i watched that vote on c-span in a little rock bar while eating really excellent arkansas barbecue. i can attest, little rock is kind of awesome. little rock has a lot to recommend in it. but little rock is not done. what they want to do is they want to create a little rock technology park. they want to capitalize on the fact that they've got not just a state capital, but also the university of arkansas at little rock, good intellectual capital there. but they want to make the city into more of a tech hub. at the little rock technology park website, they explain that plan. and they specifically explain how the issue of caffeine is an important part of that plan. >> proximity is everything. workers want to be in urban places that are

because this is where we call east meets west, right here, on the banks of the arkansas river. this is where it all happens for salsa. stephen avery was -- it is often overused, but he really was a renaissance man. he came to missouri as a young man with his family. came down into rural indian territory. we associate him and his adult life with tulsa, where he became a very important civic and business leader. but most of all he believed in roads. he liked roads. he came along at a time where we had the big roads moving. we were starting to get more and more automobiles. a teamster could buy one. a farmer could buy one. a schoolteacher could buy one. people took to the roads. everybody had to get a car. that is where america's love affair with the internal combustion engine began. i do not think that has ever ended, to my dismay. so the people like avery got involved in this movement. he became a highway commissioner. and he tried to get as many there are roads paved as possible. and of course is a guest triumph was route 66 -- his biggest triumph was route 66, which came along

arkansas, as i know arkansas it's a very tolerant accepting, loving place. and suddenly we elect these people that are the exact opposite. >> that gives you an idea of the frustration and the emotion people here are feeling. in about 45 minutes, there's going to be a rally here. it's going to include some speakers, local business leaders, as well as some representatives. thomas, it's going to be interesting to see how quickly and if and how the legislature addresses these concerns. they were originally scheduled to adjourn tomorrow. back to you. >> so sarah, real quickly. specifically for arkansas, it only takes a simple majority to override the governor's veto. what happens if the governor doesn't get those changes? >> yeah he has a couple options. he can veto this bill which like you said just takes a simple majority to override that. he can also choose to not sign the law but let it go into effect effectively sending a message by not signing it. but his best bet here is really that they come to the table and they make these changes. he is facing a hard ri

>> please don't do this. >> let me read the statement from arkansas. from walmart in arkansas.age of hb 1228 threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of arkansas and does not reflect the values we uphold. for mees reasons, we're asking the governor to veto the legislation. clearly, they disapprove of the legislation. the question in arkansas, i don't believe we've seen it yet, will businesses start to act with their money? will they pull money out and stop giving business to that state? >> i think if you look at indiana, you look at the issues occurring there, simultaneously, i think you have to take a look at arkansas and say that you would conclude that the same thing would start to happen in arkansas. again, you know, these are the conflicts you see inside the republican party, the establishment, chamber of commerce, if you will, wing of the republican party, pro-business and conservative, evangelicals in the party who believe that their religious freedom is threatened who do not support gay marriage, for example. and i think that this is g

it's the largest private employer in arkansas. more than 47,000 employees and today walmart tweeted that it commended the governor for reconsidering. how significant was walmart's position on this issue? >> i think walmart's position along with several other corporations was significant. i think the governor as well as representative ballinger needed to take a pause after you have the likes of walmart, local corporations, local bakery owners and store owners that said, hey, look we've had our legal staff look at this and i understand it's a lawyer that brought this forth but these big companies paying these wealthy salaries to some of our great legal teams across the united states and in particular here in our own backyard offered up an opinion that could not be refuted by the governor. and i think after taking a longer harder look at it and, even more importantly, the governor highlighting that it was a generational issue, it is a race issue, there's several implications as to what could have been had he signed that into motion.

it's an arkansas value. treat everyone equally under the law. this bill intentionally targeted lgbt folks, went after that and discriminated against them. i hope we can move on from these attacks and move towards some pieces of legislation that actually protect folks. that's what's needed in this state. that's what's needed in states all across this country. and i'm optimistic that can be done in a bipartisan way where democrats and republicans can come together and do the right thing by their constituents. >> thank you guys all for your time. >> thank you alex. >> thank you. >>> after the break, the de facto president of the tech world, tim cook is a vocal critic of indiana's religious freedom law. jeb bush is an active supporter of it. >>> plus who has the most leverage in the remaining hours of the iranian nuke talks? >>> and jerry brown just did something that no california governor has ever done. i'll tell you what it is next on "now." plane and thought... yeah! empty seat next to me. and then i saw him slowly coming down the aisle. one of

so the status quo in arkansas is bad has gotten worse and the amendment of arkansas's religious freedom act did nothing to change that. arkansas has gone backwards in the last few months. just the face-saving window dressing amendment doesn't change anything. and we need to make a noise about that, about what's going on in arkansas. because all the corporate entities that complained about arkansas legalizing discrimination against lgbt people all over the state shouldn't be satisfied by what arkansas did today. it's still the law of the land and municipal laws won't protect lgbt people in arkansas. >> sarah, given that you work on these kind of cases, speak to that point that some of these companies really shouldn't be satisfied. and then if you do need any movie expertise or tips, i would recommend dan over myself. >> dan's absolutely right. these laws are these so-called fixes don't go nearly far enough. each of these needs to be further refined to clarify that in no way can they be used to undermine existing laws. they need to further adopt in every area of their civil rights law. it

we are arkansas! we are arkansas! >> the clock is ticking in arkansas as well where wednesday refused to sign a measure remove part of the bill to ensure business owners can't deny services to gays and lesbians by citing religious beliefs. >> my position is clear. i've asked them to remedy it. i've asked them to change the current law, and i've asked them to recall it and change the language on it. >> reporter: opponents say it's a start. >> to me it's a huge glimmer of hope that things might start to change here. >> reporter: others want the governor to go one tep further. >> there's nothing else to say about that. >> reporter: though clearly many still have something to say about the issue. >> to each his own. >> i think that governor hutchison should veto. >> reporter: and the ongoing debate. it's a debate that could spill over into next week as well when nevada lawmakers are expected to move on a religious freedom bill there. that's the latest live in indianapolis, i'm jay gray. dara, back to you.

in arkansas guess who's based there? like retail giant walmart, they're already speaking out against the religious freedom law. they posted this statement on twitter. the bill doesn't reflect walmart's values and they're urging the governor to veto it i guess if the ceo of walmart in arkansas is asking for that that's something that the governor has to pay close attention to it. >>> breaking news out of france. the ceo of lufthansa held a press conference but refused to answer questions about the co-pilot who intentionally crashed that plane disclosed six years ago he suffered from depression. bill, pretty stunning press conference over there, what did you hear and what didn't you hear from the ceo. >> reporter: good morning. the ceo the boss of lufthansa carter spohr was dressed in a black suit and it was a somber statement that he read out to journalists, he said it was a terrible accident. he said the grief is still with us every hour. he said we're learning more every day about the cause of the accident but that it w

the religious freedom moves from indiana to a arkansas governor. >> we want to be known as a state that does not discriminate but understands tolerance. >> arkansas will rewrite the bill to avoid an indiana-style backlash. >> i think, and i love indiana. i was born in indiana. all my friends are in indiana but i think indiana has gone nuts. today they banned same sex koor pools. >> "first look" starts right now. good morning. thanks for joining us. the whole sworld watching but are we close? through the night top diplomats try to hammer out a nuclear deal with iran two days after the deadline and today an inside look at strategy. president obama apparently told diplomats to ignore initial deadline but to be prepared to walk away from the table. emphasizing there are alternatives including military and economic options. yesterday a tough talk from the iranian foreign minister who insisted we may not get another chance at this. >> i certainly hope that our colleagues will recognize the fact that this is a unique opportunity that will be deplete depleteddeplete depleted and they need to at

arkansas's governor recalling the state's religious liberty bill.e didn't mention the problems his counterpart is having in indiana. he did, however, mention his own son, who signed a petition for him to veto it. but was it really walmart who changed the governor's mind? and then, from the french alps lufthansa ceo walking away from questions about why his airline knowing let a mentally ill pilot in the cockpit. it's all coming up. don't go anywhere. to your store, a container ship delivered it to that truck. here in san diego, we're building the first one ever to run on natural gas. ships this big running this clean will be much better for the environment. we're proud to be a part of that. ♪ [upbeat music] ♪ defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old. citracal maximum. easily absorbed calcium plus d. now in a new look. does all greek yogurt have to be thick? does it all have to be the same? not with new light and fluffy yoplait greek 100 whips! let's whip up the rules of greek! >>> hi everybody. i'm thomas roberts. coming up today on "msnbc

it's a very chaotic situation in arkansas. the last thing i want to talk about is indian territory of oklahoma. one thing really needs to be made clear the indiana nations do not surrender. they renegotiate because the indian nations saw themselves as independent nations who had renounced their treaties with the united states government and allied themselves with the confederate government. the word indian territory is very complex. we could do a whole session just on that. there was a lot of division among the different tribes that wasn't unanimous. some tribes were very split. most of them will side with the confederacy. by 1865 a large part of the indian territory has been occupied by union forces and union indians loyal to the northern cause. eventually, as news comes out that the trans-mississippi department has been surrendered which does include this area, the different indian leaders will start to discuss among themselves internally within their tribes and amongst the other leaders of tribes and they will one by one ap

walmart, based in arkansas is taking a stand. it publicly came out against that bill yesterday and its ceo urged a veto back in indiana, nine ceo s have sent a law demanding it be changed. >> it cuss not give any right to deny services to anyone in this state. it's simply a balancing test used by our federal courts and jurisdictions across the country for more than two decades. >> a clarification of the law is expected to be on the governor's desk by the end of the week. >>> the march 31st deadline for a iranian nuclear deal has come and gone talks were extended until today. secretary of state john kerry and his fellow negotiations have already started the meeting. kerry updated president obama on the status on the negotiations with iran so far. what is the latest with these talks? >> reporter: another extension has come and gone as negotiators work through the night. they're making progress. it seems that some of the problems, the iranians are reluctant to get into specifics to sign some sort of document that would put in restri

but what arkansas did today because discrimination against lgbt people all over arkansas is still the law of the land. municipal laws will not protect them. >> sarah, gmpb you tworkgiven that you work often these case if you do need movie expertise or tips, i would recommend dan over myself. so. >> dan is absolutely right. these laws or so-called fixes don't go nearly far enough. each of these needs to be further refined to clarify that in no way can they be used to undermine existing civil rights in non-discrimination laws and beyond that both of these states need to affirmatively adopt protections for gay transgender and lesbian people. it's the only way to move forward. >> what do you think of the company then? do you think there is a little double speak going on? >> none in the least bit. these companies have proven over and over again they really value their lgbt employees and they want to see them protected in every area of their lives. it's why hundreds of corporations have not only spoken out against these restoration acts but have explicitly called on these legislatures to ad

the ceo of arkansas based walmart has asked governor hutchison to veto arkansas's religious freedom restoration act which just passed today. in a statement, walmart's ceo writes -- >> earlier today, governor mike pence held a press conference in response to widespread public criticism, including much corporate criticism of the vergsz of the religious freedom of restoration act that he signed. governor pence began by saying it's been a tough week and called on the legislature to do something fast, right now, to fix the problem. >> it's been a tough week here in the hoosier state. we have a perception problem, because some people have a different view. and we intend to correct that. after much reflection and in consultation with leadership of the general assembly i've come to the conclusion that it will be helpful to move legislation this week that makes it clear that this law does not give businesses a right to deny services to anyone. >> at today's press conference, the governor was asked the same question that he refused to ask this weekend when george stephanopoulos asked it he was asked if a

indiana and arkansas retreat. first though, politicians say or sometimes do the darndest things, like a mom dance with jimmy fallon. ♪ ♪ i care deeply about the gulf. i grew up in louisiana. i went to school here. i've been with bp ever since. today, i lead a team that sets our global safety standards. after the spill we made two commitments. to help the gulf recover and become a safer company. we've worked hard to honor both. bp has spent nearly 28 billion dollars so far to help the gulf economy and environment. and five years of research shows that the gulf is coming back faster than predicted. we've toughened safety standards too. including enhanced training... and 24/7 on shore monitoring of our wells drilling in the gulf. and everyone has the power to stop a job at any time if they consider it unsafe. what happened here five years ago changed us. i'm proud of the progress we've made both in the gulf and inside bp. it begins from the second the pursuiwe're born.ier. after all, healthier doesn't happen all by i

as early as today the governor of arkansas can sign into law the bill. protesters believe the law will permit demonstrations against gays have been demonstrating in little rock. he says he'll sign it. others say it will make arkansas a less desirable place to live. >> our state's most talented will soon leave if these are the messages that we continue to send. >> the arkansas-based retail giant walmart is calling on the governor to veto the measure. >>> the indiana religious freedom bill that became law last week unleashing a nationwide swell knocked governor mike pence on his heels. several states including new york and connecticut have barred state funded travel to indiana. the coach of the defending national championship men's basketball team the university of connecticut's kevin ollie says he won't tlafbl weekend to the final four and nascar said it's disappointed by the legislation. adriana diaz has more from indianapolis. >> we have a perception problem here because some people have a different view and we intend to correct that. >> reporter: india

governor hutchinson calling for changes to arkansas's own religious freedom bill.after public concern it promotes discrimination. >>> senator menendez due in court today. >> pope francis leading a mass for holy thursday. the pope blessing oils during masses in the coming year. >>> and now it's time for the good, bad and ugly. the good baseball star offering the reward for 16 stolen bikes custom made for wounded veterans. the ride to recovery bikes were taken from a naval medical center storage unit. >>> expecting traffic this morning? it's probably nothing compared to l.a. the city is at the top of a list of most congested cities. san francisco honolulu, second and third. >>> this is an ugly april fool's joke. tom brady sharing this photo. i think we have it for you. he was in a full body cast. trust me. looky for pats fans it wasn't real. >>> now it's time for your brew on this responses. a pizza shop closing its doors after protests and online threats because the owner said he would refuse to cater a gay wedding. should it be forced to close? >> if someone didn't

that is already on the books in arkansas.uation that made asa hutchison take a second look? >> i think it was partly the fact that it seemed certainly to the public they were responding to the uproar over what was going on in indiana. they sort of got caught on the coat tails of that. there are states that have religious freedom laws in one form or another. some of them are similar to what indiana and arkansas are doing. this isn't the kind of moment in time history, where people are saying even if we agreed to this before we don't really agree with it anymore. >> do you think some of the laws that have been passed like the once i just referenced in arkansas, do you think there will be a re-examining of those as well. >> i would be surprised if arkansas gets rid of that law. i do think there is an increasing number of people that are looking at this and saying we should sort of have protections for people. it's not that bad of a thing. you know making sure that people are not discriminated against is a goal. >> one of the mos

. >> spreads to arkansas. >> arkansas passed its own version of the law, which the governor was expected to sign. >> i've asked them to recall it and change the language. >> he announced he would not sign the religious restoration freedom act. >> my son seth signed the petition asking dad the governor to veto this bill. >> perhaps dad realized he could no longer look the other way. >> all the negotiators are tired and frustrated. >> still no deal tonight with iran over its nuclear program. >> the final roadblocks are few, but very tough to get around. >> i don't know what the [ bleep ] planet you think you're on right now. >> an nypd police officer and the traffic rant that's gone viral all caught on camera. >> berating an uber driver. >> stop it with your mouth and top the for what, sir. >> the passenger in the back seat recorded the rant. >> this isn't important enough for me. you're not important. >> he's been stripped of his gun and badge. >> senator bob menendez has been indicted on federal corruption charges. >> i'm ready and ready to fight. >> the allegation is that he used his po

even as a similar law has just advanced in arkansas.otesters gather in little rock tuesday, calling on the governor there to veto a bill just passed by the arkansas house. there is growing opposition from businesses in that state including walmart which is headquartered there. indiana's governor mike pence, promised to fix the religious freedom law in his state. he claims it is not a license to discriminate but he does admit there is what he calls a perception problem. let's get more now from cnn's miguel marquez. >> reporter: christine, john fast-moving changes here in indiana today. protests again in the state. this time bloomington where several hundred people gathered to protest sb101. the governor, mike pence, in a stunning reversal. this is a guy who had been fighting against any change to this law that he signed in private. today he came out to say he doesn't think it invites discrimination, but he still wants a fix. >> it's been a tough week here in the hoosier state. but we're going to move forward. i've come to the conclusion

i think it will be worth tuning in for. >> may 5th in hope, arkansas. huckabee is part of a herd of republican presidential hopefuls or would-bes rumbling through new hampshire this weekend for another 2016 cattle call of sorts. chief political correspondent carl carl is live tonight. >> reporter: most are going to speak to speeches and they are going to introduce themselves to the voters so there's a lot of repetition and they need to aggressively distinguish themselves from one another. new jersey governor chris christie spent the last three days at the summit. >> the american people are anxious. you are filled with anxiety, not anger. they are worried about their country and they should be and the reason for that is absolutely feckless leadership by this president. >> reporter: his personality has sometimes been a liability. but he wore it like a badge. >> some people say i'm too direct, too straightforward. i think we can use that in washington, d.c., and rick perry is not enough for republicans to just complain. >> america is at a time of testing a

hillary clinton, first lady of arkansas arkansas is going back to reconsider its law.as's son convinced him maybe he should rethink this issue. she tweeted out yesterday, like the indiana law, arkansas law would permit unfair discrimination against lgbt americans, i urge governor to veto. she tweets when she thinks it's to her advantage. >> it's an easy issue. >> easy issue for the democrats, she wants to stoke the republican divide. >> she's going to have a lot of opportunities to do that. particularly she's not going to have to worry about her left. so yeah that's what she's going to do all cycle you would imagine, right? >> the larger story is that democrats in 2015 are a very unified party. they have some differences on the economy but on culture they're a pretty unified party. republicans are now where democrats were 30 years ago. >> we'll see this debate will put pressure on some of the other candidates as well. you saw ted cruz in iowa just remember he was the first candidate to jump into the race he did it eight days ago. his campaign just issued a press releas

to talk about what we've seen in arkansas and indiana. state rap in arkansas a little while ago. she said it's hard to imagine the biggest retailer wal-mart -- >> biggest employer in the united states of america. >> when they say you need to make a change. maybe that's what made the governor listen. >> look there are a lot of times social conservatives and fiscal conservatives differ. you see it in immigration reform all the time and see it here with this law. fiscal conservatives, many of them business conservatives want to make money. it doesn't make sense for them to be telling people in any way intentional or not, our state stands for discrimination. some say that's not what the law does et cetera. legal analysts say it opens the door to that. you have people talking about boycotting instilling boycotts in the state of indiana. why would arkansas want to open themselves up to the same thing? >> right. i think it's interesting, and i wanted your take on this as well. i was wondering yesterday. you have the talking points for some suppo

it's important to say there's no pocket veto in the state of arkansas.rnor does not sign or veto this in five days excluding sunday it will become law any way. so the governor here has a huge job ahead of him. >> all right. we're going to push through on points you made victor blackwell blackwell. thank you very much. hutchinson said legislation in arkansas should boil down to protecting those with truly held religious convictions and truly minimize against discrimination. >> this bill simply defines the standard to determine the right balance, but how do we as a state communicate to the world that we are respectful of diverse work place. we want to be known as a state that does not discriminate but understands tolerance. that is the challenge that we face. making this law like the federal law will aid us in that effort in communication. >> democrat camile bennett here she is on live tv. we've got you ma'am. member of the arkansas state house, voted against this bill. representative, welcome. >> thank you. i appreciate you having me. >> let me begin with

host: that is ken from arkansas. again, laws and indiana arkansas.p for discussion in the first 40 five minutes. in the washington post this morning, president obama commuted 22 drug offenders sentences. a washington post right up this morning saying that to 20 two inmate sentences were commuted on tuesday. nonviolent offenders serving time for the possession and sale of methamphetamines, marijuana and cocaine. one was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and sentenced in july 2005 2 246 months in prison, a term that would've kept him behind bars until 2025. they are being urged to use this opportunity to rebuild their lives. caller: good morning. i'm going to run right up the middle. i am in deep that. i am gay and born again. i am a born again christian. this week we celebrate the resurrection of jesus christ on sunday. god is love. he does not care about body parts. it is not religion. we have thousands of religions around the world. god despises religion. unless we start a religion on teaching love. re-read the bible. how we treat our en

immediately after arkansas lawmakers passed the bill walmart's ceo called upon the governor of arkansas to veto the bill. republicans have one true religion, my friends. it's called the almighty dollar. the only reason the governor in arkansas is talking about changing legislation is that billions of dollars have threatened to walk out of his state. the nfl was slow to respond to domestic violence in the league until sponsors made a move. big business is calling the shots because they want customers. they don't want protesters. they don't want problems. sales causes a lot of problems. it ain't brain surgery. governor pence says the law won't allow discrimination although it's already started in his state. owners of memories pizza in walkerton, indiana, they say they support the new law and plan to act accordingly. >> if a gay couple was to come in say they wanted us to provide them pizzas for a wedding, we would have to say no. we're not discriminating against anyone. it's just that's our belief. >> and of course arkansas and indiana are not alone. the story continues on the prairie in

. >>> plus in arkansas. reversal on a controversial religious freedom bill. >> hi everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. religious redom. >> we're a state that -- freedom. >> we're a state that recognizes the diversity of the workforce the need for nondiscrimination. >> the debate over protecting religion and preventing discrimination spreads to another state. nuclear fears. >> i'm not aware of anything that they have done to harden the site since fukushima. >> how rising seas could put a florida power plant and people at risk. and stand-up guy. from beijing to brooklyn. the american comedian getting laughs in three languages. >>> ark's governor says he will not -- arkansas's governor says he will not sign the new religious freedom act into law. it comes one day after indiana's governor asked lawmakers to clarify his state law. pressure is coming from business leaders and gay rights activists who call the bill discriminatory. erica pitzi has the story. erica. >> calling for changes to t

a similar fight is going on in arkansas. it asked governor asa hutchinson to veto the religious freedom act, house bill 1228. the nation's biggest retailer. it's also the nation's largest private employer. it says that bill does not affect walmart's values arkansas's values or america's values. if you need any more proof these laws are essentially a closed for business sign in these states take it from legendary investor warren buffett. he told our poppy harlow the legislation is wrong. >> the governor of indiana, mike pence, has said this week that he will fix the law, that he will move to make sure that it does not discriminate against anyone. however, when he was asked over the weekend whether he would add sexual orientation, be in favor of adding sexual orientation as a protected class in indiana, he said that is not something that he's working towards right now. what should be done to fix this? >> well i think if people can exercise discrimination based on sexual orientation, then it's wrong. i don't know how the law re

. ♪ here is the new religious freedom laws target lbgt community and now arkansas faces backlash fromhe state's largest employer. mixed messages diplomates working on agreement for limiting iran nuclear program are split if there is progress and a police officer allegedly harassing a uber driver is all caught on tape how things got to heated. ♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city i'm stephanie sy opposition is growing today in arkansas now that the state has become the latest to pass a so called religious freedom bill and wall mart which is headquarters in arkansas is urging the governor to veto it and other leaders and gay and lesbian advocates and they tell us the bill is similar to one that drew anger and protest in indiana. >> reporter: the furor that the governor started in indiana. >> i could have handled that better this weekend. >> reporter: is spreading across the country. >> it's overwhelming. >> we dealt with in the 50s. >> house bill 1228 is a moral and ethical shame. >> reporter: house in arkansas voted tuesday to make that the 21st state to enact a religio

which is the state capital of arkansas. and little rock, arkansas, is a nice place. it has the state capital. the bill clinton presidential library, and presidential complex thing, which is a big thing. the convenient little downtown airport. i was in downtown little rock the night the house of representatives first passed obamacare. and i watched that vote on c-span in a little rock bar while eating really excellent arkansas barbecue. i can attest, little rock is kind of awesome. little rock has a lot to recommend in it.

this issue could be reversed if we were able to paddle in the arkansas river.ortunately, we are unable to do this and to a large extent this has to do with the army program. >> if you live into also, you are going to drive along the riverside drive. you're going to see this river. unfortunately, it it is empty. this little river is where we paddled for a grand total of 100 feet. we need 18 inches of depth to paddle safely because of-hits the bottom, we go in. today, there is maybe half a foot which means most of the riverbed is dry. bags as something like this affects my parents business, it is important to me. it also affects our community economically. >> the one thing people forget about when they are putting together a program to encourage industry to move from other places to tulsa is the beauty. the livability. they want to move where they can and joint life. it is something that is often overlooked when you look at how we can encourage people to come in with profitable businesses that can offer jobs to our people. >> there is a correlation between outdoo

in the wake of indiana, you saw arkansas moving forward.hat does look like it will come out arkansas is -- the only tweaking there is that they went back and adopted the federal language from rfra, which has very narrow issues of difference between what arkansas originally introduced and what the federal rfra says. if there was going to be this huge political backlash, i don't think we would be seeing this pass in arkansas. the same thing happened last year when arizona, the governor out there got cold feet and vetoed it. read on the feet of that mississippi picked up and test rfra. i don't think one particular state will define the future as to what's happening when it pertains to religious freedom. greta: mr. perkins, you said this issue of religious freedom will be played out in the 2016 cycle. what did you make a senator rand paul not initially saying something right away about this indiana law? do you think that was a mistake to not come out forcefully, as you say? tony: i don't really consider rand paul the bell cow when it comes to w

the governor of arkansas backed away from his promise to sign the bill. this morning, indiana's legislative leaders are set to meet with business leaders including representatives of the pacers eli lilly. governor mike pence, who signed the indiana bill faces stiff pressure from the business and sports ground. mark is in washington. good morning, mark. >> good morning, ann-marie. the white house is weighing in. the indiana and arkansas legislation is quote, not consistent with the values of the vast majorities of ameicans. indiana lawmakers say they are close to an agreement on new legislation that would clarify the state's freedom law. >> the question is we are moving the spectrum that has been raised. discrimination and denial of service, facilities and other things. that's what we are focusing on. >> reporter: they are working to add new language to prevent it from using them to discriminate against gays and lesbians. they have their supporters including ted cruz. >> the law of what indiana just passed, that was passed in 1993 passed nearly unanimously

this law was enacted not only not only in indiana and arkansas or soon to be arkansas, but in 20 other places, for a reason. that's to protect the religious freedoms of those that belief. who could ever imagine that the lgbt crowd would have more leverage than the religious people of america? it's all upside down. it doesn't mean they're wrong or write but the leverage goes to them now, and not to those that have a belief. lou: you know, what strikes me is we haven't heard the words religious freedom from the two governors mike pence who was a presidential candidate for president, he's done. what i don't understand why we haven't heard the balance here. the fact that both rights are so important. the rights of those not to be discriminated against and the rights of churches not to be discriminated against the right of religion in the first amendment. >> i think we actually have heard it who was perhaps --. lou: who was it that expressed that? >> more tolerant in trying to fight back. lou: i've got to ask you, who did you hear do that? it wasn't the republican governors. >> all over fox

your response to the so-called fixes to the arkansas and indiana laws?> well, it seems to be going in the right direction, and i hope they continue to move in that direction. what needs to be done still is there is no protection for lgbt people, and i think that is the next step will stop i am a buddhist. in buddhism, we embrace the pluralism of our society. on christmas, i sing christmas carols. i decorate christmas trees. i celebrate christmas with my christian friends. i go to seder with my jewish friends. that is the kind of society we should have. i particularly admire pope francis, who a from the vatican to watch the feast of the nonbelievers. that is the kind of society i call truly inclusive. there should be no civil law that protects hurting other people, denigrating other people, and ruining the most joyful moment in people's lives. so i hope we come to that point. indiana, certainly, there's no protection for lgbt people right now currently. they can be fired with impunity you. so that is the next step. we look forward to that coming about. ju

arkansas. the governor there making a surprise decision after the nation's largest retailer weighed in. nbc's gabe gutierrez has that for us. >> we are arkansas! >> reporter: facing mounting pressure, today arkansas governor asa hutchinson changed course. >> we want to be known as a state that does not discriminate but understands tolerance. >> reporter: previously he'd said he would sign a controversial religious freedom bill similar to indiana's. but the world's largest retailer, arkansas-based walmart, asked for a veto. and so did someone closer to home. >> my son, seth, signed the petition asking me, dad the governor, to veto this bill. >> reporter: now he's sending the bill back to lawmakers asking them to align it more closely with existing federal law. >> this is a bill that in ordinary times would not be controversial. but these are not ordinary times. >> reporter: here in indiana, legislators are now scrambling to clarify the language of this state's law. >> we're talking to a lot of d

the arkansas bill is very similar to one that is already law in indiana. but politicians are working to fix it. it's already impacting this weekend's final four basketball tournament in indianapolis. the men's head basketball coach at the university of connecticut has decided not to attend some ncaa events connected with the championship. the university's president said uconn's coach kevin oli will abide by a travel ban in place by state workers imposed by connecticut's governor. >>> negotiators in switzerland are still talking right now hours after a deadline passed to reach a framework deal over iran's nuclear program and there are mixed signals over where weather any real progress has been made. simon mcgregor wood has the latest from lausanne, switzerland. >> reporter: it is clear that talks in lausanne from tuesday to wednesday morning has made progress on key issues but it is not clear that there has been an enough progress for a full framework of agreement. leaving the talks the iranian foreign minister spoke of his optimism. >> we've been working s

what do you make of the new laws in indiana and arkansas? >> well these are very significant changes that were made. they're not cosmetic at all. and the question was, when we looked at these laws was, would the final measures that went into effect make things worse in those states for lesbian and gay people. and the answer seems to be in both cases no that the sponsors of this legislation have backed way off some of the possible effects. in indiana, what they have done is made it clear that if there are local ordinances and there are a number of communities in indiana that have a number of ordinances protecting against discrimination, that this will not provide a defense for any provider of commercial services housing, employment and so on they will not be able to plead religious freedom as a defense to an action under the local ordinances. so that's a tremendous step forward. it doesn't provide extra protection. there's still no state wide civil rights act for gays and lesbians. this makes things no worse. in arkansas remarkably enough the

he always put arkansas first. his vision for a two-party system in arkansas led him to seek elected office. he paved the way for the republican party in the state and his vision continues to be realized as the party continues its growth in the state. john paul is a name that is just as familiar in arkansas as it is to my colleagues in the senate. i served with him before serving in this chamber as well as many members of the house who worked alongside him during his years in elected service. and through decades more of providing assistance to his beloved arkansas. he would have been -- you would have been hard pressed to find a kinder gentler man than john paul hammerschmidt. his wisdom and counsel has shaped my washington experience more than anyone else. when i ran for congress in 2001, i saw john paul offer advice. i quickly learned as a newly elected member of congress from the third district of arkansas how fond his former colleagues were of him. senior members of the house of representatives had so much resp