benji, benji, benji.d he walked toward me. >> so it was more of a relief than i can even convey, when i came on to the boat and i put my arms around her and i thought finally we're together, we're on the lifeboat, we're safe and this is over. but it was not over. we're on the port side of the ship, which is the high side. as they try to lower it down to the water, it starts hitting against the side of the cruise ship. sometimes it free falls for three feet and then we suddenly get jerked into place. >> i suddenly realized that they didn't know what was going on. and they did not know how to operate the lifeboat, they had never done this. and i remember looking down and thinking, if these people don't know what's going to happen, and if something happens, we're going to fall straight down, and we would die by hitting the deck. that was the first moment they felt fear, that i thought, we're going to die. >> this went on for about ten minutes before they gave up and realized that they couldn't lower us down

. >> reporter: for emily lau and benji smith, this part of the mediterranean island will always resonate. >> i really want to see it. >> reporter: not because they honeymooned in these waters, but because they almost died here. the boston couple's return last year was their first time back since the terrible, tragic night in 2012 when their cruise ship, the "costa concordia," ran aground, a disaster which left 32 people dead. >> the crew members started pushing the lifeboat away from the ship. as they tried to lower it down toward the water, it starts hitting against the side of the cruise ship. sometimes it freefalls for three feet and then we suddenly get jerked into place. >> i suddenly realized that they had no idea what was going on and they did not know how to operate the lifeboat. >> reporter: the couple was eventually forced to abandon that lifeboat. >> we made loops in the rope. >> reporter: and it was only after rappelling down the hole of the sinking ship that the two were rescued and taken to gilio. >> one of the things i remember walking around gilio was a housekeeper, walki

benjy, start with senator rubio, he pulled fourth in a cbs news poll among republican candidates.er candidate. where is rubio? >> rubio is definitely edging into the first tier. and i will tell you exactly why. he has been overlooked a lot of times because he occupies similar space to jeb bush in terms of policy but also in florida with similar base of fund-raisers and supporters. but jeb bush is somewhat of a weak frontrunner. has a lot of establishment support, but yet to show whether that translates to support from republican voters. if a few months from now he looks like he can't close the deal, there will be a lot of interest in finding a backup candidate who is acceptable to establishment and conservatives alike. marco rubio has a lot of those credentials. there are a lot in the establishment that like him. he is not obviously as up as some others in the polls. he has a chance to vault in as emergency replacement if jeb falters. >> and the big question is raising money. has to be a big issue for rubio. >> absolutely. that's a problem for all of the second and in the republic

joining me now, mark ka putin oh and benjy sarlin. mark, start with you.nts the public to see all her e-mails. how is this going to play if she doesn't confront this one way or another soon? >> well so far it hasn't helped her very much if you look at all of the headlines and you look at the tweets even people on the left seem to be disappointed with hillary clinton and the way she handled this. perhaps there are better explanations, so far those haven't come out. it certainly appears as if there was a policy at the state department that you aren't supposed to use private e-mails in this way, and she seems to have done it perhaps 55,000 times. we would be eager to hear her explanation, and i doubt she's going to do it at this event though. why step on your own headline. this is supposed to be a feel good event to tout the global initiative. i have been one of the people riding the line whether to announce campaign structure early or not. here is a good example of perhaps why she should. then she would have an organized capacity to be able to respond to con

msnbc's benji sarlan joins me live from washington, d.c. we have george w.the electorate. so how is jeb bush able to separate himself from his brother, especially if his brother is going to be campaigning for him? >> well it's a very difficult balance that he's tried to strike. jeb bush has been very clear from the start that he's not going to make any kind of show of distancing himself from his brother or from his father. he's been very supportive of them. he's denended both their presidencies. however, he's said he's going to be, quote, his own man, in speeches and he should be judged by his own positions. now, it's a question of whether or not people will accept that. he's always going to be seen to some degree through the lens of his family especially if they play a prominent role in his campaign. and to give one example, you have anti-tax activist grover norquist this week who's been attacking jeb bush for not pledging never to raise taxes. in doing so he brangs up george h.w. bush famously raised taxes after saying read my lips i'll never raise taxes.

it is an apolitical mood among students. >> benjy, it is mandatory to be there?dents. it is a major student event, so this is already prearranged event, not just for ted cruz's announcement. >> talk about why he chose this day and location? >> this is a richly symbolic location. liberty university one of the most prominent evangelical schools, trains a lot of preachers, founded by jerry falwell, you may remember he was active in dragging the party, republican party to the right on social issues and giving evangelical movement a political presence. this is definitely a sign that ted cruz plans to compete hard for social conservatives, an area he may have a lot of competition from people like mike huckabee rick santorum scott walker and others. >> alex you're watching hillary clinton, someone else likely launching a presidential campaign soon. how has the e-mail controversy put a dent in her plans if at all? >> it made her hold a press conference earlier than she would have liked to and it has quieted voices in camp that said she could wait until longer to announce

bring benji, pleasure to see you. >> good to see you, jose. >> do we know exactly what his position isr picture here. a lot of the problem is that nobody is quite sure what the word "amnesty" means. when a candidate tells you they've come out against amnesty you have to ask a lot of follow-up questions to have any idea what their position is. in this case it was never clear in the first place that governor scott walker renounce add path to citizenship's in the same interview on fox news where he said he changed his position on immigration reform asked by chris wallace is it possible these people can still get citizenship? he said "i believe there's a way to do that after the border is secured." similar to marco rubio's position, talking about securing the border and then legal status. after the news broke, scott walker's spokeswoman confirmed he does not support citizenship for undocumented immigrants period, which seems to be a newer, more definitive position. it's all a mess. until we can really start grilling the candidates on a very point-by-point basis, very carefully, we're reall