bill neely reports from nigeria. >> reporter: this was a mass killing of the innocent, mostly women and children. islamist militants striking nigeria yet again. their message. two car bombs, the first exploding in a market packed with shoppers. then timed deliberately to target rescue workers taking casualties to a nearby hospital. a second explosion caught on camera. people fled, terrified there might be more bombs. sectarian attacks are mounting, the death toll too. more than 100 people killed when bombs hit the capital last month. there's been no word of the schoolgirls since boko haram released this video last week. in the area they were taken there were no signs of searching soldiers only people feeling helpless. >> where are these girls? what are they doing? what are the boko haram doing with them. >> reporter: mothers crying for their daughters, a lone school girl who managed to escape. >> all of them in the same class, some of them friends. >> reporter: in the capital, protests, but real fear too of a security crisis. today's bombing is one of nigeria's deadliest in a city half

bill neely reports from nigeria. >> reporter: they came to declare war and to save the kidnapped school girls. from five african nations, leaders met and agreed to join forces to fight a brutal insurgency. nigeria's president good luck jonathan said their target, the islamist group boca haram killed thousands. >> boca haram is no longer the terror group with some reaching sentiment changed and operating clearly as an al qaeda organization. >> reporter: the french president called the group a major threat to them all. they agreed to share intelligence and cooperate across borders to fight boca haram but all nigeria's president could say is we're doing our best to find them. nigeria says they have thousands of men searching for the school girls. there have been no confirmed sightings. the u.s. is searching with csurveillance planes and expectations of a break three. >> fewer than 300 people who are being searched for in an area at least the size of west virginia, and portions of which are very densely forested, as i understand it. so this is a difficult challenge. >> reporter: the anguish

bill neely, nbc news, london. >>> a man accused of kidnapping two teenage girls is now behind bars, all thanks to facebook. police say over the weekend, nicholas wessel took the teenagers to a hotel in nevada. that's where they say he sexually assaulted one of them. a few days later, they found that one of the teenagers had been talking with wessel on facebook. authorities contacted the social media giant, which gave them an ip address. that led them to the girls. police say that they are runaways and are being held at a juvenile justice center in reno. >>> and more than a dozen cats and dogs recovered from the house of a hoarder are now safe. these animals were found earlier this week. the monterrey county spca says there were 14 dogs, four puppies, and two cats all living on piles of trash. the animals were covered with fleas and many had a number of infections going on. spca officers say they will submit the case to the district attorney for possible charges. the house, as they found it, now is uninhabitable. >>> well, still to come this morning, can we expect more honking horns and

bill neely is live with the latest on the search. this is a huge search area, the size of west virginia, others say it's the size of new england. talk about the challenges right now given the breadth of this search area. >> reporter: well the challenges are huge, it's a search area of between 25,000 and 40,000 square miles, just to throw in another state, that could be up to the size of the state of ohio. so clearly it's a challenging territory. it's dense forest and scrub land and land that boko haram not only controlled but know extremely well. so it's hard for the nigerian military. they said yesterday that a military operation to find and rescue the girls is under way but there's really hardly any proof that that is the case. and certainly no sign that there is any success. the nigerians are becoming a little bit defensive about what's happening and the failure to locate the girls. they say that 300 have been carried out, two divisions of men on the ground. if they are stung by the criticism so far, they'll have been even more st

she sat down with nbc's bill neely. >> bill, in school, trying to study, thinking about the future, and suddenly some people came and just abducted them and now they are in a very difficult situation, and they are saying they can even sell them. so it is like beyond our thinking. >> reporter: great britain, france, the u.s., are now mobilizing. the u.s. will likely send surveillance drones, fbi assistance and military advisers and no helicopters. as of now, this is not a search and rescue mission. nye jaer jeer ya has been helpless against boca haram. hillary clinton said boko haram is abominable, but nigeria's government is not without blame. >> the government of nigeria has been in my view somewhat derelict in its responsibility of protecting boys and girls, men and women, in northern nigeria over the last years. >> reporter: tonight in a striking contrast, nigeria's capital is hosting the world economic forum, the wealthy's corporate leaders, possibly diverting security forces that could otherwise be searching for the missing girls, brian? >> andrea mitchell in our washington newsroo

chief global correspondent bill neely is live with the latest.do we know the reason the president scrapped that trip? >> reporter: good afternoon. we were told he cancelled due to security concerns. now that has not gone down well here. he's been heavily criticized on social media and won't go down well in the towns he was supposed to visit where people have been living with security concerns for the past three years. some of them so terrified they can't even sleep at night, preferring to sleep in the bush. so it really wasn't handled well from the beginning. he announced it on friday morning he would be flying deep into territory controlled by the islamist group boko haram, thereby giving them plenty of time to attack his helicopter. so this president who took three weeks to make any public comment about the kidnapping has now decided not only not to go to the village from where the girls were kidnapped, but not even to set foot in the state from where most of them lived. so here was an opportunity for him to show his caring, compassionate side,

nbc chief global correspondent bill neely joins me from abuja with the latest. is just horrendous. it indicates the nigerian government, and with all the help, is not able to get its arms around this threat. >> reporter: absolutely right, andrea. and you wonder when this is going to stop. and the answer is, it probably won't stop the frequency and the ferocity of these attacks. absolutely frightening. as you say, the latest reports are that three villages in the northeast have been attacked with 48 dead. locals are blaming the islamist group boko haram. one of the villagers was just five miles from chibak which is where the school girls were kidnapped five weeks ago. as you say, it follows yesterday's bombing in the city of jobs, which wasn't just one of the biggest bombings in nigeria, it's one of the biggest bombings in africa in a decade, with 118 dead. >> the state department has issued a statement condemning the attack. we know they're offering military aid. it's very quiet what they're doing because of local sensitivities. any indication that there might be

bill neely has been tracking electric from abuja. >> as the u.s. involvement in the hunt to find the girls, it is a day of protest here in nigeria. all schools closed across the country, teachers protesting the lack of progress in finding the girls and also protesting the attacks of the terror group boko haram. they are targets, more than 170 teachers have been killed by boko haram. remember the terror group targets schools it believes girls should not be educated in the first place. it believes boys are legitimate targets and that they have a right to kill them and of course it does kill teachers. also today a big protest here in the capital as hundreds march on the president's office. they say he's just not doing enough in the hunt for the girls. meanwhile, the u.s. has deepen the its commitment to find the girls a predator drone and 80 military personnel are now in the grounds in neighboring chad. the predator drone is unarmed, more planes may follow but the pentagon is stressing this isn't a deployment, not out to get boko haram, we're out to g

bill neely is live, give us an idea if authorities there believe boko haram may have been behind thetack and if the bomber is among those casualties. >> reporter: yes, almost certainly peter this was a boko haram attack. they didn't claim it but they don't tend to do that. this is the group trying to show it can strike anywhere at any time. kano is nigeria's second biggest city and mainly muslim city. the target was a christian corridor. the car bomber drove his car into this area and police as you say think this might have gone off prematurely. he is one of the dead but there are four other dead, including a 12-year-old girl. it was targeted at an area where alcohol is sold openly mainly christian traders coming from the south to sell alcohol in a mainly muslim town. that's what boko haram objects to. they've targeted this area before and this is in fact the third attack in 36 hours. in another part of nigeria in a remote village they killed around 40 villagers over the weekend and just across the border in cameroon they kidnapped 11 chinese construction workers. they are trying to

back to you, andrea. >> bill neely.he country's seconds amendment, the fight over guns is up next. stay with us. rl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve. at humana, we believe if healthcare changes, if it becomes simpler... if frustration and paperwork decrease... if grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home... the gap begins to close. so let's simplify things. let's close the gap between people and care. ♪ >>> as our country continues to struggle with gun laws, what is the history of one of the most misunderstood of the u.s. constitution, the second amendment. it states a regulated militia and right of the people to keep and buyer arms shall not be fringed. a timely look at the evolution of this right and how it shaped society. michael waltman at new york university s

so earlier today, she spoke about this crisis in nigeria, with nbc chief correspondent, bill neely. >> a lot of people think the government hasn't done enough so far. these girls have been unheard of for three weeks. >> it was quite disappointing in the beginning that everyone was asking the government to do something, but the government was silent. but you see, after three weeks, when people started speaking, when they made it a serious issue, they've taken action, they're asking the government. now you've seen that barack obama has spoke, david cameron has spoke, and the nigerian government is also going to take a step. i think when we speak, we can highlight this issue. and i'm very happy that people have taken it serious and they are highlighting it, but now i'm hopeful that they'll find a solution for it and they'll soon solve it. >> if your voice could get through to these girls and more were kidnapped over the weekend, if you had a message for them in their terrible ordeal, what would you say to them? >> i would like to tell my sisters that, never lose hope, because we are with

nbc's bill neely is joining me now.of which countries were there and what kind of strategy are they looking at as far as going after boko haram? >> yes, alex, this was certainly the most significant summit i think ever held to discuss terrorism in west and central africa. whether it proves to be the most effective is a different matter. the leaders certainly talked tough. there were five african nations there. basically, it was nigeria and its immediate neighbors like chad, niger and cameroon. they basically declared war on boko haram. which is of course the group not only that's kidnapped the schoolgirls but a group that's been killing thousands for five years here in nigeria. chad's president pledged total war against boko haram. nigeria's president, goodluck jonathan said, look, this isn't just some kind of local menace. this is a regional threat. he said it's not just linked to al qaeda, this is a group that's part of al qaeda's operation. so they certainly talk tough. what do they do? we, again, the details are ske

nbc news chief global correspondent bill neely has more now from abujja, nigeria. bill? afternoon. good luck johnen than is on his way back here to nigeria's caple tall from the summit at which there was a great deal of tough talk and big promises. now they have to do something. there was more criticism of nigeria today from the u.s., from senator dianne feinstein who basically said nigeria is doing nothing and when you do nothing terror increases. there is pressure on this country and on all five african leaders who agreed on things like sealing the borders more effectively, more joint pale trolls and more intelligence sharing in order to combat boko haram. really that's going to be tough. they've got no history of joint action. in fact, just of mutual suspicion. as they talked, boko haram acted. in cameroon, kidnapping 11 chinese construction workers. just across the border in nigeria, killing roughly around 40 villagers. there are reports in the british newspaper, the daily telegraph that maybe boko haram are prepared to release some of the girls, maybe to drop its de

. >> thank you so much, bill neely, thanks for being with us today. really appreciate it. and coming up next, chuck todd goes one on one with harry reid. why the senate majority leader hopes for some healthy competition in the next democratic presidential primary. really? that's next on "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. sfx: car unlock beep. vo: david's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. nowchoose one option fromith red lothe wood-fire grill,trios! one signature shrimp dish, and a pasta. all on one plate. three delicious choices. all for $15.99 for a limited time only! come sea food differently today! ameriprise asked people a simple question: in retirement, will you outlive your money? uhhh. no, that can't happen. that's the thing, you don't know how long it has to last. everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the exclusive.. confident retirement approach.

thank you very much, bill neely. joining me now, california's diane feinstein, chair of the senate intelligence committee, who, of course, has been working on this. senator, you've been talking to the state department. we just staukd to senator stabenow of the efforts, belated some say to nigeria's government accepting help. with the satellite coverage, where we can redirect our satellites, you don't have to ask for nigeria's acceptance and agreement. why didn't we have overhead surveillance sooner? this is only now being organized almost a month in. >> i honestly can't answer that. i think you're right, though. i think this is one thing that we need to prepare, that it is so dominantly evil, is a terrorist group. and they do something like this, they burn 200 schools, and they've now kidnapped nearly 300 of these girls. it seems to me we ought to be prepared and move. and we do do a good deal of sig int. >> satellite intelligence. >> yes. assuming it is good sig int, that action happens. i need to look more closely

bill neely joins us live. do we know if he plans to reschedule? what's the latest there? >> reporter: no, no plans, tamron, to reschedule. pretty much the time he should have been taking off for the village we were told that he was canceling due to security concerns. as you can imagine, that's not gone down well here. social media full of criticism of the president. it's really been mishandled if you like from start to finish. first he announced that he was going to be flying in to this village, deep in boko haram-controlled territory on friday morning giving that group i suppose plenty of time to plan an ambush and then this morning it was called off because of what they called security concerns. now, for the people living in that area, that's a bit of an insult because they have been living with security nightmare for the last couple of years. many of them don't sleep in their villages in night but the bush for fear of attack. so, president goodluck jonathan who didn't talk about this issue for three weeks has now decided not to set foot, not only in the village from wh

nbc's bill neely is on the story in london, he has the latest. bill, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. the global clamor to free these girls is growing. this protest outside nigeria's embassy in london. hollywood too is joining in. american military help is on the ground. but from the girls themselves, nothing. no word. tears for their lost daughters. pain etched on their faces. help, though, is now coming from around the world. >> our interagency team is hitting the ground in nigeria now to do everything that we possibly can to return these girls to their families and their communities. >> bring back our girls! >> reporter: across america, a growing campaign to help free the girls. u.n. envoy angelina jolie adding her voice. >> these men felt that they can get away with this and they can abuse women in such a way, sell them, rape them, take them as property because so many people have gotten away with this in the past. >> reporter: there's been silence for days from the islamist kidnappers boko haram. nigeria's president is optimi

natalie. >> bill neely in nigeria. thank you, bill. >>> america's crumbling infrastructure is back in the spotlight. president obama will deliver remarks today from the aging tappan zee bridge here in new york. president obama has been calling on congress to pass the bill to improve the nation's roads and bridges. the deadline is nearing a funding gap for infrastructure projects around the country. >>> an unceremonious welcome. passengers were getting off a southwest airlines flight when the jetway to the terminal dropped about eight feet. fortunately no one was injured. the remaining passengers used stairways to get off that plane. an airport spokesperson says mechanical failure is to blame. >>> more trouble this morning for pop star justin bieber. a southern california woman claims bieber took her cell phone during an altercation monday night. witnesses say bieber and his entourage had gotten into an argument with a group of people at an amusement park. bieber apparently thought the woman had taken photos of him. so t

nbc's bill neely is live in nigeria with the latest. bill, good morning. >> reporter: yes, good morning, natalie. from nigeria, which has africa's biggest population, its biggest economy, it also has one of africa's biggest problems. a terror campaign, an insurgency it cannot control. more evidence of that in these latest attacks. the sound of terror returning to nigeria. this was the second of two bombs that exploded within minutes in the city of joss. people fled in panic, fearing a third. this bomb was timed to explode as rescue workers took casualties to the hospital after the first blast. it tore through a busy market in the middle of the day. most of the casualties were women. with at least 118 dead, this is one of nigeria's deadliest ever bombings. a mass murder of the innocents that bears all the hallmarks of the islamist group boko haram. led by abubakar shekau, it has now bombed three major cities in three weeks. killed more than 200. it struck the capital last month, and on the same day, it kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls, pa

bill neely joins us from the capital of abuja. did anything come out of that summit, and what has been the reaction there in nigeria? >> reporter: yes, nigeria's president is on his way back from that summit in which there was a great deal of tough talk. i think the senator put her finger on it. the whole issue is, what will they do. because up to now, it looks like they've done nothing. there were two main issues, one obviously trying to free the school girls. that is entirely nigeria's responsibility. so far, of course, there's been no progress on finding them. the second one was declaring war and crushing boko haram. the five countries, well, they said they greed on certain things, for example, the issue of borders, to seal their borders more effectively, to share intelligence across borders, to have joint patrols, and so on. but these armies have no history of cooperating or sharing intelligence. this will be a tough mountain to climb and we'll have to see whether they do that. meanwhile, as they talked, boko haram acted. in t

savannah. >> bill 83 neely, thank you very much.there is a scandal that rocked the nba and los angeles clippers. dona donald sterling's wife says she is going to fight. >> shelly sterling is positions per self as a separate center of power within that organization. on the court last night, a loss for the clippers in oklahoma city. off the court, more drama. shelly sterling telling the los angeles "time's" she intends to keep the clippers and sanctions against her husband, donald sterling, a lifetime ban and $2.5 million fine do not reply to me or my family. no response from her comments. the team is held in a family trust. just last week, commissioner adam silver said no decisions have been made regarding members of the sterling family other than donald. >> this ruling applies specifically to donald sterling and donald sterling's conduct only. >> reporter: purchased if 1981 for $12 million, the clippers are now worth well over half a billion. some big name celebrities have come forward to express interest if buying the team. apong t

bill leely -- neely has the latest. >> the leaders certainly talked tough today.ders were there and they basically declared war on the nigerian based group. they kidnapped the girls and they have been kills thousands in nigeria for the last five years. they talk tough. chad's president declaring war against the group. they said this was no longer a type of local menace, this was a regional threat that is part of the al qaeda organization. and france's president agrees. so the talk was tough. what have they agreed to do? that is more sketchy. they aimed at created a regional action plan to seal the borders between their countries more effectively to prevent boko haram bringing arms and men across the borders, and to share negligence. apparently cameron and nigeria hardly speak to each other about boko haram. so there is an aim out there and we'll have to wait until we see how effective they are for carrying this out. for the missing girls, they're the reason the summit was called in the first place. nigerian's president says he was doing the best to find them. he s