you heard secretary hagel talk about it and, most importantly, the president. so where you might have had maybe not your top-notch people in these jobs, i think more and more we're going to see the best and brightest get assigned these duties. >> warner: which hasn't been the case up till now, you mean. if you had a superstar or a budding superstar you weren't going to make him or her the sexual abuse prevention officer. >> that's right. and now they're going to take the top noncommissioned officers and say, hey, in addition to this duty you'll do this because it's the army's top priority. >> warner: now, that proposal of gillibrand's, some of the others on the hill, what they're talking about today all deal with what to do after some assault has occurred. but is there concern in the pentagon that there's a deeper problem with the basic military climate and culture? what are you hearing about that? >> very much so. and the military officers are acknowledging that. that there is a cultural shift that needs to be made and you've heard them talk about this. but th

last month, the house appropriations committee called secretary of defense chuck chuck hagel. 7 hagel. you know, if he married katherine heigl he'd be chuck hagel heigl. serious. they called chuck haig toll ask since we're not building a new computerized system, which will the two existing systems, alta and vista, from d.o.d. and v.a. be able to fully talk to each other. >> what the congress instructed, what the congress funded was a seamless system. we'll have it shortly. can i tell you in a week or two we will have something decided within 30 days, i'll tell that you. >> jon: 30 days! a hard number. since that interview, 30 days ago he had our chuck hagel advent calendar. i have gone through the whole thing. it is day 30. i've been opening the doors. let's see what we've got in here a little bit of nice chocolate-- i'm explaining this because we have so many rabbis in the audience tonight. yeah. ( cheers and applause ) i'm trying to explain that christians give chocolate gifts and ( bleep ) for, like, 30 days straight, even when they're dealing with, like, the crucifixion. it's real

hagel has received funds directly or indirectly from foreign sources. it is at a minimum relevant to know if that $200,000 that he deposited in his bank account came directly from saudi arabia, came directly from north korea. we don't know what it was. it may be that he spoke at radical or extreme groups or anti-israel groups and accepted financial compensation. we don't know. >> jon: he might [bleep]. i don't know. these are the questions one must raise in a confirmation hearing with a colleague of many of the other people on this panel who think... i don't know. does he? does he? here's the thing. does he have a puppy? so cruz is not a wacko bird. he's just a "take things out of context to create a false impression of guilt" bird. so it seems across the board the reviews on cruz have come in. >> he's been called the most hated man in the senate. >> jon: wow. that's no easy feat. that's being like the lowest rated show on nbc. so you think you can belch? it's already been renewed. for a senator so widely despised by his colleagues there's only one plac

now senator gillibrand told me she talked to hagel after that and she put the screws to him and said while he's listening he's keeping an open mind so i think we are seeing some changes in the pentagon's receptiveness. >> warner: craig whitlock of the "washington post." thank you. >> sure thing. >> brown: president obama made a >> brown: the investigation into the boston bombings has sparked a new interest in the use of surveillance cameras in cities around the nation. "newshour" correspondent spencer michels has our report. >> reporter: americans are used to being watched on closed circuit tv. cameras are unibiquitous, especially in large cities. the video surveillance industry brings $3.2 billion a year and it's expected to grow quickly, especially after the boston marathon bombings. at one business in san francisco, 22 cameras continually watch employees and guests enter and leave the building and drive their cars into and out of the garage. it's all recorded for future use. a guard monitors the cameras in real time and one night recently those cameras caught this scene: a man emp

secretary hagel is at west point about to deliver the commencement address there. i believe we have pictures of that ceremony getting under way. we expect secretary hagel to echo the sentiments we heard from president obama about this issue. the president has said that stopping stestop ing sexual assault in the military is essential to make sure the military can continue to work effectively and making sure men and women in uniform can work together as a team and so this is something that he's said they want his administration to double efforts on. we don't expect secretary hagel to speak extensively about this matter but certainly to touch on it. let's listen to what president obama had to say about this at the naval academy commencement just yesterday. >> those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong. that's why we have to be determined to stop these crimes. >> reporter: the president says stopping these crimes goes to the core of the mission of the u.s. military and i should

moments ago defense secretary chuck hagel said the obama administration is rethinking its oppositionming syrian rebels and has said the white house has not made a final decision. in other words, how do you feel about this? it comes after the white house told lawmakers if believes syria used chemical weapons on its own people but they're not sure. that's what they said last week. president obama said that be a game-changer, which has not changed. jennifer griffin at the pentagon. what is the context here? is this a big deal or offhanded remark or what? >> well, shepard, no. i think he actually indicated where the white house and the pentagon -- where their thoughts are right now. the white house and pentagon are essentially looking at three options. they're looking to set up a no-fly zone, or limited air strikes or arming the rebels or in combination. defense secretary hagel said, standing next to the british defense secretary, gave an indication which way the white house and pentagon are leaning. >> you are rethinking -- the administration is rethinking its opposition to arming the r

the honorablele -- chuck hagel, secretary of defense.ing] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of united states. hail to the chief" playing"] , thedies and gentlemen chaplain. >> let us pray. almighty and eternal god, we ask that your present be upon us this day, a day which we as a nation come together on this hallowed ground to honor without hesitation those brave men and thosewho gave all they had for our nation's freedom. it is because of their selfless service at servicevalor that week -- service and valor that we can stand here this day without fear knowing that we can continue sharing a lasting peace with liberty. has no one than this than someone laydown his life for his friends. let us not forget those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. .herefore, we continue those who and died for our country in war and remembering too that this gift of peace often comes from long struggles, the kind of peace that is bound from the blood of heroes, brave men and women who answered the call, saying send me. brave men and women who witnessed th

. >>> defense secretary chuck hagel says cyber threats are very real and dangerous. that's why cybersecurity will take top billing this weekend when he meets with members of a chinese delegation. hagel is calling for, quote, rules of the road to prevent conflict on global networks on reports that china used computer-based attacks to access data from pentagon weapons programs. hagel says sub cybersecurity wie a topic for next week's meeting. >>> the winter olympics next february have now olympic-sized reports of corruption to deal with. a former russian deputy prime minister-turned kremlin critic claims $30 billion were stolen from the games. the accused are businessmen and officials close to president vladimir putin. the alleged corruption and cost overruns have quadrupled the games' cost estimate to a total of $50 billion now. the head of the russian olympic committee says he's confident russian prosecutors and auditors are keeping an eye on costs. >>> well, the white house is dismissing the idea of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the irs. deputy pres

>> when secretary hagel heard. the actual grade on the report we knew immediately after the inspection concluded. i don't consider that a black eye. it was considered a passing grade for the unit. the email -- >> sir, i'm a former teacher. a d is not a good grade. >> the email that we received, the one that you were quoting for. we became aware of that this past friday evening and then on monday morning we became aware that they had taken the 17 officers and put them into this grounding status, so we found that out on monday of this week. >> may i ask how often are these inspections done? >> this particular inspection is done every two years, but there are major inspections done on rotatinging inspections. done every year. >> we will have follow-up questions for the record as well but i have to tell you this is an astounding development. i know my time is up, mr. chairman. i i just wanted to ask if the secretary or general could provide for the record on another topic how you are looking at sequest ration and cost

here's what defense secretary chuck hagel had to say.ing, and we are listening to victims carefully, closely. we're not taking anything off the table. and we want to understand all this best. >> karen, you also watched that news conference with secretary hagel and general dempsey. what was your impression? >> you know, i heard the rigtç things from both men, particularly, you know, given that they were talking act the fact that this is clearly a cultural problem and that it's something that they want to make sure that they handle in a systemic way. i thought it was -- that clip right there, i was pleased to hear him say they are talking to the victims to really try to understand -- he goes on to say from the beginning to when it's reported all the way through to how it's handled. that's what we need. i think what kirsten's bill does, senator gillibrand's bill does says, take it out of the chain of command and make sure this is handled by people specifically trained to deal with these kinds of crimes and so you're not in a situation where

this has to stop, and, you know, chuck hagel and i are friends. i supported him and he wrote me a beautiful letter saying we'd work together. we need to talk about this, because you go to your commander, the commander many times just says never mind, we don't think your case is worth anything. they are judge and jury, that's wrong. we need to change it. if you choose to go to the command structure in our bill, the commander must report it immediately. you can also go to that victims assistance program that was set up and get one of those advocates to report it. and that's what's going to work here. this has to stop, and i intend to call chuck hagel, my friend, and tell him, you know, you need to be bolder on this one. >> senator boxer, if you do get that conversation with secretary hagel, we'd love to hear how it goes. let us know. thank you very much, senator barbara boxer of california, pleasure to have you here, thank you. >> thanks. >>> all right, coming up, wrestling. the real kind and the metaphorical kind, but most importantly, the real kin

. >> thank you, secretary hagel. general gary patton director of the sexual assault response office. remarks couple opening and i will address the rest of your questions. let me reiterate that sexual assault is an affront to the values we defend. as today shows, we have work to do and it remains a persistent problem and the department. it is a challenge confronting the military. while we are moving ahead to combat this crime, it is clear we have work to do. we have to eliminate this threat for the safety and well- being of those in uniform. this report contains data for military services and outcomes of sexual assault as well as results from a confidential surveys of active and reserve components of the force. the surveys are conducted every two years as was mandated in the national defense authorization act. this is the year we have survey results incorporated into the annual report. it will be included every two years from here on out. the surveys provide prevalence estimates for estimated occurrence for unwanted a

. >>> defense secretary chuck hagel says cyber threats are very real and dangerous. that's why cyber security will take top billing this weekend when he meets with members of a chinese delegation. hagel is calling for rules of the road to prevent conflict on global computer networks. the meeting comes amid ongoing cyber threats and china uses cyber based attacks. hagel says cyber security will be a topic at next week's nato meeting for defense ministers. >>> now to reports of massive corruption plaguing the preparation for the winter olympics in russia. a former russia deputy minister claims that up to $30 billion have been stolen from funds intended for the sochi games. cost overruns have quadrupled. the head of the russian olympic committee said he's confident russian prosecutors and auditors are keeping an eye on costs. >>> when it comes to the national spelling bee, there's a new champ. knaidel. k-n-a-i-d-e-l. >> 13-year-old ar vin mahankali won the scripps national bee. he correctly spelled knaidel, which n case your wondering is a ball of leven dough. spelled k

they've heard from secretary hagel and they've heard from marty dempsey. they all understand this is a priority and we will not stop until we've seen this scourge from what is the greatest military in the world eliminated. >> moments after president obama wrapped up his meeting with pentagon leaders this afternoon in the white house telling them he was "ashamed" of their failure to curb sexual abuse in the military, lieutenant colonel darren haas, the manager of the sexual response program at ft. campbell kentucky was arrested in a domestic dispute on charges of violating an order of protection and stalking, then he was relieved of his post. that makes the third time in the last few weeks that a u.s. service member who worked in a military sexual assault prevention program has been investigated for unlawful conduct towards women. first there was lieutenant colonel jeffrey kosinski, the head of the air force's sexual assault prevention office who was charged with sexual battery for groping a woman in a park lot. then the sexual assault prevention coordinato

a judgment about the searcher and you're on the wrong side of it chuck hagel is reference to vietnam was not uncalled for years into the vietnam war even as most americans saw the involvement there is a mistake thousands of u.s. troops continue to die because washington didn't want to admit it someone has to die or so that president nixon won't be and these are his words the first president to lose a war supporters of president bush say history will treat him more kindly regarding iraq but the history that is being lived by iraqis today is one that has neither peace nor security in a country ripped apart by terror six tarion violence and fears of a looming civil war in washington i'm going to shut down. and now for some other stories from around the world in central myanmar at least ten have been injured as sectarian violence erupted leading to the destruction of two mosques and hundreds of muslim homes being set ablaze simmering interface hatred exploded in march when buddhists left over forty muslims death and thousands more displaced

the pentagon press secretary released this statement from hagel.gly enough secretary hagel's frustration, anger and disappointment over these troubling allegations and the breakdown in discipline and standards they imply to address the broader concerns that have arisen out of these allegations and other recent events, secretary hagel is directing all services to retrain, recredential, rescreen all sexual assault prevention and response personnel and military recruiters. this news comes days after the head of the air force sexual assault prevention program was arrested and charged with sexual battery after groping a woman in a parking lot. joining me now, msnbc's joy reid. joy, my head is spinning here, forcing a soldier into prostitution? i thought i had read everything already that could happen in one of these cases. >> yeah, lawrence. what's doubly frightening about what's happening now in terms of the two cases, it appears sexual predators, saying allegedly, because these are still charges, are zeroing in on jobs that place them in front of the

earlier today, the defense secretary chuck hagel caused a bit of a stir when he said the u.s.pposition to arming the rebels. a reporter asked the president about that very comment just a few hours later during a visit in mexico. >> what secretary hagel said today is what i have been saying now for months which is we are continually evaluating the situation on the ground, working with our international partners to find the best way to move a political transition that has assad leaving, stabilizes the country, ends the killing and allows the syrian people to determine their own destiny. >> shepard: i have got to tell it you sounded like a little more than that when the defense secretary said it. trial balloon or oops? one or the other. the united nations estimates more than 70,000 people have died since the uprising began in syria more than two years ago and that estimate is from three months ago. jennifer griffin is live at the pelc tonight. this was a little weird how it all went down. i wonder as one who has been there for a long time and knows all the people if it's your sen

order in the middle east is disappearing although it's still not clear what will replace it chuck hagel stress the conflict in syria is becoming increasingly most like terry an extremist but the country's collapse now more real than ever but what some u.s. lawmakers make fresh calls for military intervention washington is now taking a backseat that's gonna cheat you can explain. after the administration all but accused the assad government of having used chemical weapons vice president joe biden now says quote we don't know for certain whether they were used by some of the opposition including the radicals who have aligned themselves with al qaeda this is probably the first time we hear someone in the administration talk about the possibility that the rebels may have used chemical weapons just a few days ago the white house press secretary was responding to the findings of the u.n. human rights investigation which said serry nerve gas may have been used by the rebels in syria and he basically brushed off the report saying it's quote highly likely that all such forces were behind it that

i'm urging secretary hagel to do the same.d he wants to remove from the chain of command, the ability to overturn the a verdict. we would like to add to that the ability of a commander to decide whether or not to go to a trial. if those two things can be moved to the judicial system, so a trained military prosecutor can make that judgment about whether a case can go to trial, i think that's going to begin to solve the problem that if you have 26,000 assaults a year and only 3,000 reported, you have a large structural problem. and i think this is what the victims have asked for. they want to feel that they have an opportunity, a chance for justice. and i think if you no longer have to report to your chain of command, you'll have more reporting, which means more investigations, more prosecutions, more trials and ultimately, more convictions. >> so, that would require legislation. >> correct. >> the legislation you have introduced and others have been sounding off on in both the house and the senate. but secretary hagel was suppo

secretary hammond, then i'd welcome your comments as well, secretary hagel.ou seem to indicate this morning that in order to establish a chain of custody, the international community will likely need to wait for another tack to gain the right kind of evidence, is that correct? and have initial samples and evidence trails collected by both countries degraded over time? >> i think the point i was making this morning was that the fact that we have set out our intention to establish evidence of the nature and caliber that would be acceptable in a court of law since it very clear message to the regime that any use of chemical weapons in the future, which by definition generates the potential to collect that evidence, as the price. and i hope we are sending a message that will have a deterrent effect. i'm not a technical expert, but i don't think you need to be a technical expert to know that after any use of a chemical agent there will be a degradation over time of the evidence that can be collected, and from the point of view of constructing a chain of custody of

a spokesperson for hagel said he's open to any and all options.ng me now is new york senator kirsten jillengillenbra. thank you for your tireless advocacy on this issue. the potential to take this out of the chain of command seems like it may be on the horizon. how optimistic are you about that? >> well i think it's really important that we fight very hard for this. because what the victims have told us is that they do not feel safe in reporting these crimes. they feel they will be marginalized or retaliated against or be blamed themselves. so if you're going to change the culture of the military, you have to see these cases actually go to trial. be investigated. and find perpetrators accountable. so i think you have to change the system by changing how justice is served. and that means allowing victims to report directly to a trained military prosecutor. who will then decide whether the case should go to trial. >> senator, you know what's shocking to me is that these cases, these incidents are seeming to rise. at a time when they should be fallin

you can see the defense secretary chuck hagel behind him and the first lady. i want to listen in to some of the ceremony as it proceeds live. [ music playing ] ♪ >> present. >> present. [ drum roll ] ♪ [ playing taps ] >> every may 30th since 1868, this country has set aside a day to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers and every minute since 1948 the place the president is just leaving now, the tomb of the unknowns has been guarded every single minute by the sentinels of the 3rd u.s. infantry, better known as the old guard. as the president makes his way to the amphitheater, he will be followed by the first lady and defense secretary chuck hagel and the joint keefes of staff. they will be making their remarks. we will be back with more of our special memorial day coverage right after this. [ music playing ] >>> there are hundreds of thousands of graves in arlington national cemetery and many families today are visiting a place called section 60. section 60 is the service members who were killed in the wars in iraq and afghanistan buried. the headstone there

how chuck hagel deals with this is going to be amazing to watch. >>> okay of the best new thing in the world today. i need one. all right, you ready? this is a mcdonald douglas dc-9. the tail number, if you care, is 73-1681. in 1975, this dc-9 was assigned to the 89th airlift wing of the united states air force. that is the combat-ready force responsible for shuttling government officials around the world. this particular dc-9 when it was in service was configured as sort of a short-haul flying machine, not necessarily long-haul flying machine. when it was used, it was used by the white house to fly all over the u.s. and central and south america. its passengers included on occasion the actual president of the united states. and that means that this dc-9 at some point was air force-freaking one. air force one isn't just one specific plane. air force one is what you call whatever air force plane the president happens to be on at that moment. so when a president was on this plane, and a president was sometimes on this plane, this was, technically, ai

defense secretary chuck hagel hasn't ruled out military action against syria but stressed that a political solution is more viable patted on chief added that the country's collapse is becoming an increasingly real possibility for the war they are becoming more of the tarion and as you can explains washington remains a reluctant to get further involved in the conflict. after the administration all but accused the assad government of having used chemical weapons vice president joe biden now says quote we don't know for certain whether they were used by some of the opposition including the radicals who have aligned themselves with al qaeda this is probably the first time we hear someone in the administration talk about the possibility that the rebels may have used chemical weapons just a few days ago the white house press secretary was responding to the findings of the u.n. human rights investigation which said serry nerve gas may have been used by the rebels in syria and he basically brushed off the report saying it's quote highly likely that i'll start forces were behind it that has also be

saud forces were behind it that has also been the narrative perpetuated in the media last week chuck hagel said the administration is considering arming the opposition also this week a bill was introduced in the senate that would authorize exactly that chuck hagel delivered a speech at the this conference in washington where several commanders of the free syrian army were also invited in that speech he does not mention or means the rebels he said that turkey jerry kerry and russian foreign minister lavrov announced they will seek to convene an international conference with representatives of the syrian government and the opposition to determine how to implement a political transition in syria. using the full range of tools the united states will continue to work toward achieving our goal of ending the violence and helping the syrian people transition to a post to sort of forward so we see there is a build up of hope for this conference which will presumably take place sometime at the end of may both washington and moscow said they're working on it but as far as the syrian opposition so far