. >> it's luke russert today. >>> switch watch. secretary of state makes surprising steps in geneva involving ukraine's crisis. meantime, president obama has two numbers in mind, 8 million and 2014. new health care sign-ups shoot past the administration's own expectations and the president urges democrats to, quote, forcefully defend the law's impact. plus, just one month till mitch mcconnell hopes to put a hurdle behind him. democrats find out who's facing their best shot in the south and a primary pitch by mitt romney pays off -- or maybe not. that's all happening on may 20th, the closest thing we have to a super tuesday in this mid-term year and it's just one month away later in the show. good morning from washington, it's good friday, april 18, 2014. i'm luke russert in for the great chuck todd. we begin in ukraine and the latest deal. after seven hours of negotiations in geneva, they agreed to work towards a diplomaticnd to t end to the cr ukraine. >> we agreed today that all illegal armed groups must be disarmed, that all ill

i'm luke russert in for the great chuck todd. we begin with the potential unraveling of the great nation of ukraine, something the u.s. seems powerless to stop. pro-russian separatists seized a city, the latest city seeing a spike in violence. they warned that they had until this morning to lay down their weapons and surrender. that deadline came and went with no surrender but throughout the weekend, tensions and violence continued to rise, raising the specter of an all-out civil war. clashes broke out between the largest cities as protesters took over the city council. dozens were reportedly injured. on saturday, gun fire broke out at a police station as men in military fatigues armed with automatic weapons stormed the building and took over, describing themselves as the people's militia. pro-russian onlookers are either supporting or actively assisting the separatists. moscow called an early meeting to discuss the escalation. during the meeting the u.n. and russian ambassadors made accusations who is behind it. >> translator: i

i'm luke russert in for the great chuck todd. we begin with developing news just off the coast of south korea. at least four people are dead and 300 unaccounted for as a ferry sank off jeju island. government officials say over 300 of the passengers were students. the u.s. navy is standing by as south korean ships and a fleet of helicopters work the area. rescue efforts will continue throughout the night. it's just after 10:00 there right now. lieutenant arlo abramson is the public affairs officer for the commander u.s. naval forces. he joins us by phone now. sir, can you give us the latest on the water? is the u.s. navy directly involved in the rescue operations? >> first of all, luke, thanks for having me. first i want to say that our thoughts are with the passengers of this ship, this ferry, that sunk today. it is a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to those families. >> and what's the latest in terms of the rescue operation? do we know how involved the military is there in south korea? and is the u.s. military involved?

joining me now is mark halperin, msnbc senior political analyst, and luke russert, nbc news correspondentpitol hill for us, but we are lucky to have him here today. and if you haven't had enough of luke when we're done with him, you can tune in at 4:00 p.m. >> a good day for white guys with blue button downs. >> autism. it's for a good cause. >> indeed. >> let's take a look at some of the white house reaction. check out the look on joe biden's face. oh, i love joe biden reaction shots. do you think the whole white house is that happy today? >> i do. i think hitting that number of 7.1 million, which is the number they had set out to meet, was extraordinarily significant for them. because one thing that the house gop in particular really wanted to pounce on was the ability to say look, here's what you were trying to do, you couldn't even meet your own mark. by achieving that number, it's a huge pr victory. i also think what you saw there was the president giving those red state democrats who face an uphill battle sort of a template on how to run on this law. you've got to be aggressive abou

i'm luke russert in for the great chuck todd. tax day, but we begin in ukraine where the next 24 hours could be a critical turning point as the ukrainian military tries to root out pro-russian rebels once and for all. the government says an anti-terrorist crackdown has begun. the goal is to clear separatists from buildings they have seized in the east. they have staked out territory in as many as a dozen cities in the border along russia. separatists claim that ukrainian forces are on the move outside of at least two of those cities. ukraine's acting president called the u.n. to see if international peacekeepers would be willing to assist in the effort, but that seems unlikely. the u.n. did weigh in, however, on reports of ethnic russians being persecuted in ukraine, describing the stories as being blown out of proportion in order to create a climate of fear and justify russian intervention. on monday, president obama spoke to president putin by phone. he expressed grave concern over russia's support for the separatists and the w

and as luke russert reports, they bring smiles and shared stories of experiences and hope for a community recovering. >> reporter: bonded by tragedy born out of unthinkable destruction. if anybody could relate to the children of moore, oklahoma, it was these kids from joplin, missouri. they came four hours by bus to share their similar experiences and help the rebuild move forward. >> 14 kids from our school are coming to bring a check with over $3,000 and books for plaza elementary. >> reporter: plaza tower trapped students and teachers. seven children lost their lives. >> their school did knocked down but they have courage and they're rebuilding it better than it was last time. >> reporter: while the town of moore, oklahoma, is rebuilding quickly, new homes are going up, the elementary school is coming back, one thing that will take a bit longer to rebuild is a peace of mind. kids still trying to get over the pain of all those who were lost. >> my friend sidney, she was in third grade. i miss her so much. >> reporter: she passed away? >> yeah. it's really sad. >> reporter: while there a

i'm luke russert in for ari. here's maybe the biggest question.rules on money hif the most powerful people can power their way around them? >> we're watching extreme weather, as much of a sixth of the country facing tornados. they were held off by that cold winter and now we're back and we'll show you what you need to look for. >>> and the news cycle still dominated by the mystery of a lifetime. where is that missing jumbo jet? i'm krystal ball. the malaysians don't know. the australians don't know. but could a seasoned american investigator have answers? we'll ask him. >>> in today's trip down abby's road, my passenger is kenneth depage, so fasten your seat belts. >>> good afternoon. as we all try to find our way through another american tragedy, the shooting at ft. hood, texas. we are waiting for another update in about an hour. this is the man army investigators say is behind it. 34-year-old ivan antonio lopez. a man with symptoms of depression and anxiety evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder, but never officially diagnosed with it. als

>> i learned if it's way too early, it's "morning joe" but stick around because luke russert is just ahead. thank you always for your patience. >>> live in just minutes, secretary of state john kerry in geneva and his latest. >> and vladimir putin with at least one not so random caller. and the invisible primary for tea party players is unfolding between our very ice with some new names. and the ncaa makes some significant rule changes for a student athlete. this is april 17th, 2014. we begin with our eyes on geneva, switzerland, where we're expecting to hear from secretary of state john kerry any moment, giving us the latest to stem the tide on the crisis in ukraine. but the bar could hardly be any lower. nevertheless, it may be the only shot these two sides have of stopping a potential slide in this civil war. and if last night is any indication, the situation can get worse before it gets better. overnight at a black sea base, pro russian separatists demanded they surrender their weapons and switch sides. when they refused, three of them were shot dead. ukrainian soldiers try to ro

i'm luke russert in for chuck todd who will join us from tokyo live. however, president obama right now is at a closed dinner over there with the japanese prime minister. what may be the world's most famous sushi restaurant. the president arrived with a message of reassurance for allies worried about the rise of china and the strength of u.s. commitment to the region. in an interview with a japanese newspaper, the president said the u.s. and china can work together on issues of mutual interest like the global economy, climate change and north korea saying, quote, we welcome the continuing rise of a china that is stable, prosperous and peaceful, but he added, our engagement with china does that and will not come at the expense of japan or any other ally. japan is the president's first stop on a four nation trip aimed at restoring confidence in the so-called pivot to asia. he of course announced that three years ago. he'll also visit south core radio a, macore re, a malaysia and the philippines. this is the first visit since 1996 and the clintons and at

i'm luke russert in for chuck todd and we'll have an update on the horrible bus crash in california as well as here from one of the students being called a hero in the stabbing incident in pennsylvania this week. >>> however, we begin with the resignation of secretary sebelius, the top obama administration official who helped secure the passage of the affordable care act but will likely be remembered of the public face of its disastrous unveiling last fall. for montds tmonths the white ho resisted letting her take the fall for the problems but they stay when she approached the president after leaving after the open enrollment period ended, he accepted her resignation. she announced thursday that 7.5 million people had signed up for health care but it was too little, too late to save the woman who had become a lightning rod for the law's critics. >> madam secretary, while you're from kansas, we're not in kansas anymore. >> single male age 32 does not need maternity coverage. to the best of your knowledge has a man ever delivered a baby? >> why aren't you losing your insurance? >> pardon

i'm luke russert in for the great chuck todd who's on his way to asia for the president's trip. right now vice president joe biden is wrapping up a trip at ukraine aimed at reassuring the country's leaders. biden said time is running out for russia to pull back its military from ukraine's borders and to call on pro-russian separatists to leave occupied buildings in eastern ukraine. >> we call on russia to stop supporting men hiding behind masks in unmarked uniforms sewing unrest in eastern ukraine. and we have been clear that more provocative behavior by russia will lead to more costs and to greater isolation. now it's time for russia to stop talking and start acting. act on the commitments that they made. >> biden, who said he signed his hotel guest book this morning, quote, ukraine united, also said the u.s. will never recognize russia's occupation of crimea. >> no nation has the right to simply grab land from another nation. no nation has that right. and we will never recognize russia's illegal occupation of crimea. no nation should threaten its neighbors by massing troops al

i'm luke russert in for the great chuck todd. we begin with developing news just

stick around, luke russert is next with "the daily rundown." >>> is ukraine unraveling?ess to budge on are happening, just in connecticut. our focus on the nutmeg state starts off with dan malloy and tom cruz hits new hampshire for

. >> it's luke russert today. >>> switch watch.ealth care sign-ups shoot past the administration's own expectations and the president urges democrats to, quote, forcefully defend the law's impact. plus, just one month till mitch mcconnell hopes to put a hurdle behind him. democrats find out who's facing their best shot in the south and a primary pitch by mitt romney pays off -- or maybe not. that's all happening on may 20th, the closest thing we have to a super tuesday in this mid-term year and it's just one month away later in the show. good morni f

>> i learned if it's way too early, it's "morning joe" but stick around because luke russert is just

i'm luke russert in for the great chuck todd who's on his way to asia for the president's trip.

i'm luke russert in for chuck todd and we'll have an update on the horrible bus