the judge also went on to say that mark hasse and mike mcclellan worked very closely together. that hasse was the top prosecutor working underneath mcclellan and those two men worked together very, very closely. so a great deal of focus being paid to this. and it is interesting, because back in december of last year, the texas department of public safety, don, put out a bulletin warning them it had credible information, a statewide bulletin to law enforcement agencies, that the aryan brotherhood white supremacist group was planning attacks on people who went out after the gang leadership of that gang and had put out this statewide bulletin warning law enforcement agencies across the state about this credible threat. so all of this is kind of percolating on there and has a lot of attention being paid to this gang members and the members of this gang and we presume at this point that that's where a great deal of the investigative focus is as well. done? >> ed lavendera, thank you very much. we'll check back with you later this hour. for the latest on the kaufman killings, we'll ch

mike mcclellan and his wife.rney and these are very important people to us here in kaufman county. we hope the killers are found pretty soon before no one else is killed or hurt. >> well, is that their suspicion, mr. mayor, that this is part of a broader conspiracy, if you will, to kill law enforcement officials? >> i wish i could answer your question, but i can't. the texas rangers are here, the fbi's here, the atf is here, but the main -- the first killing two months ago, that's mainly been -- the investigation has been under the control of our local police department, and then this one will be under the control of the sheriff's department. >> mayor william fortner of kaufman, texas. thank you so much for joining us on an easter morning and such a tragic one for your area. we appreciate your time. we are expecting a news conference within the next couple of hours. we will bring that to you live when it happens. >>> but when we return, the man who pray for our neiation's leaders. >> these are patriots. these are

the deaths of district attorney mike mcclellan and his wife cynthia are shaking that community. it is about 30 miles outside dallas but adding to the shock is that this comes two months after an assistant district attorney was murdered. he was gunned down in a courthouse parking lot. listen to what the sheriff had to say when asked about a potential connection. >> do you believe that these murders yesterday are definitively connected to the murder -- >> i can't say that. no. we have nothing indicating that for sure. >> a "dallas morning news" reporter told us her sources say they are pretty sure there is a connection. ed lavendera is live for us now in kaufman, county. what are you hearing about a connection and where the investigation goes from here? >> reporter: hi, fredricka. i just spoke with the county judge here in kaufman county who had spoken with mike mcclellan just last week. he was telling me again the question that everybody wants to know at this point is, is there any indication that these two cases are related. this particular gentleman is not part of the investiga

investigators found the bodies of the district attorney, mike mcclellan and his wife, cynthia, inside their house, roughly 30 miles southeast of dallas. no connection has been confirmed. but the police chief says he has to assume that the murders are link to the death of county assistant d.a. mark hassey, shot to death a block from his office on 31. mcclellan spoke about the death on the day it happened. and his words may now have even greater significance. >> anything that you people can do to accelerate getting our hands on this scum will be appreciated. >> that was mike mcclellan, who responsibility 23 years in the army before earning his law degree. he and his wife with five children issue including a son, a police officer in dallas. there is a possible connection to the murder of tom clemons, the chief of the department of corrections, who was shot on march 19. his killer, a white supremacist, evan eble, killed in a shootout with deputies a couple of days later, a hundred miles from kaufman. and police are working to safeguard other employees in the d.a.'s office. and we are expe

this is coming just two months after an assistant prosecutor, a man that mike mcclellan worked closely with, mike hasse was gunned down walking to work. in that case the gunman was able to drive off. there were no witnesses. investigators have been working the case for the last two months. as far as we can tell, there have been no major breaks or leads in that investigation. the mayor in kaufman says they believe these two men were targeted and suspect the cases are strongly linked, if not carried out by the same perpetrator. we have a lot of questions that have emerged in the wake of the devastating news here in kaufman, texas. we have learned a little while ago the sheriff here will brief reporters on the investigation at the crime scene throughout the night. it was a great number of law enforcement investigators that descended on the scene. fbi is working on the case as well as the state police. texas rangers have been working this as well as local law enforcement. 2:00 eastern, 1:00 central the sheriff here will update reporters as to what they know and can share about this murder

mike mcclellan and his wife were found dead in their home. the kaufman county sheriff's department investigating whether the murders was linked to one of his assistant d.a.'s murders. here is a neighbor reacting to the news. >> really shocked and saddened by the news. we just couldn't believe it, a shock to all of us. >> just two months ago, an assistant d.a. assassinated as he walked to the courthouse. no arrests in his murder. more in a live report, coming up. >>> it's been a contentious issue for years now, and a group of eight senators are trying to make sweeping immigration reform a reality. they've appeared to overcome a major hurdle. national correspondent live with the latest on immigration from washington. >> in spite of a braeeakthrough senator marco rubio reports that the legislation is finalized is premature. rubio is one of the gang of 8 trying to hammer out that agreement and he wrote to judiciary committee chairman pat leahy urging that the vote should go through a rigorous procepr process of public hearings. he says, you said

mike and cynthia mcclellan were shot to death inside their home last night. it happened in coffman county, texas. that's the same place assistant district attorney mike hassey was gunned down in january outside the county courthouse. i spoke earlier with the mayor of the city of kaufman. he said he thinks the murders are linked. >> this has to be targeted. that's the logical conclusion. i don't have any information that directs me to think that's the case, but that's what you would assume under the circumstances, since targeted two people from our prosecutors. >> our ed lavendera is in kaufman this morning. ed, what are police telling you about this link between these latest killings and the murder of the assistant d.a. that happened in january? >> reporter: good morning, alison. so far, very little information, other than the fact that mike mcclellan, the district attorney, and his wife, gunned down in their home, and found yesterday, late yesterday. and obviously, with what happened here two months ago, a lot of questions swirling around, exactly what is goi

on the day he was killed, mike mcclellan who did it -- >> i hope the people that did this is watchingse we're very confident that we're going to find you on l you. we're going to pull out whatever hall you are in and bring you back and the people 6th county prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. >> that is was mike mcclellan who was now a rim. he spent 23 years in the army. he is survived by his son. and they wonder if it's connected to the tom clements. he was shot at his door. his killer was killed it on with a shootout a couple days later. that was just a hundred miles where the murders were taken place. random acts of violence or target members of the law enforcement community. authorities are the are trying to answer the questions this month. >> heather: mark kelly sitting down for an exclusive interview on fox news sunday. his wife was gravely wounded in a shooting rampage in tucson. kelly agreed with the nra saying that states must 6 access to mental health records in order for background checks to be effective. >>> they absolutely have a pointed. they are right on tha

mike mcclellan and his wife cynthia.for about a month after one of his assistants was gunned down but police were not there saturday. the town mayor are says it appears there was not a random act and the police chief says he has to assume the latest murders are linked to the death of county assistant d.a. who was shot to death in a parking lot a block from his office on january 31. mike mcclellan was front and center on the day that the assistant was killed, calling the killers couple. scum. >> i hope that the people did this were watching because we are confident that we will find you. we will pull you you out of whatever hole you are in and we will bring you back and let the people of kaufman county prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. >> reporter: he and his wife survived by five children including a son who is a police officer in dallas. there are questions whether mcclelland's death is connected to the murder of the chief of the colorado department of corrections. he was shot when answered his door march

mike mcclellan was the d.a. of kaufman county.onths ago one of his top prosecutors was also shot to death. nelson mandela is said to be breathing without difficulty today. the former south african president is still in the hospital being treated for pneumonia. a health clinic in tulsa, oklahoma will resume screenings tomorrow for patients of a dentist accused of unsanitary practices. hundreds showed up yesterday to see if they contracted hiv or hepatitis. letters went out to 7,000 patients. christians around the world with celebrating easter. pope francis led his first easter mass as pontiff and in his message he called tore peace in the world and asked for a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the korean peninsula. more news in an hour here on msnbc. >>> nobel prize winning economist paul krugman and former obama white house press secretary robert gibbs still on the best on "up." [ watch ticking ] [ engine revs ] come in. ♪ got the coffee. that was fast. we're outta here. ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪ >>> after the 2012 presidential elect

kauffman county district attorney mike mcclellan and his wife were shot dead inside his home.rosecutor was also shot and killed in the county courthouse parking lot. nbc's gabe gutierrez is joining us live. gabe, just two months ago i was mentioning assistant district attorney also killed. what are investigators saying about all of this? >> reporter: well, that's right, richar. that assistant district attorney was shot and killed two months ago. now investigators aren't saying much about this and they are not connecting the two cases but local authorities as well as the fbi are involved after they found the body of this district attorney late last night and his wife cynthia and a friend and a relative had checked on them earlier in the day but couldn't get hold of them so that's why police went to the home. now authorities are also looking into this. as you mentioned as to whether this is connect ed to the murde of mclel land's assistant prosecutor, who was shot and killed on his way to work two months ago and in an eerie turn of events district attorney mcclelland spoke out a

district attorney mike mcclellan and his wife cynthia were found dead yesterday in their home in coffmanan says the shootings do not appear to be random. their deaths come just two months after an assistant district attorney was gunned down outside the county courthouse. investigators do not know if the deaths are connected. >>> governor jerry brown has used the easter weekend to grant pardons to 65 people. governor jerry brown has used the pardons to go to people with drug convictions. one convicted murderer was also pardoned. all of them were released from prison more than 10 years ago and haven't committed any crimes since. this is the second time in the last year that governor brown has announced pardons the day before a religious holiday. for a complete list of pardon goes to ktvu.com and click on hot topics. >>> a second major donor has pulled out of the million dollar reward case offered in the christopher dorner case. the peace officers research association of california says it's going to rescind its $50,000 reward offer because dorner was never arrested, tried or convicted. he

mike and cynthia mcclellan were shot inside their home near dallas. that's the same place assistant district attorney was gunned down in january outside the county courthouse. right now joining us is ed lavandera. what at this point are police saying about whether these killings are connected? >> well, that is the big question at this point and it's still early. very little information that has been released about this investigation and where things stand now. but clearly two months ago after the murder of that assistant prosecutor here in kauffman county, a lot of people were on edge because of the way that was done. a brazen attack in the middle of the day as that assistant prosecutor was walking into work. now, two months later the district attorney gunned down in their own homes. so, obviously, this raises a lot of questions as to whether or not these two attacks are related. but mark mcclellan had been very outspoken about wanting to bring the killer of his assistant prosecutor to justice. listen to a little bit of what he had said two months ago

mike and cynthia mcclellan were found shot dead in their home this weekend. an assistant d.a.fice was also shot and killed earlier this year. and a rousing sendoff for soldiers in atlanta. it's a ten-year tradition at hartsfield-jackson international airport. travelers stand and cheer military members leaving for afghanistan, iraq, and kuwait, but yesterday was the last time. starting this week, there will be no more chartered flights for troops the to the region leaving from atlanta, because we are sending fewer troops abroad. >>> public opinion on same-sex marriage has been changing fast, according to polls, while some of it could be generational, nbc's kristen dahlgren takes a look at the role of popular culture and politics in the evolution on same-sex marriage. >> reporter: when ellen degeneres came out in 1997 -- >> gay woman in aisle 5. >> reporter: it was front-page news. "will & grace" soon brought gay men into american living rooms every week. >> do you still want to marry me? >> over and over and over. >> reporter: fast forward a few years to what's considered a mod

investigators found the bodies of mike mcclel land at their home in kaufman county. mcclellan been receiving extra protection after his -- >> all these people were patients of dr. wayne scott harrington an oral surgeon, he's accused of working in unsanitary conditions, that's why 11,000 theemt people who saw him were warned to get tests for hepatitis and aids. >> if you can't trust a doctor and the people who are supposed to the right for you, who can you trust? . now back to the passion by your latest headlines log on to fog news.com. . >> this grove of olive trees issan negligent, some say it may have been here as long as 2,000 years ago. this is the garden of gissemene, this is where he was betrayed by judas, abandoned by his disciples and arrested in darkness. >> lauren, it is here in the greek orthodox chapel that we come to the spot that marks the traditional site of the crucifixion of jesus. you can see here the exposed rock where once again the top of this pillar is nonas the calgary of al go that. >> you can actually the touch the spot where the cross had been mounted