>> thune, john thune traveled with romney earlier in the campaign and the two of them didn't really spendhatting when he was traveling. pawlenty on the other hand is pretty close to romney personally. they spend a lot of time conferring when they're traveling together. portman is still at the top of many advisers and watchers list, but you are seeing romney getting to the point where he's really narrowed that list. >> is that true you think that he's made a decision, he's just holding it now? >> i'm not convinced he's made the decision. if you look at the history of these picks, the decision is not made until its actually announced. walter mondale in 1984 had settled on dianne feinstein and at the last minute literally, changed his mind. >> sarah palin, last -- >> palin, very much the last second. so i'm sure he has a sense of who the probably two or three final iisists are, but as long there's time to think about it, there's time to change your mind. >> i differ a little bit. i think he has made up his mind. i think he's known for some time idealy who fits into the box for the vp and i t

thune: that is correct. mr. sessions: and the secretary of defense has said this would be a disaster for the defense department for these cuts to take effect. and isn't it true that the president is a commander in chief of all of our military forces? mr. thune: that is correct. mr. sessions: and isn't it true that we are at a situation at this point in history where we are heading toward a sequester and the commander in chief is utterly silent on how to fix the problem? mr. thune: the senator from alabama is correct. and that is one of the more remarkable things about this. the commander in chief, of course, is tasked with the responsibility of being just that, the commander in chief, and yet when it comes to the national security interests that we have and to at least spelling out how he would implement what we believe are going to be some disastrous cuts to the defense budget, he is not even informing us about what his ideas are with respect to that so we can react to that. and more importantly, he doesn't see

thune: mr. president, if i might respond to my colleague from mississippi and from indiana, the senator from mississippi is absolutely right. the proposal that we will vote on as presented by the democrats today would allow the death tax exemption to go back down to to $1 million. that's the pre-2001 level. and apply a 55% tax rate on top of that. now, just to give you an example of how that might work in a state like mine, i represent south dakota. the average sized farm in my state is a little under 1,400 acres. if you look at the average -- the value per acre of land and multiply it by the size of the average farm, you're talking about an average farm between $2 million and $2.5 million in value. so you could be talking about -- this is average. we have a lot of farms that would be impacted in a much more significant way than this, but you are talking about then subjecting about $1.5 million of that farm's value to a 55% tax rate. and 84% of the value of farm assets, according to usda is in r

i open that up to whomever. >> senator thune, good to see you. as i said in my testimony, i think when you increase by ten times the number of rights holders that would have to come to an agreement, you have to have a tenfold increase in the likelihood of disruptions of some kind. and that's just logically to me. but perhaps other have a perspective on that. >> i think the other perspective that i would share is that part of the regulatory landscape requires cable operators to sell broadcast station as a point of entry to purchasing anything else from us. that is unlike any other platform. satellite providers are not required to sell the broadcast stations, certainly access to entry to viewing content, even broadcast content on the web does not require that subsidy to be paid in order to be able to use any other form of content. and so part of the tension i think for the operator as these costs are skyrocketing is that we cannot sell a consumer anything else without being obligated by virtue of the privileges of this law to pathos broadcasters. a

senator john thune is here in 60 seconds.ines. >> israel pointing a finger at iran for a bus bombing that killed at least seven israeli tour efforts in bulgaria. dozens more are injured. the attacks against the bus filled mostly with teenagers happening earlier today near the airport. the israeli prime minister calling it an attack and calling for revenge. the white house vying to find out who is responsible. >> and nine men tied to a prostitution scandal in columbia will not face charges. it happened last april just before a visit by president obama. the associated press reports the 7 army soldiers and two marines will receive administrative punishments as well. they were in columbia supporting secret service agents and some lost their jobs because of the scandal. now back to greta. thanks for watching. >> you've heard the warnings, we could be headed over the so-called fiscal cliff. so what is congress planning to do, burn the midnight oil? well, not exactly. try this one, going on vacation. that's right. next month both th

john thune is sits on the tax writing committee in the senate. senator, good morning to you and welcome back to our program. >> good morning, bill. bill: up and down vote. simple majority rules? what do you think of idea? >> we would love to have the vote to president's plan to raise taxes on small businesses on the company but we like to see the text of the bill first. they haven't put anything into legislative language, bill. we haven't seen anything they want to vote on. we would like a procedure where republicans can offer amendments. what senator reid has done, in legislative terms, filled amendment tree, essentially offered republicans offering amendments and hasn't given us anything to look at. we're happy to have this debate. we welcome the opportunity to debate whether or not we ought to raise taxes on a million small businesses at a time when we're trying to get americans back too work and get the economy going and expanding again. bill: on that note you called the president's push on this whole matter reckless. how come? >> well it is

and senator thune, i would ask you, yesterday the house was focusing on this issue. we know there were hearings before the house armed services committee. in fact, the house, we should point out, through reconciliation has already passed a bill to address sequestration to make sure that our national security is protected. and they've done that, it has not been taken up in the senate yet, unfortunately, and the senate, i call on the majority leader in the senate to act now because the house has passed something, but yesterday they also held a hearing, the house passed another measure by 414-2 that's called the sequestration transparency act. it's the companion bill to one that you, senator thune, introduced in this chamber. i know how focused you have been on this issue and the senate passed a similar amendment to the farm bill. one of the issues we saw from the c.e.o.'s that testified yesterday from our defense industrial base is department of defense, o.m.b., they've gotten no guidance on where these cuts will be implemented so therefore i know that yesterday the ho

thune: mr. president, i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: 11 years ago i introduced the dream act to allow a group of students with great potential to contribute more to america. the dream act, in order to qualify they'd earn their way to 0 legal status and they had to come to the united states as children, be long-term u.s. residents, graduate from high school and agree to serve in our military or complete two years of college. these young people literally came to the united the united ss infants and children. they grew up, went to school with our kids and they're the valedictorians, the athletes and even the rotc leaders in schools across america. they didn't make the decision to come here. they were just kids. their parents made the decision. this homeland security secretary janet napolitan

people are talking about thune in south dakota.d of the day, romney has the white rich guy lot down. he needs somebody that can identify with working blue class voters and also with women and latinos. >> would you encourage him to go with somebody a little bit out of the box though? somebody exciting? somebody that would get people out on the campaign trail? >> if i was running that campaign, i absolutely wochlt again, if you go with portman or thune, pawlenty who is a really nice guy but is not exciting anyone, you check that box. absolutely. but i would go out and think about the latino vote. march teen necessiti martinez in new mexico, you check the women box. you check the latina box. and somebody who can help energize people who mitt romney is not touching, you know, with the rhetoric that you're hearing from both sides. >> do you want to touch somebody, rich, who -- or, you know the people who are not already in your corner. you want to go with the independents. condee rice might do that, chris christie, jeb bush. >> somebody

. >> that is senators dick durbin and john thune. this bill will fail in the house, but they have to look busy up there, colby. >> and boarded a vote took place in the senate. because they have the majority vote -- >> mitch mcconnell allowed to this. >> and we have this good piece of legislation in the senate. now it goes to the house of representatives, where it will fail because republicans do not want the tax cuts for the rich to expire. they know that. they are talking about rich people not having to get their taxes. getting into the question of how much moneyets saved -- the fact is that republicans ought to let this -- ought to pass this bill. >> you lose the tax reduction it is only an increase on anything beyond what you have already paid over $250,000. the first to under two dozen dollars is exactly the same. it is only anything over that were you lose the benefits you got under the bush tax cuts. >> to quote ronald reagan, there we go again. the joint committee on taxation has reported that 53% of small business income woul

. >> senators dick durbin and john thune. this bill fail in the house, but they have to look busy. >> because they -- the democratic leaders have the majority vote -- >> mitch mcconnell allowed this. >> he got this piece of legislation passed in the senate but now it goes to the house of representatives, where it will fail, coz republicans don't want tax cuts for the rich to expire. they know that. they are talking about rich people. getting to the question of how much money gets save, spend -- the fact is that republicans ought to let -- pass this bill. >> i meant to clarify something. you lose the tax reduction and it is only an increase on anything beyond what you paid, over $250,000. the first $250,000 is exactly the same. anything over that, you lose the benefit you got under the bush tax cuts. >> to quote ronald reagan, there we go again. the joint committee on taxation has reported that 53% of small business income would come under this tax hike. we just had a report on friday that growth in the second quarter was 1.5%

senator john thune is on the budget and finance committees.short time ago. >> nice to see you, sir. >> not to see you. >> this week the chairman ben bernanke was up here and said we are in deep run and need action. what are you going to do with it? >> i think there are two things we need to do to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. one is to extend the tax rates that are set to expire at the end of this year, which would result in a massive tax increase on people, americans all over the board next year. and secondly, to do something that would avert the defense cuts that are going to just devastate our national security priorities and replace those with cuts elsewhere in the budget. those are two things we could do. right now the fiscal cliff, as it's been described, consist of really those two elements. and the concern is, according to the congressional budget office, if we don't take steps to address that, then in the first six months of next year it could cost our economy 1.3% in economic growth which according to the cvo would probably resu

also mentioned often a senator from south dakota john thune and wisconsin congressman paul ryan.he timing is significant, brian, because the sooner it's announced the sooner romney has help raising money going forward. >> peter alexander from our d.c. newsroom, thanks. >>> the u.s. navy confirms tonight it opened fire on a small boat about ten miles off dubai in the persian gulf killing at least one person, wounding three others. the boat possibly a pleasure craft, maybe a fishing boat, was closing in on a navy supply ship in what the navy called an aggressive and threatening manner, ignoring a repeated series of warnings from the crew. it's still unclear whether the dead and injured are from the uae, united arab emirates, or india. but pentagon officials say this was not a case of an iranian vessel harassing a u.s. navy vessel as has happened in the past. >>> court-martial proceedings started today at lackland airforce base in san antonio in the u.s. military's largest sexual assault scandal in more than 20 years. our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski reports on this lates

senator thune? >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, all, for your insight. i want to throw, i know most of you represent more populated areas of the country or work in those areas, but i wanted to just raise an example of some of the challenges that we're facing in if rural parts of the country when we talk about sgr reform and financial stability for our health care providers. you know, in south dakota it shouldn't be any surprise that most of our providers are highly dependent upon goth payer sources, and here's an example of one of the towns in my state. it has a population of 2300 people, payer mix of 40 percent medicare, 20 percent medicaid and 20% private insurance. 80% of revenue tied to what tend to be unstable federal payment systems, and they're struggling to keep up with reinvesting in critical facility upgrades and nursing recruitment and all those sorts of things, and the other point i wanted to make about that is it's very hard to recruit and retain providers, physicians into some of these rural areas, and i'm curious to know, you know, i'm goi

i've sort of dark horsed john thune for awhile.ey likes hanging out with people that are a lot like mitt romney. >> stephanie: ya think? >> i think is a comfort level. i don't think he's looking to make a palinesque splash. we called it a quayle mistake but they won! i think he's looking for something safe as he always does. i think that john thune rob portman, that sort of profile fits what mitt romney wants. >> stephanie: that's some vetting getting more boring. >> that's really difficult. >> but he needs somebody -- you know, i said this to vouch for him among conservatives and those guys kind of do. but you're right. he can outdull himself which i guess to make himself look exciting. there is the other side of that. >> stephanie: is this -- one of the worst campaigns ever in your opinion? i'm looking at two headlines. bain press release claims ceo romney is on part-time leave to run olympics. it was not part-time. >> it was not. you know, one of the worst campaigns -- they're all bad. i don't think it is the worst than the swif

. >> we have to change the thune on metrorail because of red line delays are expected between judiciary six sq m union station. there's a track problem so bread line customers pack extra patients. let's go to newschopper7 who is looking at 270 traffic. this is the lane divide heading to 495 east to the left and south on the right. a light volume of traffic and travel times are working on 270 but also on 95, 395, and 66. >> we are following a developing story out of leytonsville maryland where there was a plane crash. it happened near davis airport near gaithersburg. brianne carter has the latest. >> we expect investigators will be back out here later this money to figure out what happened. we will show you around the airport. this is where the runway is and we understand that the plane had landed and was taking off again it landed just be on the runway behind those trees. something went terribly wrong. >> people are finding that unacceptable and is making people act. >> this woman says she is fed up with pepco. they ate out for six days, the family lost over $1,000. >> very on acceptabl

obamacare i like that one of it something republican john thune said on hugh hewitt radio show yesterday he said i know people out there are out there dying under the burdens of these things and he's talking about people who are dying because of obamacare but meanwhile on thursday it was president obama was you know embracing oh i'll resident stephanie miller whose sister this is the picture whose sister died of colon cancer four years earlier whew her or her sister could not get medical services could not get care for cancer because she she earned she basically earned a little more than a minimum wage share and too much to be on medicare and not enough to be able to buy insurance she died under obamacare she'd be covered so isn't that just the opposite of what the moon isn't it isn't it wouldn't be accurate to say dan that the people are dying because obamacare hasn't been fully implemented and you think ceding your health care decisions to a board of wizards government bureaucrats and i pad and the preventive services task force is the answer we have real solutions the difference with

john thune told the hill newspaper that he is in contact with mitt romney's vetting team.e talked to beth meyers who is leading up that effort. there does seem to be some momentum building toward that development but the campaign is not sure yet. >> thanks very much. romney will be in ohio wednesday. president obama is there right now. he just wrapped up a town hall meeting. this is his eighth trip to the battleground state. he stepped up his outsourcing attacks on romney. he used reports by tax notes to claims on romney wants to ship jobs overseas. >> we have not found any serious economic study that says governor romney's economic plan would create jobs until today. i've got to be honest. today we found out there's a new study out by nonpartisan economists that says governor romn romney's plan would create 800,000 jobs. there's one problem. the jobs wouldn't be in america. >> some of president advisors favor the idea as well. >>> we've got a lot more ahead this hour. take a look. >> we just pray that they are found and brougt back to their families. >> few leads but lots

. >> john thune is attractive. condoleezza rice would be an asset to romney at this point. and also a historical first. >> would she be a game-changer? >> i think. many people know of her long history with civil rights issues, but foreign policy, economic issues, but her association with george bush might not be what mitt romney is looking for. he might want a fresh face or fresh start. and therefore i think my friend here, mr. rubio, her senator might be on that list as well. >> you know i'm rooting for him. >> romney says he's being vetted. we'll see how serious. >> i think he's attractive. >> and a lot of speculation. this announcement by the way could come as early as next week. he might not necessarily wait until closer to the republican convention at the end of august. >> that might not be a bad idea. this week we saw barack obama saying vp biden both to the naacp and to the la ros sa convention. >> the most important thing should be whoever he picks is qualified. >> yes. do not preempt the olympics. >> no. t

senator john thune on that in moments. listen. >> i've been assigned to do, to focus on maximum employment and price stability, not to hold threats over congress's head. congress is in charge here, not the federal reserve. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. @ stayfocus lolo, focus.ya. let's do this. i am from baltimore. south carolina... bloomington, california... austin, texas... we are all here to represent the country we love. this is for everyone back home. it's go time. across america, we're all committed to team usa. what can i get you ? cheeseburger. you know what, got any salads ? b-ball, anyone ? and then take your leg wide out to the side. you can do it, dad thanks, girl i'm really proud of you, dad. make the most of your network with verizon. more 4g lte coverage than all other networks combined. martha: some tense moments for sure as

thune also fits that description well.'s no question governor pawlenty is in the mix. just as i think senator portman is still in the mix. i think there is a -- one of the things i think people have -- none of us really know and so people say someone is the front-runner, someone is not the front run ir. it's a very close hold in romney world about what the governor is think being this. one thing you can't under estimate is how much the romney campaign is worried about conservative enthusiasm right now. they are -- they are confident they're going to win the election but they know they have a problem on the right. people like paul ryan, people like bobby jindal are still in consideration because they are people who will actually rev up the conservative base, and they are -- you watch the way they maneuvered over the last few months, you can tell they're still worried about the right flank. you have those names. those names keep popping up. i have been on portman for nine months but you keep hearing bobby jindal and paul rya

. >> i think john thune, i think he makes the most sense.getting a lot of buzz right now, for what that's worth. portman seems too obvious to be the guy. i think they're going to do something risky and something bold. >> do you think of risky and bold when you think of mitt romney? >> that's it, this was fun. >> you know what we stop talking when we're supposed to. >> some of us. >> and of course the cycle every weekday 3:00 eastern time. right here, msnbc. >>> a possible threat against first lady michelle obama involving d.c. cop. details on that in the news now. t but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company by continuing to help you do more and focus on the things that matter to you. starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. an accident doesn't have to slow you down... with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car is tota

. >> we will be listening to see if your inside source here is -- >> test me on thune. >> jack burkemanways great to talk to you. >>> up next how technology we use every day is helping the blind break barriers in the workplace. >> and later an incredible crash caught on camera, how it happened and more of the video coming up.  oreo and dunkin' are the perfect match for the perfect moment. enjoy the new oreo coolatta and donut today. america runs on dunkin'. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] what's the point of an epa estimated 42 miles per gallon if the miles aren't interesting? the lexus ct hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection. >>> a lot of us are a lot more attached to our smartphones and tablets than we need to be, but for some people these devices are life altering. fox 5's beth parker explains. >> it's like looking through a pinhole in the box. >> reporter: this is life through the eyes of tony stevens. >> it's severe tunnel vision in one eye. the other eye is totally blind. >> reporter: tony was born legal lobeline, but something happened in recent years -- legall

and as well as minnesota governor tim pawlenty and bobby jindal as well as south dakota senator john thuneresident obama have an advantage since the democratic convention is after the gop, does that mean he could have a more sustained bounce? >> i do think it gives a little advantage but both romney and president obama have two different messages for mitt romney, it's introducing himself to the american public to make the sale maybe he's more than a businessman and more than a caricature you're seeing in tv tiz. s and for president obama, it's to get his base fired up. some segments were as enthusiastic as 2008. they are using the convention to get the base ready to go. >> you talk about mitt romney to introduce himself to the american public yet this is a guy we've known for some time. he made a run for the presidency the last time. >> it really is striking. and it came up in an interview he gave to brian williams a couple of days ago, why doesn't the american public know you better? romney said there's going to be plenty of time, we have debates and conventions. as we pointed out in firs

we have a great lineup with senator thune, senator graham and rick klein and ambassador bolton and soh more. sean, i want to you listen tonight. >> sean: i'll be watching in 19 short minutes from now. 59 -- get this -- 59 dollars a gallon for biofuel. that's what the air force paid to show its support for the obama administration and their wacky glean energy policy. we will check in with an author to show how government is wasting your money, a "hannity" investigation is next. these fellas used capital one venture miles for a golf getaway. double miles you can actually use... but mr. single miles can't join his friends because he's getting hit with blackouts. shame on you. now he's stuck in a miniature nightmare. oh, thank you. but, with e capital one venture card... you can fly any airline, any flight, any time. double miles you can actually use. what's in your wallet? alec jr? it was a gift. who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testoster

john thune chez who's be treating veterans since wee hene wriet nam wah sliding actually for about an hour-and-a-half, and at the and i just wanted some practical let fais. and i said what happens if a woman calls you up and says doctor, my soorm dagte p bpsyh apndhee ee some help, they are not trying to -- the are not seeking help themselves and i can't force this on them? he said bring hem into a circle an oig an hoca nued veteran: sleeve and tears. some of course they may need therapy but he said i've never treated a veteran who was co'thiy a lot of sleep ho >> i was, i'd escaped manhattan, and i was living on the side of a mountain in the catskills alone in a cabintryito nish b,ising myself. and i'd been in a series of rv trips withy faer, dmy er atn v th rrips were a way for us to kind of come together. we'd share some stories, he shared some stories of vietnam, i shared so ofmywnri but eventually have you ever been in a winnebago for about a thousand miles? it's pretty intense, especially if you're in the win bay doe with your father for a thousand miles. [laughter] i love my fa

we have a great lineup with senator thune, senator graham and rick klein and ambassador bolton and sore. sean, i want to you listen tonight. >> sean: i'll be watching in 19 short minutes from now. 59 -- get this -- 59 dollars a gallon for biofuel. that's what the air force paid to show its support for the obama administration and their wacky glean energy policy. we will check in with an author to show how government is wasting your money, a "hannity" investigation is next. [ male announcer ] summer is here. and so too is the summer event. now get an incredible offer on the powerful, efficient c250 sport sedan with an agility control sport-tuned suspension. but hurry before this opportunity...disappears. ♪ the mercedes-benz summer event ends july 31st. ♪ we believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our teams have the information you wan

tim pawlenty, bobby jindal, maybe jon thune and paul ryan, the guy whose budget the president will mention in florida. >> i was watching tv last night. american cross roads ads coming in heavy in the virginia ad market. we mentioned yesterday, two to one advantage for team romney. is that going to ratchet it up going forward? seems like with a bad week they rescue them. is that something to see in the rest of the election? >> outside groups helping the team romney have an outspending effect on the advertising and seeing obama ads on the air waves, too. ever since 2008, for those of us living in washington, d.c., next door virginia is a battleground and seeing it. >> good to finally see them. we never saw the political ads. thank you. appreciate it. >>> the united nations security council will vote in the next hour on new sanctions against the syrian government that may be too tough to secure russian support. the vote comes as new reports whether the president assad is hiding. nbc's eamon mohadine joins me now. how much ground did the rebels gain yesterday? there's reports of opposition for

pawlenty, rob portman bob jindal, paul ryan and john thune. >> it will probably be closer to the convention. who knows. of course, the romney people might make a decision earlier. in the daily news, new york daily news sources are telling him that they would rather do it after the trip because they don't want it to look like a knee-jerk reaction if they were to do it too soon. >> we were speaking earlier. you said that now that the president's campaign south carolina outspent two to one when you combine the super pacs and the romney campaign in the top ten media markets. we're talking about this tax issue on tv that will feed twitter and cable news cycle, every day america is getting barraged with ads from team romney. >> huge change. last two weeks -- previously, what we had seen was outside groups were helping romney get up to parody with the obama campaign, crossroads, gps. now the rnc is also joining that fight, getting some money in, making some buys to the point that now crossroads, outside groups, along with team romney, are outspending team obama 2-1. this week in the top ten market

that's the final resting place of almost 4 thousand thune onsoldiers who gave the last full measure of devotion so that the government of the people by the people for the people shall not perfect frisch the earth. even the adversaries of the united states and cold war considered gettysburg a special place. back in 1976, at the time of the bicentennial of the american revolution a. group of historians from the soviet union came though this country to participate in the events to commemorate that bicentennial. their host, colleague of mine at princeton, and historian of the period of the american revolution and the early republic, asked them which sites then wanted to visit first. he assumed they would first want to go to independenchall. or perhaps lexington and concord. or williamsburg. and yorktown. their answer was none of the above. they wanted to start with gettysburg. why? asked my astonished colleague. gettysburg had nothing to do with the revolution. on the contrary. these russians replied, gettysburg had everything to do with the revolution. it was the battle where the legacy o

senator john thune said, "i think that's going to make it incredibly difficult for the pledge to haveor mike gohahn said, "what grover norquist has just done is blown his pledge wide open." how big is the norquist exception? 13 months later, the demint amendment still has never come to a vote. so now, according to the norquist exception, you can vote for any tax revenue increase you want, as long as you promise grover that some day you'll vote for a tax cut in some other bill and that some day never has to come. [ male announcer ] for making cupcakes and deposits at the same time. for paying your friend back for lunch...from your tablet. for 26 paydays triggered with a single tap. for checking your line, then checking your portfolio. for making atms and branches appear out of thin air. simple to use websites, tools, and apps. for making your financial life a little bit easier. why not talk to someone who owns an adjustable version of the most highly recommended bed in america? ask me about my tempur advanced ergo. goes up. goes up. ask me what it's like to get a massage anytime you wa