nbc's tracie potts is in washington for us this morning with more. tracie, is it the end of the road for this ban, or might we see this go to the supreme court? >> reporter: very likely not the end of the road for this ban, richard. good morning, everyone. because the supreme court has gotten involved in utah, they could certainly get involved here. what we're waiting to find out this morning is whether the state's republican governor who opposes same-sex marriage will appeal this case. they rallied around the state after a federal judge ruled pennsylvania's 18-year-old ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. >> the justice has been done for a long time, and we are going to stop it today. >> reporter: philadelphia's mayor called it an historic day. county offices there stayed open late last night to handle applications. the state's attorney general voiced her support. >> i think that where there's inequality in one group of people or one class of people, then there's inequality amongst all of us. >> reporter: 11 couples sued plus a widow, one co

let's get right to nbc's tracie potts in washington. tracie, good morning. shinseki is indicating he's not going anywhere. so what is he doing about these allegations? >> reporter: well, right now he's waiting to see what the inspector general has to say. keep in mind shinseki himself is a decorated veteran, a four star general before he took over at veterans affairs. and even though veterans say they respect his patriotism, his sacrifice for the country, the largest veterans group in this country wants him out. whistle-blowers claim thousands of appointment requests were diverted to a secret list to improve performance and as investigators were closing in, some of the records were destroyed. >> i am angry. >> reporter: but he's not giving up his job, not yet. >> general shinseki's time as secretary of veterans of affairs has come to an end and needs to step down. >> reporter: he says he'll await results of an internal investigation. >> will you resign? >> i would say i serve at the pleasure of the president. >> the president remains confident in secretary s

let's bring in tracie potts from washington. good morning to you. what happens if the subpoenas come up empty? >> reporter: they're probably going to dig deeper. lawmakers believe the answer is in there somewhere. what may be thousands of pages of documents they want to look through every democrat, every republican voted in favor of this subpoena. they want to get to the bottom of who made it difficult for these vets to see a doctor quickly. >> i'm now going to sign a subpoena for production of -- >> reporter: lawmakers are giving the va until may 19th to turn over e-mails and documents about who destroyed a secret waiting list at the phoenix va hospital. steven cooper was a doctor there and had stage four prostate cancer. the va said he had to wait four months. >> they should be held accountable because it is a crime. >> reporter: president obama spoke about the controversy last night. >> if we are serious about making sure that our veterans are properly cared for, then we have got to fix congress. >> reporter: congress, democrats and republicans,

good morning to you tracie potts. what's the temperature now? >> reporter: the temperature heating up for eric shinseki. didn't look good particularly for the phoenix va. now lots of questions about whether or not he should keep his job. today v.a. secretary eric shinseki speaks for the first time since the inspector general found 1700 vets in phoenix haven't put put on the official waiting list for an appointment. democrats and republicans now want shinseki to resign. he's lobbying to stay meeting with veterans and senators. >> general shinseki is not a bad administrator. he's a bad public affairs officer. >> reporter: the president says he's reserving judgment until the report is in. >> reporter: some vets are defending the agency. >> they're not against you. this system's just -- it's turning too slow. >> reporter: now there are other problems. private doctors turning vets away because it's taking too long to get paid. >> the reimbursement was often months and sometimes even longer. >> reporter: more issues with a system that's now under the

"today in the bay" tracie potts has details on the president's trip and something else that is on the minds of service men and women this memorial day. >> i'm here on a single mission and that is to thank you for your extraordinary service. >> reporter: he was on the ground just four hours and harmidkarzai by phone. president obama promised many of these troops will be home by new year's. >> our combat mission will be over. america's war in afghanistan will come to a responsible end what we still don't know how many will stay. it could be as many as 10,000. the president told karzai they'll talk again before he announces that publicly. that could come wednesday when mr. obama delivers the commencement speech at west point. for now, he's focused on making sure the soldiers can be seen at v.a. hospitals when they get home. >> our combat mission here will come to an end but our obligations to you and your families have only just begun. >> i hope that they get that rectified. >> reporter: the va was on the minds this weekend. >> 18 1/2 months for my case to be even seen by the board. it i

nbc tracie potts is live in washington with more. tracey, what can we expect to hear from the president? >> reporter: well, frances we're told he'll have a middle of the road course, unafraid to team up with the rest of the world against russia, but also careful for a military not to be overly aggressive. this morning's west point speech comes after president obama announced 9,800 troops will stay in afghanistan after the war ends in december. that war will gradually drop to about 1,000 over the next two years. their job, training training forces. >> this will a allow us to redirect some of the resources saved in these wars tour respond more nimbly to the changing threat of terrorism. >> reporter: leaving boots on the ground for result in the president signing a bilateral agreement. >> an ongoing security partnership to pull u.s. forces out the way president obama is seen set on doing here. >> how long they'll be in our country should be driven by the national security imperatives, not by the president's entire for political legacy.

nbc's tracie potts is in washington, d.c. he did not meet with president karzai, why not? >> reporter: they couldn't work it out. timewise the president was only on the ground for a few hours. he couldn't get to the presidential palace and probably security concerns about that as well. karzai wasn't coming to the air base where president obama was, so they ended up talking by phone. but the president said he did want to be there to thank the troops in person. >> i'm here on a single mission, and that is to thank you for your extraordinary service. >> reporter: he was on the ground just four hours and only spoke to afghan president hamid karzai by phone after taking off from bagram air base. president obama promised many of these troops will be home by new year's. >> and our combat mission will be over. america's war in afghanistan will come to a responsible end. >> reporter: but we still don't know how many will stay. it could be as many as 10,000. the president told karzai they'll talk again before he announces that publicly. that could come wednesday when mr. obama deliv

nbc's tracie potts is live if washington with much more on this. good morning to you, traci. so is this the end of road for the state's ban? >> probably not. right now pennsylvania's republican governor is opposed same-sex marriage there so we're waiting this morning to see if he might appeal the ruling. >> reporter: there were rallies around the state after a federal judge ruled that the 18--year-old ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. >> an injustice has been done for a long time. and we're going to stop it today. >> philadelphia's mayor calls it a historic day county office there's stay open late last night to handle applications. the state's attorney general voiced her support. >> i think that where there's inequality in one group of people or one class of people, then there is enequality amongst all of us. >> 11 couples sued plus a widow, one couple's teenage daughters and the aclu. governor tom corbin hasn't said if he'll appeal. there is a flurry of activity this week. on monday, a judge struck done oregon's same sex marriage ban. a federal judge ordered utah

let's get right to tracie potts in washington. shinseki indicated he is not going anywhere. what is he doing about these allegations? >> he's got the inspector general on it. he wants to wait for that report to see where they go next. shinseki is a decorated veteran himself, a four-star general. even the american legion which wants him out said he is applauded for his service, however, they think this was a problem from the top down. >> whistle blowers claim thousands of requests were diverted to a secret list and records were destroyed. >> i am angry. >> reporter: but he's not giving up his job. >> general shinseki's time as secretary of veterans affairs has come to an end and he needs to step down. >> reporter: shinseki says he'll await for results of an investigation. >> the president remains condense in shinseki's ability to lead the department. >> reporter: the inspector general is looking into allegations that as many 40 veterans died waiting for up to a year and a half. >> you have to basically break through or do a full frontal assault to get an appointment. >> i don

here is nbc's tracie potts on capitol hill. >> reporter: it's a blowout. 288,000 new jobs in april, a lot more than economists predicted. plus, 36,000 more jobs, not counted in february and march. plus, the number of people who have been jobless for six months or more, that dropped significantly. the unemployment rate is now down to 6.3%. >> so i think we're going to find out momentum's pretty good here in the second quarter. >> reporter: layoffs have slowed down, but employers are also slow about creating new jobs. >> companies are being very, very choosey in their hiring process and they're only selectively expanding. >> reporter: 344,000 new people applied for unemployment checks in the last week. the most since late february. in washington, the senate agreed to extend emergency unemployment benefits. now, the house has to act. >> it's paid for, it's responsible, it addresses the issue, it's workable. >> reporter: people are buying more. march saw the fastest consumer spending increase in 4 1/2 years. auto makers had their best april in almost a decade. people also spent money on u

nbc bay area's tracie potts has more from washington. >>> with embattled v.a. secretary eric shinseki nearby, president obama laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown and promised veterans america will do better. >> we must do more to keep faith with our veterans and their families and ensure they get the care and benefits and opportunities the that they've earned and that they deserve. >> as the president prepares to lay out his post-war strategy at west point tomorrow, 26 v.a. hospitals remain under investigation. accused of falsifying records to cover up treatment delays. >> that is a sacred obligation. and we're behind right now. >> reporter: it's frustrating for vets waiting on doctor's appointments, surgery, and disability checks. >> i haven't heard from them since. lord knows when i'll hear from them. if i will. >> politicians need to shut their mouth and just do it. >> amen. >> reporter: some lawmakers are suggesting the department of justice convene a grand jury to ensure criminal charges against employee who is may have cooked the books. >> he should

let's bring if tracie potts in washington. good morning, tracie. what is taking the repairs so long? >> reporter: well, it took them over two and a half years because as you said, there was so much damage, there were pieces that fell on the inside, the elevator was damaged, pieces that fell on the outside, there were cracks, betty that were so big, you could see light coming through them. so they wanted to make sure, number one, that it was repaired and also that it was earthquake proof for the future. so there are dozens and dozens of steel plates holding together the marble and the granite, more than 2 1/2 miles of mortar sealant between them. and now they also have gone in and redone the exhibits. they figured while people were going to be coming in, they would give them a whole fresh new look at history here and they have redone the exhibits, fully accessible and now tickets are to be given out for today's tours. they'll start the tours this afternoon. i had a chance to talk to the first people in line, college students who got here at 1:30 in

"today in the bay" tracie potts has details of the president's ship and something else that is on theds of servicemen and women on this memorial day. good morning, tracie. >> good morning, everyone. the president made this whirl wind trip around the world and fourth time he has done it, but not in the last two years to visit the troops in afghanistan, the president said he wanted to thank them personally. >> i'm here on a single mission and that is to thank you for your extraordinary service. >> reporter: he was on the ground just four hours and only spoke to harmid karzai by phone after taking off from baggram base. >> america's war in afghanistan will come to a responsible end. >> reporter: but we still don't know how many will stay. it could be as many as 10,000. the president told karzai they'll talk again before he announces that publicly. that could come wednesday when mr. obama godelivers the comme e commencement speech at west point. right now focused on making sure the soldiers can be seen at v.a. hospitals when they get home. >> our obligations to you and your families have

"today in the bay" tracie potts is live on capitol hill. the u.s. has promised to help. tracie, this is a story that i think is just terribly underreported. >> this is the shocking thing about this. it happened three weeks ago. these girls were missing for three weeks. take a look in d.c. and other areas, too, like new york and l.a. and even london. protests. people that want to bring more attention to these more than 200 missing girls who were snatched right out of their school and haven't been seen since. an islamic fundamentalest group believed to have taken these girls and possibly sold them into marriage, sold them as child brides and part of the protest has to do with the fact that some people don't think the nigerian government is doing enough to find these girls. just this morning we learned that a couple of protesters in nigeria protesting over this were arrested, allegedly, the president's wife said that she didn't, she thought this was an effort to make her husband look bad. he had taken a lot of heat for not doing more. you noted the united states, secretary o

tracie potts live in washington this morning where questions remain if nigeria's government will negotiate with a terrorist group to kidnap those girls. good morning, tracie. >> good morning. the u.s. doesn't negotiate with kidnappers or anything like that and they're helping with the search, but we're not in charge. nigeria is and it's a completely different story as to whether or not they're going to accept these kidnappers' demands in a new video they're asking that prisoners be released in exchange for the girls. we also, for the first time, saw the girls in that video. it looks like at least some of them may still be in the country and may still be alive. the united states has about 50 people we're told on the ground fraught the state department, from the pentagon trying to help out with this communication experts, medical experts and, yes, fbi hostage negotiators. but this is the most amazing thing we've heard so far this morning. some of the families have yet to see that video because there is no electricity in the village wheres they are. they are having to travel to the capital of

"today in the bay" tracie potts joins us live on capitol hill. ie, republicans say they try to get to the truth but republicans saying this is a political ploy for mid-term elections. >> comes just a few months before elections and democrats are concerned about the makeup of the committee which proposed is seven republicans and five democrats and they think it should be even nancy pelosi from the bay area put in the request on that. republicans say they really believe there was a cover up here that the administration kept pushing this idea that it was a video that people were upset about when they knew, in fact, there were and they want to ask some questions, subpoena some people and documents and get to the bottom of this. >> pelosi the minority leader, she is really vocal about this. just demanding this investigation be scrapped. will the democrats boycott? >> they might because they think that it is really sort of a witchhunt that it is going in unfair because there are going to be more republicans than democrats on this select committee. this

"today in the bay" tracie potts is live in washington, d.c. tracie, this is a lot bigger than just one v.a. hospital. >> this is a lot bigger than phoenix where we first started hearing these allegations. now in new mexico whistleblower told nbc that there they were assigning veterans, patients to doctors who didn't even work for the hospital. people who left or who were administrators who didn't see patients. we're hearing from st. louis a former head of the psych department they were seeing half as many people as they were reporting. the stories are starting to spread. one of the reasons why president obama sent neighbors out yesterday and spent all day talking to doctors and nurses and patients and veterans and president obama will get that report. meantime here on capitol hill, lawmakers are taking some action. they've been trying to get what they like to call here in washington, the document dump. what may be hundreds and maybe even thousands of pages of e-mails and documents about what people hear and washington knew about this appointmen

all the damage has been repaired and tracie potts is on the national mall in washington. what took so long for this thing to be repaired? >> reporter: good morning. what you're seeing is not a completely rebuilt monument, but it's been significantly patch. that earthquake just over two years did some significant damage. there were chunks that fell on the inside, the outside, the elevator was damaged, that had to be repaired so people could go up to the top. and we're told that they used 2.7 miles worth of morter with dozens and dozens of patches to try to repair what happened here. some of the cracks were so big you could see light going through. we were told by some of the experts that if you know what you're looking for, you might be able to see some of the patch work on ts inside. a lot of people coming here today. tickets are available for the tour this is afternoon. but people have already been going online and reserving tickets for the rest of the season. 16,000 tickets went in just 15 minutes. >> better get in line, thank you. >>> some other stories making news thi

nbc's tracie potts is in washington. tracie good morning. why are the calls increasing now? >> reporter: well, because we got that report this week that showed there are really some serious issues going on at the phoenix va and that's just the beginning. after that, we saw a lot more lawmakers get on the bandwagon, calli ining for shinseki to res. he's speaking today to a group of coalition homeless veterans, another opportunity for him to explain why he should keep the job. today, va secretary eric shinseki speaks publicly for the first time since the va's inspector general found 1700 vets in phoenix haven't even been placed on the official waiting list for an appointment. more than 100 lawmakers, democrats and republicans, now want shinseki to resign. shinseki's lobbying to stay, meeting with democrats on capitol hill and veterans. >> they gave the appearance that they got the message. >> he's a bad public affairs officer. >> reporter: the white house says president obama's reserving judgment until the inspector general's full report is in. >> he believes there ought to be

tracie potts is live on the national mall this morning where people are lining up to get tickets.ood morning. >> hey, scott, good morning, everyone. they are lining up, but they're probably going to have plenty of tickets based on what we saw this morning. 1,800 tickets and maybe 100 or so people were in line this morning. the tour starts this afternoon before that. they've got a big ceremony happening, but the real pictures here were from 2 1/2 years ago. august 2011 when that earthquake shook d.c. and shook this monument so violently that there were big cracks in the monument in the marble and the granite. so much so that you could even see light through some of them. they spent the last 2 1/2 years spent time trying to repair it and putting in steel slates to help hold it altogether. 2 1/2 miles i'm told of mortar that they wanted to, that they needed to use to hold it altogether and now it's time to reopen it to the public. the public gets its first chance to look at it this afternoon, although for tourists who are hoping to come this summer they might want to go online first.

tracie potts from washington. good morning to you. the question really is what happens if these subpoenas come up empty? >> if the subpoenas come up empty, the lawmakers on capitol hill aren't buying that. there's been discussions between their staff and va staff about e-mail that is they believe the va is holding on to. every single democrat and republican on this house committee voted in favor of this subpoena. they're hoping to get more information about why some vets had to wait so long to see a doctor. >> i'm now going to sign a subpoena for production of e-mails. >> reporter: lawmakers are giving the va until may 19th to turn over documents about who destroyed a secret waiting list at the phoenix va hospital. stephen cooper was a doctor there and had stage four cancer. the va said he had to wait three months for treatment. >> had i stayed the course of the va, i would be dead. >> they should be held accountable because it's a crime. >> reporter: president obama spoke about the controversy last night. >> if we are serious about m

tracy potts, nbc news, washington. >>> investigators say they have pretty good description of the man who broke into an elderly couple's sunnyvale home and robbed them at gun point. she said the man sat on her front porch for a while before knocking on the door the day before. he appeared frantic and couldn't understand them, so she apologized and shut the door. the next day the man broke into the house and robbed the couple. >> think about your mother. would you like someone to treat your mother and father, what you did to us? he took from us things that meant a lot to us that we can never replace. >> the man took her purse, all her jewelry from a case in the bedroom, snatched a necklace off her neck and rings right off her fingers. he also took a watch her husband was wearing. here's a description of the man. he's hispanic with a full trimmed beard, between 35, 40 years old, about 5'7", last seen wearing a green t-shirt, dark pants and dark jacket. >>> still to come this morning, surprising results about the safety of baby gates. >>> plus, flames rip through homes in oklahoma. the l

tracie potts, thank you much. >>> at 6:33.e now know what is behind a pretty confusing tweet sent out by the nsa last week. sent out this bizarre tweet looks like gibberish or a pocket tweet. turns out a message that was written in code. according to cnn a form of a help wanted ad and when translated it reads, want to know what it takes to work at the nsa check back each monday as we explore career essentials to protecting our nation. >> some people figured it out and tweeted back and said we know this is a job ad, but a high-tech way to look for new employees. >> clever. >>> let's take a look at your forecast and live look at downtown san jose and you'll be able to see the fairmont hotel there. the president of the united states, mr. president, i recommend the fountain restaurant there and the eggs benedict. >> delicious. >> not good for you, but delicious. >> any advice for the president other tn that, scott mcgrew? we appreciate having that. the bay area is beautiful, i think probably pretty happy. i don't want to speak for

tracie potts live in washington, d.c., the u.s. says it will help, but how? >> well, the u.s. hopes to help with intelligence, if nothing else. with this investigation that the nigerians are leading. take a look, though, protests in this country over the weekend in washington here in los angeles and new york. they will protest in london. there have been protests, of course, in nigeria. people who don't think there is enough emphasis on finding these girls and finding them quickly. take a look at the scene. the school in rural nigeria where these girls disappeared three weeks ago now. more than 200 girls, some escaped but more than 200 still believed to be missing and islamic fundamentest group has taken responsibility for kidnapping these girls and they still have not been found. the united states says they could help out with the investigation with forensics and investigative techniques. secretary of state john kerry says it's ununconscionable crime and more than 200 girls and they are no where to be found almost a month later now. >> tracie, we understand people are araising

tracie potts is in washington, d.c. good morning, tracie, on this friday. there are new calls for the va secretary to resign. what are you seeing? >> reporter: yeah, they're hitting the campaign trail now. the president still standing by him, on capitol hill. there are democrats standing by him as well. but, still, a lot of questions about what happened in phoenix. neighbors coming back to brief the president on all those meetings he had with vets and patients and staff out there yesterday. but now we're learning it is not just in phoenix. allegations of misconduct are popping up at va hospitals all over the country now. in new mexico, a whistle-blower claims vets were assigned to doctors who didn't even work there. >> doctors who are either in administration or gone. >> no longer working there. >> yeah. >> but still are listed as having patients. >> yes. >> reporter: in st. louis, a former head of psychiatry claims they were seeing less than half as many patients as reported. >> the focus becomes these numbers. >> reporter: veterans waiting weeks for surge

tracie potts has more. good morning. what can we expect to hear from the president today? >> reporter: we're expecting a middle of the road strategy where the united states keeps an eye on countries like syria and the threat there and isn't afraid to act against russia with the rest of the world but is very careful about getting involved in conflict in other nations. this morning's west point speech comes after president obama announced 9800 u.s. troops will stay in afghanistan after the war ends in december. that number will gradually drop to about 1,000 after the next two years. their jobs, training afghanistan security forces and fighting al qaeda. >> this new chapter in american foreign policy will allow us to redirect some of the resources saved by ending these wars to respond to changing terrorism. >> leaving nearly a thousand boots on the ground signing a bilateral agreement with the u.s. >> previous presidents haven't felt the need to declare an arbitrary end to an ongoing partnership and pull u.s. forces out the way that president obama seems set on doing here. >>

let's bring in tracie potts from washington. what is the latest in the search for these girls? >> reporter: the late set of that the u.s. intelligence analysts here are taking a close look at this video. it tells us two things on the surface. first of all, that boko haram is willing to use these girls as a bargaining chip, but also that many of them may still be alive and still in nigeria. the u.s. now has manned surveillance aircraft flying over nigeria sharing commercial satellite images and according to officials may consider unmanned drones to help find the girls. >> we are providing intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance support. >> reporter: this video not yet authenticated is the first hard evidence that the girls are still alive. >> our intelligence experts are combing over every detail of it for clues that may help in the ongoing efforts. >> reporter: in the video, the kidnappers, boko haram, offers a trade, some 200 girls for the release of its prisoners. in the past, boko haram has been paid millions for the release of hostages. experts disagree whether nigeria

i want to bring in tracie potts now. good morning to you. what is the latest in the search for these girls? >> reporter: the latest is we're learning more based on this video. and u.s. sources are analyzing the video. we learned a um couple of thing. they use these girls as a bargaining chip. but as we've seen them, it's likely they're still inside nigeria. the u.s. now has manned surveillance aircraft flying over nigeria sharing satellite images to help find the girls. >> we are providing surveillance and reconnaissance support. >> reporter: this video is the first hard evidence that the girls are still alive. >> our intelligence experts are combing over every detail of it to find clues that might help in the efforts. >> reporter: the kidnappers boko haram offers a trade. some 200 girls for the release of its prisoners. in the past boko haram has been paid millions for the release of hostages. experts disagree whether nigeria will negotiate. >> nigeria has no desire to pay rans ransom. >> a negotiation which keeps them safe which gives more

tracie potts is in washington for us. what's the latest on these efforts to find out what happened there? >> reporter: now the president gets a briefing on what happened in phoenix. he had a productive day out in phoenix. that's where we first learned of everything starting, but turns out we're now getting reports of allegations of misconduct throughout the system. allegations of misconduct are cropping up at va hospitals all over the country now. in new mexico, a whistle blower claims vets were assigned to doctors who didn't even work there. >> those are doctors who are either in administration or gone. >> no longer working there. >> right. >> but they are still listed as having patients. >> yes. >> reporter: in st. louis, a former head of psychiatry claims they were seeing less than half of the patients reported. >> the focus becomes these numbers. >> reporter: veterans waiting weeks for surgery. >> that request is on paperwork sitting on somebody's desk. >> to get into your primary care is like pulling teeth without an

tracie potts is in washington, d.c., he did not meet with hamid karzai, why not? >> reporter: they spoke on the spoken. he was on the ground for a few hours. it's been two years sing he was in afghanistan. the president said he wanted to go there to personally thank the troops for their service. >> i'm here on a single mission, and that's to thank you for your extraordinary service. >> reporter: he was on the ground four hours and only spoke to the afghan president by phone after taking off from the air base. president obama promised many of these troops will be home by new year's. >> and our combat mission will be over, the war in afghanistan will come to a responsible end. >> reporter: we don't know how many will stay, could be as many as 10,000. the president told karzai, they'll talk again before he announces that publicly. that could be wednesday when he delivers the commencement speech at west point. he's focused on making sure the soldiers are seen at v.a. hospitals when they get home. >> our combat mission will come to an end, but commitment to the family

tl tracy potts joins us live with the details. >> reporter: you won the prize. they are so interesting. these kids do a whole lot more than just spelling. when she is not spelling, she is practicing karate, taking singing lessons. and then both of them will be on stage today. the question is will they make it on stage for the finals. >> it is 5:44. the state senate is scheduled to reopen martins beach or obtain access rights so that the public could again use the sandy shore. he closed the road and is now locked in a court case with people who want access to the beach. >> people in santa clara could see a filmy residue left on dishes. they are using ground water. it is safe to drink and use but p minerals in it do leave behind a film that is noticeable on water glasses. one woman said it will make her use more water. it is not drought productive at all. but you are not going to serve people wine in a filmy glass. it has more minerals. so what they are seeing on their dishes and glasses are mineral deposits. >> water softeners are available for several hundred to

"today in the bay" tracie potts joins us live in washington, d.c. tracie, the president is about to roll out his most ambitious climate change plan yet. >> we heard part of it over the summer. the national assessment broken down by region and they highlight the drought and wildfires that we've seen out west as one example of what climate change is doing to our weather. severe weather patterns that it's creating, according to this report. the administration brought together all sorts of experts that believe that climate change is the culprit here. not everyone believes that and in fact even though the president has made new efforts when it comes to greenhouse gases trying to limit emissions, trying to create cleaner cars as part of its climate change program, there are some scientists who, frankly, don't believe that global warming is happening at all and they're thinking that the president needs to focus more on things like domestic oil which they argue would create jobs and the president, as one put it, the president's plans are hurting the very peo

"today in the bay" tracie potts live on capitol hill with more. hi, tracie. >> good morning, everyone. new national assessment on climate change which some scientists still say isn't even real but the white house insists that it is. they brought together scientists. today they're bringing together meteorologists at the white house. our own alroker to address this assessment and looking hard at climate change on weather patterns. we've seen the drought out west and we've seen the hurricanes down south and the flooding here in the northeast. all of that, they will argue, is tied to the warming of the globe. and the other argument is, what are we going to do about it. the president introduced his own action plan last summer. we'll see if he will add to that after that assessment comes out later today. laura. >> thanks so much, tracie. >>> new details about an ocean rescue. the greek coast guard rescued 24 immigrants found floating in the water. the rescue happened in the same area where at least 22 people died in a separate incident yesterday. those 2

tracie potts is live on capitol hill with the latest on this story. od morning to you, tracie. >> hey, peggy, good morning, everyone. democrats and republicans voted unanimously to subpoena these records. it is looking at e-mails and documents they want everything that relates to what is going on in phoenix and who may have ordered for the so-called list of backup to be destroyed. a top official told officials here on capitol hill that it wasn't a deliberate attempt to try to make it look like veterans were getting in a lot faster than they actually were for appointments but putting in a new electronic system and the back-up list for people not put into the system yet and by regules those notes that have to be destroyed. waiting to get some information about what documents, e-mails, documents and other things might back that up. they have until the 16th, monday the 16th. just over a week to comply with that subpoena. meantime, we're going to hear from eric shinsheki. he is testifying here on capitol hill next thursday. >> thank you so much, tracie. >>>

"today in the bay" tracie potts live in washington with a look at where snowden goes from here. good morning, tracie. >> good morning. he sat down for five hours with our brian williams, sort of a no holds bar interview. he answered all the questions he was asked, including, does he stay in russia or come back to the u.s. does he even want to come home? >> if i could go anywhere in the world, that place would be home. >> but for now he's in russia charged with espionage. edward snowden the man who blew the cover off the surveillance program said he considers himself a patriot. >> being a patriot means knowing when to protect your country, knowing when to protect your constitution, knowing when to protect your countrymen from the violations of an encroachment of adversa adversaryies and they don't have to be foreign countries. they can be bad policies. >> reporter: snowden did insist he tried to work within the system complaining to supervisors before fleeing the country and going public with classified document s extensive details of the phone and online surveillance. >> how can

tracie potts live on capitol hill this morning. ie, democrats likely to boycott the committee. >> they're certainly thinking about it because the set up of that committee would put them at a disadvantage. house republicans are trying to set up a special committee they call it here select committee to investigate that september 11th, 2012 attack on our consulate on benghazi. that attack killed four americans, including bay area native chris stevens and now republicans want to get to what they say is the bottom of it, get to the truth of what happened. did the administration try to cover up the terrorist links after the fact, did they ignore calls for more security before that attack happened. because those are some of the questions they want to ask. the democrats, as you said, are very skeptical about the timing of this. just a few months before elections. they're skeptical about the makeup of the committee it's now proposed to be seven republicans and five democrats. bay area nancy pelosi wants that to be even and she's put a reques

tracie potts live on capitol hill. the investigation broadens to more than two dozen v.a.ilities across the country. >> exactly. first president obama wants the broad scope of what's going on here from shinseki himself. his office is due to give an early report, a preliminary report to president obama some time this week. separate from that, that report is due next month. separate from all of that, the inspector general, which is looking at more than two dozen facilities around the country is doing a report. that investigation, that report due later this summer. likely august. and back here on capitol hill, some lawmakers are calling for the justice department to get involved with a grand jury, possible criminal charges for people who tried to delay or hide those appointments so that their delay times didn't look as long as they were. also here on capitol hill tomorrow night a hearing from the house veterans affair committee when they want those three department of veteran affairs officials to show up and either bring or explain why their e-mails and documents, the paperwo

"today in the bay" tracie potts is live on capitol hill this morning with the latest and the more we look into this story, tracie, the deeper it seems to run. >> the deeper it seems to run and we're waiting to see if that inspector general's report broadens it even further. in new mexico a whistle blower has told nbc news that there they were assigning patients to doctors that didn't even work for the hospital. either they left the hospital or they were administrators that didn't even see patients. they just had desk jobs. in st. louis a former head of the psych department there said they were seeing less than half as many as their paperwork seems to show. so, yes, this does seem to be widening the president's point man on this, rob neighbors just coming back from phoenix where he spent all day yesterday talking to doctors and nurses and patients and veterans bringing that report back to president obama and then on the hill, lawmakers are getting frustrate would the lack of documentation coming out of the v.a. about who knew what and when. they've given three officials until next wedn

tracie potts joins us live from capitol hill. that investigation has broadened to more than two dozen v.a. facilities across the country. >> right, laura. separate investigations going on. what the president wants from shinseki this week is an overall look at what the problem seems to be, not just in phoenix but throughout the system and that preliminary report could come any day now. the white house is doing its own investigation. remember they sent rob nabors out there to talk to vets and people at the hospital. that report is due next month. and then the inspector general's report looking at the entire system is due later this summer, probably in august. but before all of that here on capitol hill, the house veterans affairs committee wants to see top executives, top officials from the v.a. they have been putting together, they are supposed to send an e-mail to document to try to reveal what was known here in washington about all of this, but that info is coming in too slowly and congress needs lawmakers on this committee say

"today in the bay" tracie potts joins us live from washington, d.c. will they negotiate with the terror group that took those girls? >> there are different opinions about that. the government said, no, they're also saying all options are still open. we're helping out with manned aircraft and maybe even this. take a look. there are some u.s. officials saying that drones, unmanned drones may be used at some point to aid in the search. right now just the manned surveillance aircraft. boco haram not only demanding that girls be exchanged for prisoners of theirs but showing the girls in muslim garb and the girls were also reciting muslim prayers and reciting parts of the cur the koran and apparently still in migeria. this is the first evidence that we've actually seen since some of the girls disappeared. finally, the united states has about 50 people on the ground there that we know of from the state department, from the pentagon and all of them trying to assist in the search. >> now, tracie, we understand many of the girls' parents have not been able to s

"today in the bay" tracie potts is live on capitol hill this morning with news of the president. good morning. >> hey, scott, good morning, everyone. it's been a busy morning for the president after traveling halfway around the world. he landed and then take a look. live pictures this morning from arlington national cemetery just across the river here. that's where within the hour president obama is expected as he typically does on memorial day to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown and speak there in honor of our veterans on this memorial day. it was, however, in afghanistan that the president talked about the war in afghanistan and how that is going to be winding down. he went there to honor the troops. he was really just on the ground for a few hours, but he told them that most of them would be coming home before the end of the year. now, we don't have a number of that yet because the administration is yet to say how many troops need to stay after the war is officially over. president obama didn't get a chance to talk one-on-one with harmid karzai, the afghan president whi