that same st we among more than 9,000 immigrants sworn in as our weor tt tnbc's christian -- kri welker. >> new citizens are bleji ipled allegiance, and con flingts at higeights the difficult path to becoming an american. 27-year-old private first class oscar venegas gonzalez firsthand understanding of the road traveled by the children crossing the border today. he made a similar journwithout . >> it's dangerous, but you just go with the flow, i guess, and thank god i'm still alive and still here. >> reporter:gonz's dre wa realized when he joined the marines and he was among the 25 service members and theirousewh house officially became u.s. citizens. >> i came out of a family where i didn't have ar s until i was 9 years old. d here a lf .pportunity. i'm here. >> reporter: president obama, praising theirse li country you didtd penale fully belong tot.te w w hailed from 15 different countries.>> austcain germany. >> all americansnow. naturalization from mountshre monticello.for ma dres out of reach, but tericay asop >> liberty and justice orte now, the president also said he will keep do

nbc's kristen welker is at the white house for us with more. crist cnn. >> reporter: lethe obama administration is facing questions for the surge of immigrants crossing the border. the administration is working to, quote, stem the tide. under mounting pressure to fix the crisis at the border, jeh johnson was blunt on "meet the press" today. our border is not open to illegal migration. >> but he wise not so certain when questioned specifically about what will happen to children. >> will most of these children stay in america or will they be returned to their homes in central america? >> there's a deportation proceeding that's commenced against illegal migrants, including children. >> i'm trying to get an answer to will most of them end up staying in your judgment? >> i think we need to find more efficient, effective ways to turn this tide around generally and we've already begun to do that. >> sdwhat that mean? are you saying it's impractical to deport all of them who are here now? >> i'm saying we've already dramatically reduced the turnaround

>> kristen welker at the white house tonight. >>> in georgia, disturbing new allegations emerged from court documents released today about the man who left his 22-month-old son alone for hours in a stifling hot car. ross harris has pleaded not guilty to murder and has been denied bail. we get the latest tonight from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: on a day of celebration this year, a georgia community is also in shock. >> i felt bad for him at first. and then all of a sudden i started realizing, something is not right in this picture. >> reporter: new search warrants released today allege ross harris talked to family members about his son's life insurance policy after he died. and what they need to do in order to file for it. this, after police said yesterday harris had two life insurance policies for cooper, totalling $27,000. detective phil stoddard testified harris was leading a double life, exchanging nude pictures of himself with up to six women, including a 16-year-old girl. some, as his 22-month-old son was dying in a sweltering suv. >> it proves motive because he was unhapp

nbc news' kristen welker has more on the new calls for the agency to get back to its roots on focus on its historic mission. >> reporter: in arizona, the epicenter of the va scandal, a rare front-page editorial published by the "arizona republic" editorial board. the paper calls on bob mcdonald, the president's pick to lead the va, to down size the agency. "by returning to the va's roots and treating only war and service-related injuries you will enhance care for all veterans." the board argues veterans with nonservice related issues should seek private sector care. in an interview with kpnx, the opinions page editor says noncombat issues often apply to older vets who are usually prioritized last. >> get them off the bottom of the list, put them someplace where they can get proper treatment on a timely basis. >> most of the stuff in this article is quite frankly ridiculous. >> reporter: tom tarantino of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america says older vets could still be suffering from war-related injuries and worries they'll fall through the cracks if pushed into the private sector

i want to go to kristen welker at the white house. we've just been talking about how this fits into this regional conflict, kristen, and how this could exacerbate tensions, whether it is ultimately atributed to russian separatists or -- >> i think you've characterized it exactly contributely, ronan. and i think the burden on the white house is huge. relations between the u.s. and russia are perhaps at their frostiest that we have seen really in decades. just yesterday president obama announcing the stiffest sanctions against russia yet. the administration accusing russia of ramping up its military incursion in eastern ukraine. ramping up its support of the separatists in eastern ukraine. so just yesterday, president obama announcing new sanctions that are aimed at having a big bite on russia's economy. we also know that four top russian officials were sanctioned as well. so that phone call earlier today between president obama and president putin was to discuss those sanctions. their relationship has been incredibly tense over the pas

kristen welker and andrea mitchell with me here in this hour. president expected to announce sanctions against russia both in the banking industry that would affect energy and defense, which of course is quite a wide swathe when it comes to the economy and the ramifications of the economy in europe and with the united states. so the question that i think the president has to reaffirm to the american people tonight is exactly what does this mean militarily, what does this mean for our economy, and what are we prepared to do when it comes to energy decisions in this country. i would assume the president isn't going to do something like this unless he is on solid ground with allies because of the ripple effect that it could have in the economy. this is all happening at a very interesting time when the markets are scratching new highs in america, when we are producing more energy than we ever have. and now the president in a very bold manner going to put forward some sanctions on russia for them not deescalating the situation in the ukraine fast eno

. >>> let's go to nbc's kristen welker who is joining us from the white house. let's go to secretary of state john kerry. what is he saying today? >> reporter: secretary of state kerry is building the case against russia, alex. he said a lot of what you heard tom just say. essentially, that u.s. intelligence points to the fact that the plane was likely shot down with the help of russian-backed separatists and heavy weapon upry provided by russia. those types of missiles were moved into the eastern rt part ukraine over the last month, that they received training from russian forces. what is interesting is that they are not able to say that this was a smoking gun. take a listen to what he had to say earlier today on "meet the press". >> we are not drawing the final conclusion here but there is a lot that points at the need for russia to be responsible. and what president obama believes and we, the international community join in believing, everybody is convinced that we must have unfeathered access and the lack of access, the lack of access, david, that makes its

joining me is darren welker and his wife, shirley. good afternoon to both of you.joining me on "the real story." >> thank you. >> you served in iraq. you suffer from depression and ptsd. what was it about the ducks that made you feel better? >> it is just -- it was non-situation. we had seen them in another location and stood and watched them for a while. later on we chose to do the same thing and we purchased ducks as like 2-day old ducklings and went from there. >> it gives you incentive to get up in the morning and become active and go out and watch them and you think they are hilarious and they make you smile. >> they are. >> surely -- >> yes, they do. >> shirley, what do these ducks mean to your husband and to your relationship? >> they just make him so much happier and more content. he's so much more active and they have benefited him physically. when we didn't get any -- month-impact physical therapy from the v.a. when the neurologist ordered it, i thought what can i do to get him out of that recliner and lighten the mood plus help him physically? we had see

. >> i'm joined by nbc's kristen welker who's covering this from the white house. this is something we were all following with great trepidation, considering the history there. what do we know about the threats that are facing people? >> u.s. officials have confirmed that all 158 americans have evacua evacuated. this is because of an increase in militant violence aimed at the militant government. the officials also say 158 americans, including 80 heavily armed u.s. marines, left the embassy compound early today in a caravan of suvs and buses and headed to kntunisia. it was protected by unmanned drones which shadowed them on their drive. no word on where that airport is, by the way. our pentagon team reports this is not a military evacuation, a very important point, but, rather, an orderly withdraw. they say there wasn't a direct or specific threat of an attack against the u.s. embassy, but, rather, general concern, given the rising violence which has prevented delivery of food and other key supplies to the embassy. secretary of state john kerry, who was holding dip

kristen welker following that story for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. in its editorial request the "arizona republic" calls for the v.a. to gets back to its roots and focus on its historic mission, treating veterans who have service-related injuries. one veterans group says the paper doesn't understand the needs of vets. in arizona, the epicenter of the v.a. scandal, a rare front page editorial published by the arizona republic's editorial board. the paper calls on bob mcdonald, the president's pick to lead the v.a. to down size. by returning to the va's roots, you will enhance care for all vet advance. they argue that veterans with non-service related issues should seek private sector care. in an interview, the opinions page editor says noncombat issues apply to older vets who are usually prioritized last. >> get them off the bottom of the list. put them some place where they can get proper treatment on a timely basis. that is more like a private sector. >> most of the stuff in this article is quite frankly ridiculous. >> tom tarantino says older vets

thank you, michael and kristen welker from the white house.e'll be right back with more on the investigation. getting there, especially with the tape recordings. we haven't been able to authenticate them. there are tape recordings out there with the separatists using the f word for how they messed up. seems like a bad slice of reality to me. we'll let you know what we think, what we know is going to happen. we'll be right back. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. hey there, i just got my bill, and i see that it includes my fico® credit score. yup, you get it free e

kristen welker with nbc news joins us live from outside the white house. kristen, how long is it going to be before american investigators arrive to see the devastation for themselves and also how long before they can get to the scene safely? >> that is the big question tonight. senior administration officials say the goal is to get them there rapidly. we know they're already on their way. they're initially going to go to kiev, so to your point, when will they actually be able to access the crash site? that remains a question mark. the goal is to secure the crash site to make it safe enough so that those investigators from the ntsb and the fbi can actually access it. that is going to be the key here. you heard president obama talk about the importance of making sure that this investigation moves forward, that the crash site is not tampered with, that evidence is not tampered with. you also heard him call for an international independent investigation making the point that this crash is something that affected many nations, including malaysia, australia, of

nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker joins us with more on the president's role in this. kristen. >> wendy, the president is focussing on mobilizing that international investigation in his remarks today. stressed the importance of making sure that the crime scene is not tampered with in any way. the white house also focused on making sure that the u.s. investigators from the ntsb and the fbi make it to the crime scene. this is going to be incredibly challenging because this is all unfolding in a war zone. the reason for the importance of making sure that this investigation is deered out properly is because -- whom err is responsible. u.s. intelligence suggests at this point that the plane was shot down from a missile that was fired from an area in ukraine that is controlled by pro-russian separatists. if it is determined that there is a link there will be increasing pressures on this administration and the crp and allies to levy heavier sanctions against russia. president and this white house wants to make sure that they have a tight pace against putin and if those are th

we begin our coverage with white house correspondent kristen welker. >> reporter: the evacuation was necessary to protect the more than 150 americans in tripoli. it's the worst violence in the area since the revolution in 2011. th u.s. embassy was caught in the middle of intense fighting between the militia causing the americans to be evacuated. john kerry inherits on a diplomatic mission. >> because of the free wheeling militia that is taking place in tripoli, it presents a very real threat. >> it took about hours for a caravan of 158 embassy personnel including 80 heavily armed marine guards to cross into tunisia, about 100 miles away. they left in suvs and buses. the fighter jets and unmanned drones flew over read and a rapid response force was in the air positioning to respond to any threats. once safely in tunisia, they had a civilian airport. >> they had over 80 marine there is on the ground to defend this particular facility. it's a contrast of the situation in benghazi. there we didn't really have protection for the consulate. >> there was a lack of security and operational f

appreciate it, kristen welker. >>> there's lots of weather to tell you about. what once was hurricane arthur is now out to sea after dousing parts of new england. some areas of maine receiving as much as six inches of rain. arthur also created some dangerous rip tides in eastern massachusetts, as predicted. those signs were posted warning swimmers of the danger. to the midwest where towns along the mississippi river are bracing for flooding today. crews have started sandbagging in illinois. the river is expected to crest to just more than 27 feet early this week. then in tucson, arizona the problem was rain and lots of it. that area's been struggling with doubt. so the raindrops were welcomed. but joining me now with more, we welcome meteorologist jeanine calle. how's it looking? >> hi, alex. yes, those thunderstorms in the southwest that brought beneficial to sections of the four corners will continue but that isn't rare for this time of the year. in fact, this is the wet season for most of the southwest and in particular the south african states at the four c

she spoke only with nbc news and kristen welker has her story. >> first, i heard millions. i didn't know it was billions with a "b." i still can't believe it. >> reporter: cynthia johnson robinson says she is still in disbelief after a florida jury ordered r.j. troenlreynolds to r more than $23 billion for the wrongful death of her husband, michael johnson. >> birthday, christmas, father's day, i still go put flowers on his grave. >> johnson was a chain smoker who died of lung cancer in 1986 when he was just 36 years old. his widow still blames the company. >> they concealed information that was harmful to a human for years. and still to this day, they have not admitted they were wrong. >> reporter: once part of a class action lawsuit talked out in 2006, robinson then sued r.j. reynolds on her own and on friday, she was awarded one of the largest verdicts in u.s. history. rj reynolds is vowing to appeal. the damages awarded in this case are grossly excessive and imperfect miss i believe under state and constitutional law. >> we beat them once and we will beat them again, be

. >> let's bring in nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker.n, what's the reaction from the white house? is this view by the white house as disdain by the president or are they really concerned about stopping the health care law? >> well, i think that white house sees this as a political stunt, which you just pointed out, ed. and to some extent the disdain for the health care law. i think democrats do see a political opportunity here while republicans are using this to rally their base to try to get republicans to the polls in 2014 as they try to take back the senate and gain more peace in the house. the democrats say, look, this is rallying their base as well. in fact, the dcc just raised $3 million in recent days by telling their supporters that this vote was coming. they also say, it is a precursor to threats of impeachment. now, of course, how speaker john boehner said that's not going to happen. but i think that the white house feels as they they have a strong message here. you heard president obama signal that earlier today when he called

kristen welker is at the white house with the story of their dramatic flight. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. today all u.s. embassy personnel from tripoli are conducting business from other parts of the region after they were evacuated yesterday. security in the capital had deteriorated, following two weeks of clashes between militia fighters. the violence became so intense that according to one u.s. official, quote, mortars were flying near the embassy and it wasn't safe to stay. the u.s. embassy in tripoli sits empty this morning. a quiet contrast to the violence from militias that rages around it. the decision to evacuate was made when talks with the warring sides negotiated by the u.s. ambassador fell apart. >> when it came to a time that it looked like it was very serious, and we weren't sure about collateral fire, whether we could protect americans, it was decided that we would leave the embassy. >> reporter: the operation took about five hours for a caravan of 158 u.s. embassy personnel including 80 heavily armed u.s. marine guards, to c

kristen welker reporting from the white house. i want to bring in james cavanaugh, a retired agent and former hostage negotiator. colonel jack jacobs, msnbc analyst. i'm going to start at the table. you can see the plume of smoke in the video purported to be video of the downed plane. can we glean anything from that piece of video? what does it tell you, if anything, about that accident? >> we can see the debris field and it's going to be important evidence because it will tell you whether the plane broke apart in flight or remained in tact at the site of the crash. there's going to be a lot of information and in a shoot-down case, they are going to be looking at the wreckage to see the points of impact and any residue. when the previous flight went down, there was a huge question about the information about coming out of the malaysian government. there was a sense from a lot of the families that they weren't getting top-notch information. >> you're going to get a lot of agencies that are going to volunteer, including our governme

i am joined tonight by nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. good to have you with us tonight. the latest from the white house, i'm sure there is a great deal of curiosity about what that conversation was like between president obama and president putin. what can you tell us? >> reporter: ed, i can tell you it was a stern conversation, president obama reiterating to russian president vladimir putin that the white house wants to see russia deescalate the crisis and we are told that at the end of that conversation president putin told president obama that he was getting early reports about that downed malaysian aircraft and just to reiterate the headline at this hour which comes from our pentagon team, this is from jim miklaszewski and senior u.s. officials tell nbc news the malaysian airliner was shot down by a surface-to-air missile and the conclusion is based on int intelligence resources available to the military, and the question reminds who is responsible for shooting down that plane. the vice president made similar comments when he was spe

i want to go to white house correspondent kristen welker.ense of what is going on at the white house. it's interesting that the president continued on with his infrastructure speech given all of the international news breaking today from the morning onwards. >> reporter: i think that's a fair point. i can tell you that behind the scenes here, alex, they have been in meetings trying to reach out to their counterparts in ukraine as president obama directed. he made that point when he did address this in delaware at that previously scheduled event earlier today. the president also saying that the top priority right now is to determine if there were u.s. citizens onboard that flight and he made the point that the u.s. is offering assistance. vice president joe biden just speaking at an event in detroit reiterated what we are hearing from jim miklaszewski that the plane was shot down and the other remarks is that ukraine has accepted the united states' offer of assistance. here's what the vice president said he said, quote, i offered president po

. >> nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker has the read out from there. what's the thinking there at this hour? >> well, white house officials are skeptical, first of all, that this is going to pass through the house but certainly skeptical it would pass through both chambers. first of all, the white house is asking for $3.7 billion. white house press secretary josh earnest just said in his briefing that that's the amount of money the president thinks is necessary to deal with this crisis, both in terms of adding new immigration judges as well as beefing up security along the border. so they say this amount, this less than $1 billion, really doesn't address the broader problem. there's another potential sticking point here, toure, which is that this republican legislation, the contours of it seem to be aimed at changes a 2008 law. if that law is amended, it would make it easier for the obama administration to expedite the immigration process for these kids. however, it's something that the white house, by the way, says that they would back. but they don't

kristen welker for us from the white house. thank you so much. happy fourth.can enjoy it. >> you, too. >>> joining us to explain what this positive economic news may mean to you is nicole woo from the center for economic and policy research. hi, nicole. happy fourth. >> happy fourth to you. >> when we see the markets at record high levels here, but unemployment still above 6%. the first question becomes, is this just a recovery for the rich or across the board? is everybody sharing in this good news? >> well, the june job numbers really were good. we saw broad base gains in many different sectors. manufacturing, restaurants, health care. it was a very good month. having these five months of over 200,000 jobs being created every month for five months as the president said is a great sign that there will be some more momentum, we hope, in this economy. that can lead to better jobs and better wages. and then the middle class and working class folks will start feeling this recovery. >> let's dig a little deeper what's behind it. while unemployment is down 6.1%, in

thanks very much, kristen welker. >> absolutely. >> all right. now three things you need to know this friday. three americans, including a reporter for "the washington post," appear to have been detained in iran. >>> miriam ibrahim met pope francis this morning. she and her family were able to leave sudan and fly to italy yesterday. they're expected to continue on to the u.s. in a few days. and l.a. clippers point guard chris paul says is in an interview with espn.com it's, quote, unacceptable if donald sterling still owns the team when the season begins. he's talking about sitting out until sterling is removed. sterling is suing to block the sale of the team. (woman) the constipation and belly pain feel like a knot. how can i ease this pain? (man) when i can't go, it's like bricks piling up. i wish i could find some relief. (announcer) ask your doctor about linzess-- a once-daily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. it

>> kristen welker, keep tabs on the bear. and bob and i will keep tabs on the wolf on capitol hill.hanks for being on the show. >> thanks. >>> you're in for a treat today. we're starting a new segment here on "andrea mitchell reports." every single friday, a look back at andrea covering some of the biggest stories of the day throughout her illustrious 35-year-plus career. for our furst flashback friday, we're taking you back to the tail end of bill clinton's presidency on this day, july 11th, back in 2000 in camp david and yet another push for middle east peace. >> as the summit begins, they can't even agree on who enters first. a friendly tussle at the door. bill clinton smooths the way. they will walk in together side by side. no one thinks the real issues will be resolved so easily. at camp david, the first ground rule. a news blackout until it's over. >> we pledged we would answer no questions and offer no comments. so i have to set a good example. >> the president meets first with arafat, then with barak. before the first talks begin in laurel lodge, one of several cottages use

kristen welker, thank you very much for that report. nbc's tom costello has the latest on the pending investigation with this plane crash. as experts are trying to reconstruct what happened, tom, what do you know? >> this is a very difficult situation because, of course, this should be ukraine's investigation. when a plane goes down in somebody's territory, generally it is that country's responsibility to begin the investigation and very often bringing in international assistance. but the trouble is, as we've been discussing, this wreckage lies in rebel-held territory. while ukraine has asked for international assistance from the united states and elsewhere, so far we are told it does not have individuals -- government individuals on the ground at the crash scene. now, earlier today, according to several reports, a group of international observers was at the crash scene but were intimidated by russian-backed militias or separatists. there were even reports of shots fired, perhaps shots fired into the air. we're not clear on that. nobody

. >> kristen welker is live at the white house on this independence day.sten, what else did president obama have to say? >> well, his goal today, craig, was really to highlight the positive side of the immigration debate. so you heard him talking about the service, the sacrifice of those 25 service members who officially became citizens today. he also celebrated the contributions of celebrity chef jose andrace who hails from spain and became a u.s. citizen last year. this comes against the backdrop of president obama saying he's going to take unilateral action on immigration reform saying that congress is not going to act. he says that house speaker john boehner indicated to him he has no plans to bring immigration reform to the floor. here's a little bit more of what president obama had to say today. take a listen. >> i'm going to keep doing everything i can do to keep making our immigration system smarter and more efficient. so hard working men and women, like all of you, have the opportunity to join the american family and to serve our great nation. >>

kristin welker is standing by. let's start with the high profile meeting. what are the expectations, again, what is the white house saying about precisely why the president will not be visiting the border? >> first, to the meeting, craig. the expectations aren't very high. it's a chance for president obama to meet with governor rick perry's local officials there to get more of a firsthand sense of what is actually going on at the border. the crisis there. in terms of the tangibles that are going to come out of meeting, i don't think there's an expectations that a whole lot is going to come out of the meeting. it's a chance for the white house to deal with the optics problem they have right now. the fact that president obama is in texas. he's going to fundraisers. but he has no planners to visit the boarder. the official line from the white house if he goes there, he could ultimate get the way of the efforts to deal with the influx of unaccompanied children and minors and folks coming across the border. the realty, there's a political problem for the white h

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nbc's kristen welker is at the white house with more on this. kristen. >> reporter: lester, good evening. this weekend there were more than 300 protests across the country, many organized by conservative groups and most sparsely attended. they're people opposing the surge of children entering the u.s. illegally. many were confronted by counterprotesters advocating for the humane treatment of the children. the obama administration has been scrambling to set up more temporary shelters with little success in this volatile political environment. some groups are filling the void like in baltimore where catholic charities are planning to care for 50 children. advocates for the undocumented minors say the government has failed to explain the situation clearly. meanwhile, government officials estimate there has been a small drop in the number of kids coming across the border. but they are not sure why. it might be because of the education program the white house has launched, or it could be because of bad weather. a number of factors could be at play. l

. >>> wes welker took a wild ride on this f-16 with the air force's thunder birds. a tough guy on the field, but there were times he wanted to reach for the bar of bag. got queasy. he didn't do it, and we wouldn't show you. >> no. >>> whoa. a close encounter. a family of whales. how close, right there, swimming right underneath them. that whale coming under their kayak, lifting them on its back while other whales swam nearby. video taped the whole thing. could you imagine? well, a man is dead. two other people are seriously injured after being struck by lightning tuesday on fort myers beach. 14 people in the u.s. before that had been killed by lightni lightning. florida is the lightning capital. >> lightning capital of the world, number two. that's the sixth death in florida, the five previous. i lived in florida for a while. they have support groups for lightning strike survivosurvivo. a lot of things happen to your body if you survive. the lightning strikes are dying off with the thunderstorms. overnight, as many as 900 strikes in an hour. now down. rolling throug

we get more tonight from nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: all across the country, people are using with fewer legal consequences, colorado and washington becoming the first two states to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. and today, "the new york times" said the country needs to go further in a long editorial the paper wrote, the federal government should repeal the ban on marijuana. comparing it to the day of prohibiti prohibition, the paper argues in that period, otherwise law abiding citizens today are becoming criminals. >> $3 billion to $4 billion a year is spent on this. there are like 600,000, 700,000 marijuana possession arrests every year. >> reporter: the reaction was swift. >> i think it should be a state issue. >> i don't see how there would be anything that is so substantially beneficial to society by lifting a ban like that. >> reporter: rewind to 1992 when bill clinton ran for president and his use of marijuana was a political liability. >> i didn't like it. and didn't inhale and never tried it again. >> reporter: compare that to candidate barack obama in

wes welker also treeing to dance. i just can't tell what the dance is, though. what do you think?e line dance. i don't know. >>> the national basketball association names d.c. attorney michelle roberts as the new executive director. she received 32 of 34 votes to be the first woman to lead a major north american sports union. >>> team usa or bust. that's what chicago's derek rose is saying coming off the 2011 mvp second severe swrr in three years. coaches saying he looks good at team usa basketball camp in vegas. >> still got to keep proving myself and doing everything that the coaching staff want me to do, and hopefully i'll be on that team. >> griffin with true from camp. he will miss the opportunity to play in the world cup. >>> another olympic gold medal winner ryan lochte showing off his family size meal plan. take a look at the picture. he says streamlining in preparation for my 10,000 calories. what is that, like a full tray of mac & cheese? about 40 chicken breasts? i can't tell, man. that guy eats a lot. sfwlimplgts i'm going to jump. no, i'm not. grand the handrail. oh,

and kristen welker in the white house briefing room. you and i were talking only last night about ukraine and the sanctions and the briefings we were getting. as the white house was dialing up pressure on vladimir putin. this obviously is the backdrop for what may or may not have happened here. we don't know if this is just a horrible tragic coincidence but a malaysian airliner down with 295 people. >> that's right. it is an incredible backdrop indeed. and i'll just recap what we know from the white house. according to white house press secretary josh earnest who briefed reporters on air force one. president obama traveling to delaware today. he told reporters that the president has been briefed on the reports of the downed malaysian airlines flight. however, and this is an important point, the white house at this hour not in a position to confirm any of those reports. we also know that president obama has directed his top officials to be in independent and direct contact with senior officials in ukraine. now to the backdrop that you di

wide receiver wes welker also getting in on it, number 83 there. yippie-ki-yay.anning and the broncos did get down to business later. >> a good stretch. >> i can't believe he really dances like that. >> and he wears tennessee colors. or broncos. >> a coincidence. >> thanks so much for joining us. our next newscast is tonight at 5:00. hey, how was your summer? hi, gary, how was your summer? hey, how was your summer? hey, jack, there's my buddy! walk with me, lemon. well, you look great. i can't believe i haven't spoken to you since your heart attack. that's what i wanted to talk to you about. nobody from corporate knows about my cardiac event, and i want to leave it that way. i'm back, lemon. i've had the most productive summer of my life. me too. all of my summer replacement shows were big hits. america's next top pirate, are you stronger than a dog, milf island. milf island? 25 super-hot moms, 50 eighth grade boys, no rules. oh, yeah. didn't one of those women turn out to be a prostitute? that doesn't mean she's not a wonderful, caring milf. well, uh, i had a gr

. >>> denver wide out wes welker took a wild ride in the sky aboard an f-16 thunder birds.ere times he wanted to reach for the barf bag. luckily he didn't to use it. >> oh! >>> a san francisco 49ers fan eats pavement while attempting to cover seahawks mascot blitz on a passing route. check out the bounce and landing. that's got to hurt. >>> kayakers in argentina had a close encounter with a family of whales. how close? one whale swam underneath them. the whale came up under their kayak lifting them on its back while the other whales swam nearby. wow. that's a once-in-a-lifetime there. >>> just ahead, big news for sherri shepherd, one of her two custody battles is now over. will the former "view" co-host keep her son? what snoop dog claims he did in a white house bathroom when no one was looking. [ female announcer ] hands were made for playing. legs, for crossing. feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a

want to get the latest from kristen welker at the white house. kristen, any reaction from the administration regarding the reports about the bodies being moved away from the crash site? >> reporter: we are getting reaction this morning, steve. it is an angry reaction from the obama administration. a statement came in overnight from state department officials. i'll read you just a portion of that statement. it says, quote, the site is not secure and there are multiple reports of bodies being removed, parts of the plane and other debris being hauled away and potential evidence tampered with. this is unacceptable and an affront to all those who lost loved ones and to the dignity and victims that the victims deserve. this is from samantha power who tweeted out, reports pro-russian militants taking bodies at gunpoint, utter void of human decency. today we anticipate that leaders from france, jrm any and britain will press russian president vladimir putin to allow those international investigators to gain easy and free access to the crash site. this al

we begin our coverage with nbc white house correspondent kristen welker. good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. the evacuation was necessary to protect the more than 150 members at the u.s. embassy in tripoli. experts say it's the worst violence since 2011. the u.s. embassy caught in intense rival between militias prompting americans to be evacuated. u.s. secretary of state john kerry in paris on a diplomatic mission. >> because of the free wheeling violence taking place in tripoli represents our personnel leaving. >> reporter: 80 heavily armed u.s. marine guards cross into tunisia about 100 miles away. they left the embassy compound in suvs and buses. nbc's jim miklaszewski reports f-16 fighter jets and unmanned drones flew overhead shadowing the group. dozens of u.s. marines, a rapid response force were in the air to respond to any threat. once safely in tunisia, the americans boarded commercial airliners at a civilian airport. >> we had over 80 marines there on the ground to defend this particular facility. and of course you could contrast it

number 83, wes welker, joining in with him. i'm trying to figure out what the dance is. i can't figure it out. dougie? no? >>> team usa or bust. chicago's derrick rose wants it bad. coming off the 2011 mvp's second severe injury in three years. coaches are saying here he looked really good at team usa basketball camp in vegas. >> i've still got to keep proving myself and doing everything that the coaching staff want me to do, and hopefully i'll be on that team. >> the l.a. clippers' blake griffin withdrew from camp to nurse a small back fracture from the playoffs. he'll miss the opportunity to play in the fiba world cup. >>> swimmer ryan lochte showing off his family-sized meal plan. here it is for you. he says streamlining in preparation for my 10,000 calories. what does he got there? like four pounds of chicken? >> mac and cheese. >> got a whole tray of mac and cheese. he's got asparagus to feed a family of nine. i'm going to jump. no, i'm not. grab handrail, can't hold on. fall on the platform below. that's what happened right there. from more than 20 feet, she falls

even wide receiver wes welker joins in. the broncos host the seahawks in their first season game on august the 17th. >> like what do you say to peyton manning when he's dancing like that? >> keep it up? cameras are rolling? i don't know. >> i mean, you can't make fun of him. he's peyton manning, right? >> "dancing with the stars" in his future. that's what mike thinks. >> no. >> no? >> it wouldn't last long. >> let's get a check on weather. nbc meteorologist is here now. >> did you hear about that tornado just north of boston yesterday? i mean, how crazy is that? >> very. >> we had one in connecticut the day before. and then we had one just north of boston. and look at the damage, too. it's amazing when you look at this damage path. 120-mile-per-hour winds. look at those huge oak trees that fell all over the place. we had no injuries and no fatalities. that's just head-scratchingly lucky. so as far as the weather goes today, a lot better than yesterday. it wasn't just boston. just north of boston we had that tornado. there

christen welker has more on what this means for lawmakers who are under mounting pressure today. >> reporter: they postponed their vacation by one day. house leadership pulling the legislation that would have dealt with the border crisis, a piece of legislation they have moved so far to the right just to make sure that it got passed. what i mean by that president obama was asking for $3.7 billion to deal with the crisis at the border. the bill in the senate is for about half of that. this house bill was for significantly less, $659 million and still house leadership couldn't garner enough support. this bill also included a provision that would have prevented the administration from expanding the controversial action program and also had a provision that would have amended the 2008 law which would have given the administration more flexibility to deport some of the unaccompanied minors who have come across the border, 52,000 of them in recent months. it is also a blow to the new house leadership as eric cantor is stepping down. kevin mccarthy taking over for him. steve scalice the new whip co

nbc white house correspondent christy welker make the list. maryland's democratic representative, donna edwards. you can find the full list on our website, nbcwashington.com. >>> do you like and drink coconut water? it is going to get more expensive. we will tell you why. >>> one mistake is all it takes. top things to do on a date to turn people off. >>> an infestation of rats at >>> you're watching news 4 at 4:00. >>> beginning tomorrow mcdonald's fast food restaurants in japan will be serving up tofumcnuggets. the company stopped buying all chicken products from china because of a supplier accused of using expired meat in the products. "wall street journal" reports the new nuggets will be served with -- >> turns out one website was playing games with people's hearts. popular dating site okcupid admitted it experimented on users. results show if the site suggested a high compatibility rate. people questioned the methods of such an invasive experiment. we are figuring out the cost of breaking up. >> and coming first, date mistakes. talk 95 is

nbc's white h coroe kristen welker r on t mission g tt. >> reporter: theemssy was caught in tdlof intense fightineeril militias prompte erans to be evacuated. secretary of stjkey paris on a diplomiion. >> it is becauseth free-wheeling miviolce that is taking inrili presents a verytour personnel. >> reporter: it autiv hours for a caf58.s embassy persoeludg 8 heavily armed uri guards, rosstu about 10mis . they left thembomun in suvs and bse jim miklaszewsktfit jets and unmanned drones flew over the group shadowing the groups. dozen of u.s. marines in ospreys were in the air positioned nearby to respond to any threat. once safely in t t americans boaedrcl airliners at ci apo. >> we had ove80esher on the ground tod is particularac if you contrast h e situation in be, erwe didn't really vectn for the consulat >> reporter: sien security has enpupn high-ri aasth violence rackinga w underscesowbl region is inakhe revolution th lth ouster of its loe ad in 2011. >> since the famoar gadhafi libyaasdonad by competing milanthe militias are log gn power. >> reporter: k e n news. >>> a major srye ek ahe

. >> i want to bring in nbc news correspondence kristen welker.ama and president vladimir putin haven't spoken since the crash. how is it were that we know that the president is pressuring russia? >> well, melissa, we heard the president talk about the next steps. he made a series of phone calls to counterparts including angela merkel. the two discussed what official actions might be requires. that means they are discovering the possibility of possible sanctions against russia. if it is confirmed that the plane was shut shut down by russian-backed separatists with weaponry provided by russia. that's significant, melissa, because you'll recall this past week, the day before the plane was shot down, president obama announced the stiffest round against russia yet. the e.u. also announced new sanctions but they did not go nearly as far. what's happening with the united states in the phone calls and that the u.s. is trying to get on the sale page as the e.u. when it comes to sanctions. and if the decision is made to levy additional sanctions against ru

joining me now from the white house is nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. the latest? >> we have breaking news at this hour. i can tell you president obama, who is in new york right now attending two fundraisers. upon arriving in new york he placed a phone call to his national security team. he also called secretary of state john kerry. in both phone calls he discussed the tragedy of the downed malaysia airlines flight. in speaking with his national security team he said the goal right now is to get international investigators to the region to help out in the investigation as quickly as possible. vice president joe biden earlier today said ukraine had accepted the u.s.'s offer for help in its investigation. he said those international investigators are ready to move immediately. president obama, again, when he spoke from delaware earlier today, you heard him say the top priority is determining whether there were, in fact, americans on board that flight. >> right. >> i can tell you behind the scenes here at the white house, senior administration officials ha

teammate wes welker joining in. clearly, the broncos are definitely over the super bowl.old time getting ready for the season. >> maybe the severe neck injuries explain what is going wrong here. >> do they look a little stiff? >> i don't think he looks good at all. i would like to see you do that, john berman. >> please. i can dance as well as tom brady. thank you very much. >> have a good one. >>> to much more serious news. the explosions we have been showing all morning in gaza, a blast a few moments ago, just 200 yards from karl penhaul who is on the ground in gaza. violence intensifying in the region. we go back live there, after the break. about fighting wrinkles, turn to roc® retinol correxion®. one week, fine lines appear to fade. one month, deep wrinkles look smoother. after one year, skin looks ageless. high performance skincare™ only from roc®. we're changing the way we do business, with startup ny. we've created tax free zones throughout the state. and startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. thanks to s

. >> kristen welker, nbc news. >>> coming up next, shipwrecked off the coast of italy two years ago. the wreckage of the costa concordia is now floating. >>> caught on camera. a hot air balloon explosion. you see that. the latest on what may have gone wrong. >>> take a look at this video. hot air balloon burst into flames as it approaches a neighborhood. the whole thing is caught on tape. five people on board got burned when it crashed into power lines in boston. the balloon dipping way too low to the grouped and hitting the power lines. they are panicking saying to call 911. sparks went flying. two people on the scene were treated for burns and scrapes. three others were taken to the hospital. the faa is investigating the incident. >>> more than two years since capsizing the cost a concordia cruise ship is set for its final voyage. look at this time-lapse video. this is saturday into today showing the ship being lifted from the waters. towing is expected to take place on tuesday. before that happens, experts say the ship has to be 33 feet above its mounted platform. 32 people died w

>> nbc's kristen welker at the white house.kristen. >> thanks. >>> coming up, we'll talk to nbc's keir simmons live, who just visited the crash scene we've been talking about. meatball yelling c'mon, you want heartburn? when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast, with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact. and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum... tums! i make a lot of purchases foand i get ass. lot in return with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. and i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at office supply stores. with ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points. travel, gift cards, even cash back. and my rewards points won't expire. so you can make owning a business even more rewarding. ink from chase. so you can. >>> who was responsible? that's the big question in the investigation of malaysia airlines flight mh-17, but finding a definite answer is not so simple. we'll have the latest