i'm craig melvin. you're watching msnbc. chris christie is in las vegas right now where he's betting that a scandal won't hurt him with one of the deepest pockets in the gop. new jersey's governor set to speak in a few minutes. if yesterday was any indication, he will not be trotting out that "i'm sad and disappointed" line anymore. mojo, swagger, whatever you call it, does he have it again? now we're having an aftershock. it's definitely a good, healthy aftershock sequence. >> a 5.1 magnitude quake along with a slew of aftershocks strikes southern california. it's the second earthquake there in less than two weeks. now experts say there could be a sign of something bigger. also, a firsthand account of what it takes to sift through 40 feet of mud and muck when we talk to a had you had and wife team searching for loved ones in washington state. and no european citizen in no country of the european union can feel safe in the present condition. >> nervous ukrainian leaders in top level talks later this weekend, just hours after president obama and putin's latest phone conversation. and what's going on in the nation's capital? if you think it's a mess on capitol hill, wait until you see what's happening in the race for city hall. so much to get to on a saturday afternoon. we start with the story that's been developing today by the hour. it's almost daybreak in australia where crews are about to resume the aerial search off the west coast for flight 370. in what was thought to be a promising lead, chinese officials now say three objects retrieved from a search ship in the southern indian ocean are not related to that missing malaysia plane. those officials say the objects are merely garbage. that information, we should note, has not been confirmed by nbc news. this is an image released by an international news agency of one of the objects. again, this image itself also has not been verified by nbc news. meanwhile, in today's search, new zealand and australian air search crews have spotted a number of items that could potentially be debris. all of these objects were in that new search zone about 1,100 miles off the coast of perth. there it is. nbc news's kerry sanders joins me live now with more on the search. let's start with these new objects that chinese officials are now calling garbage. are they different from the objects spotted by new zealand and australian crews? >> they are dramatically different. and in part just based on the size. china tv has released some images of them retrieving these items from the water. interestingly, they did it in the cover of darkness with lights out there and they're using fish nets to pull it out. you can see them scooping it out. what they're bringing up appears to be, if i were to take a guess, looks like plastic bags. as you know, plastic doesn't really disappear once it makes its way into the oceans. but the area where they're looking at is right here. and the most important thing is, as i put the marks here, this is where the vessels are. the vessels have made their way into the search zone. as the airplanes are going out -- and they're flying very low, looking out the window to see if they see anything -- they're able to now direct the ships a little bit better to the areas where they may have seen something. as you noted, one of the things that they've seen is this. this is a very different image. and the image here that we're looking at has a square, rectangular shape to it. it's very different. that's why it appears to be promising although it doesn't answer the question of whether it's yet more garbage that's floating out there, craig. >> nbc's kerry sanders for us, getting us the story that continues to develop by the hour. we are going to check back in with you in just a bit, kerry. thank you. there are new fears this afternoon that southern california could be due for a major earthquake soon. a 5.1 magnitude quake shook that area last night. it is the second earthquake to hit the region in two weeks. the most recent quake was centered near the los angeles area, although it was felt by residents as far south as san diego and as far north as ventura county. it came about after -- an hour or so after a moderate 3.6 quake. the 5.1 quake triggered a rock slide near the epicenter, overturning cars. it also caused several water main leaks. aftershocks were reported throughout the night. in fact, take a listen to what happened as officials were giving an update. >> we have -- >> now we're having an aftershock. >> that's no shaking expected. >> wow, nbc's rehama ellis joins us. did you feel the aftershock? >> reporter: i didn't -- maybe i did. i'm new to this area and to earthquakes. but i certainly felt what i thought was within earthquake last night. i flew in from new york to los angeles yesterday evening. as i was sitting in the hotel around 9:00, i felt the bed move. i wasn't sure what was going on. i turned on the television and found out that we were in the middle of a -- had just had an earthquake. a little unsettling. and it's unsettling to a lot of people as well. the experts are saying now that there is about a 5% chance that this could be a precursor, a sign of something to come that's much stronger. but let me set the scene for you in terms of what was going on last night. i was in the hotel but a lot of other people in the area were out and about in los angeles. some of them were packing the stadium where the dodgers and the angels were having an exhibition game. and the cameras show that the stadium was beginning to shake and the legendary voice of the dodgers made the call on what was happening. take a listen. >> and that's going to go foul off to the right upstairs. little tremor here in the ballpark. i'm not sure if the folks felt it but we certainly felt it here in press box row. a tremor and only that, thank goodness. >> reporter: they also felt it at disneyland where people were out enjoying themselves in the evening. some of the rides, many of those rides were suspended. people self-evacuated themselves in a very orderly manner. there was no panic whatsoever. but there were reports of a lot of damage to some homes in terms of glasses and dishes coming off of shelves, some stores, you saw damage in some stores. but authorities say they've seen no major structural damage and no reports of any major injuries to people while almost 2,000 people did lose power. there were some water main breaks, paz yas you mentioned. a lot of confusion and concern about what the future holds. >> sure. rehema ellis, stay safe out there, my friend. >> reporter: you bet. to politics now, it is being called the sheldon primary. big republican names including governor chris christie, all in vegas this weekend, officially to speak at the spring meeting of the republican jewish coalition. but it is also a chance for the potential presidential candidates to spend some quality time with none other than sheldon adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who pumped more than $92 million into republican campaigns in 2012. chris christie set to take the podium in a few minutes. john kasich is there, governor scott walker and ambassador john bolton. jeb bush is also in town. he spoke at a party thrown by adelson thursday night. nbc's casey hunt is also in las vegas. casey, for folks who are not as familiar with this event, what is it? how significant is it and what's happening not on stage? >> reporter: sure. the republican jewish coalition's spring meeting is a gathering of donors here at the venetian hotel, which is owned by sheldon adelson, the casino mogul in question. he poured many than $80 million into the election last time around. he spent a lot of it on newt gingrich and then a lot more on mitt romney. this time, it's said he's looking for a mainstream republican candidate to carry all the way through and beat a democrat come the fall of 2016. as you said, there's a parade of potential hopefuls here today. we heard from wisconsin governor scott walker. we're going to hear from governor christie any minute, is our understanding. and then also over lunch, ohio governor john kasich is going to address this group. it's pretty critical because he is potentially going to commit so much money to this enterprise that why wouldn't you want to come here and have the opportunity to court him? >> so they're all there to kiss the ring, essentially? >> reporter: they are. and you also asked what else is going on on the sidelines. this is mainly a gathering of donors, all of whom are working with one another. it's not just the republican jewish coalition either. i talked to tim phillips who runs americans for prosperity and they are pouring millions of dollars into the midterm elections. that's got democrats very concerned because there's no equivalent democrat pouring the same millions into ads supporting the health care law. that puts some of their vulnerable senate candidates in a dangerous place. >> kasie, thank you so much. we'll bring chris christie's speech when it happens live here on nbc. as governor christie gets set to speak in vegas this hour, he continues to beat back criticism that the internal review that his own administration commissioned is a whitewash, as the editorial boards called it. this is what christie called megan kelly last night. >> why should the people trust this report? >> first of all, there are six former federal prosecutors who have worked a long time in their lives to develop reputation. i don't think they throw away that reputation for me or anybody else by doing some slipslod job. >> we got these pictures on september 11th of last year. the day david wildstein alleged that he told governor christie about those bridge lane closures. something christie says he has no recollection of. bob engel is a columnist for "the asbury park press." and he's the author of the become "chris christie." thanks for coming by on a saturday. bob, let me start with you. how far does this report go in clearing the governor? >> well, if you're the governor, you think it's 150%. >> okay. >> however, the rest of us who looked at it said, what's the rush? there are so many unanswered questions. why did he rush this out? and there's a couple of interesting theories about that. >> among them? >> one is that he wanted something to carry to las vegas because the word was that adelson was having questions about whether he could be elected. so here he goes. he brings in this big report. he throws it on his desk and says, here, i'm innocent, see there. that's what this report says. and the other is, when you had samson resigning as chairman of the board, the reason -- of the port authority -- the reason that christie gave him the news conference was, well, he read this report and there are recommendations for how to change the report and he thought it was better if somebody else did it. it could have been that that was put in there to give him an excuse to step down. >> we should note that these are theories. >> these are theories, absolutely. >> brian, the attorney for bridget kelly, christie's former deputy chief of staff, released a statement last night criticizing the christie administration's internal report, criticizing the report saying in part, quote, the report's venomous, gratuitous and inappropriate sexist remarks concerning ms. kelly have no place in what is alleged to be a professional and independent report. he's referring to lines like this from the report -- quote, her first known communication to port authority official david wildstein about the lane realignment in mid august 2013, for example, occurred around the time that her personal relationship with former campaign manager bill steppian has cooled. is that criticism warranted? >> i think it is. at the very least we should wonder why it's in there. it's a totally legitimate question to ask why it's in there. this is something that had been common knowledge within the press corps covering the story. and no one mentioned it because no one wanted to make the allegation even tacitly that they're making. it doesn't make any sense -- >> why was this part of the report? why do you suppose? >> it's really tough because we can't figure it out. i was reading along thinking mediocre, mediocre -- the first thought i had was, are these people really saying that because she had an emotional break-up -- a personal relationship, that caused her to get together with wildstein to close down the world's busiest bridge? that's ridiculous. but i can't figure out why it's in there. it's gossipy. we have known this -- we didn't report it because we didn't think it was anybody's business but theirs. >> we did see, brian, a very different governor chris christie yesterday in that news conference. by very different, i mean the old chris christie seemed to be back in a lot of ways. combative with reporters yesterday even. does he have the swagger back now? >> i don't know that we should be so quick to label it as swagger. it's a performance. >> isn't it always, though? >> it's a performance. >> not just with governor chris christie. >> it doesn't necessarily play with us. and it doesn't necessarily play with me. we don't talk to our co-workers like this, right? but maybe he's trying to show some bravato. >> and it's that personality that won him a lot of support when nobody knew who chris christie was. >> always appreciate your insight, thank you. as soon as chris christie takes the stage in las vegas, we'll go back to him to see what he says. meanwhile, secretary of state john kerry has diverted his plane to do another face-to-face with his russian counterpart. the topic, of course, ukraine. also, d.c. voters heading to the polls tuesday to vote for mayor. it's a race that has been marked by scandal. what's happening in our seat of government and why we should all care more than we do. 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[ cheers and applause ] and i have to tell you that the reaction to the speech afterwards was fascinating. i probably should have just done that in the speech. i wasted 34 minutes and 40 seconds. but i should have just done that. but instead, when i left, i heard about the reaction afterwards. from the folks in the legislature, especially the democrats. they were calling me all kinds of names. julius caesar, napolean bonepart. i was coming through the door at the same time as the senate president, steve sweeney, head of the ironworkers local, a shy guy like me, we walked into the room together. i said, steve, i saw the stuff you said about me in the newspaper, julius caesar, you know what, it really struck me. i've had second thoughts. so now what i'm going to do is rescind the executive order and i'm going to send this problem down the hall and you guys figure out where you want to cut the $2 billion from. and this will tell you everything you need to know about government anywhere. he looked at me and goes, hey, governor, don't overreact. all things considered, it wasn't an awful speech, you know. it's just in the newspapers. don't get crazy. i tell you that story not only because it's funny and not only because i like telling it, but because in the first four weeks of the administration, i had to set the tone for what my leadership was going to be. >> there you have it, governor chris christie there in las vegas at the republican jewish coalition meeting. outlining a number of examples of his leadership. a friendly audience there. the governor picking up a number of applauses, picking up a number of laughs as well. bob engel, columnist for "the asbury park press," brian murray, political reporter, what did you make of just the snippet that we heard there? again, the governor is going to go on for a little while there. we wanted to give folks a sense of what the speech was going to be and what the speech was going to be like. what did you take from it? >> it was like the press conference, taking him back to the good old days before bridgegate broke. this is what he used to do. give funny speeches, the crowd loved it. >> he is affable. >> he is. he gives a great speech, unlike many politicians who bore you to tears. >> the question, though, here -- we know this is the reason that most of these 2016 presidential wannabes are out there. it's not for the speeches. it's, of course, to meet with sheldon adelson, the guy who pumped more than $90 million into a lot of losing campaigns last cycle. what do we know about mr. adelson and his connection or lack of connection with chris christie? >> i don't know. >> i can tell you one thing when he ran for reelection, he and his wife gave the maximum out for christie's reelection. it was 3,80$3,800, wasn't it? >> he makes billions a day. >> that's not a lot. >> he can spread himself pretty thin. but this time, seems like he wants to find someone more electable. i would bet that is the best speech in timing and performance. that's the best speech that's going to be given. >> absolutely. that's what made christie popular, that kind of speech. >> yeah. >> bob engel, brian murphy, thank you as always for your insight on new jersey politics. we'll take a quick break. we'll be right back. go. let's talk asset allocation. sure. you seem knowledgeable, professional. would you trust me as your financial advisor? i would. i would indeed. well, let's be clear here. i'm actually a dj. 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[ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. a massive recall for one of detroit's largest. millions of cars are now affected. also, the husband and wife rescue team searching for their neighbors in that washington slad mud slide. this is msnbc. $175 a month? yup. all 5 of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month. low dues, great terms. let's close! new at&t mobile share value plans our best value plans ever for business. this is mike. his long race day starts with back pain... ...and a choice. take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve... ...for all day relief. "start your engines" add vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance and get $100 off for every year of safe driving. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side is really what makes it slike two deals in one.he $1,000 fuel reward card salesperson #2: actually, getting a great car with 42 highway miles per gallon makes it like two deals in one. salesperson #1: point is there's never been a better time to buy a jetta tdi clean diesel. avo: during the first ever volkswagen tdi clean diesel event get a great deal on a jetta tdi. it gets 42 highway miles per gallon. and get a $1,000 fuel reward card. it's like two deals in one. volkswagen has the most tdi clean diesel models of any brand. hurry in and get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months on tdi models. afghan security forces rushed to the scene of an attack on the election commission headquarters in kabul today. four taliban fighters dressed in burqas ambushed that building. security forces were able to kill all four militants. all week, all of this just one week before a key presidential election. good saturday to you. i'm craig melvin. here's a quick look at some of the other top stories making news right now. more than 2.5 million gm cars have now been recalled. that number has grown since the carmaker added six models to the list of cars with potentially deadly defects in their ignition switch. at least 12 deaths have been linked to the problem so far. the same storm system that spawned tornadoes in missouri and dropped golf ball sized hail in kansas city could bring severe weather to large parts of the southeast this weekend. some parts of florida are under a tornado watch right now. and same-sex couples can now say "i do" in parts of the united kingdom. lawmakers made the decision in england and wales last year. but today marks the official registration date. same-sex couples can already get hitched in scotland but not in northern ireland. back here, people in washington state held a statewide moment of silence this morning a week after a deadly mud slide devastated the small town of oso, washington. meanwhile, hopes are dimming in the ongoing search for survivors there. state officials admit it has become increasingly unlikely any of the missing will be found alive. the official death toll remains at 17 until medical examiners can identify bodies. 90 people remain unaccounted for. jeff and jan mcclellan are husband and wife volunteers with the darrington fire department swiftwater rescue team. they have been part of the rescue effort there. they join me live now. i know this has been an emotional experience, to say the least, for both of you. i understand that you were able to rescue a man and flag down a rescue helicopter earlier this week. walk me through precisely how that happened, if you could, jeff and jan. >> yeah. when we arrived on scene, we realized right away it was bigger than we were ready for and something way bigger than anything we've ever been involved in. i immediately stepped out of the engine that i arrived in and i started hearing people screaming for help and other people that were trapped behind water screaming that there's people out here that need help. and so there were three other rescuers that arrived on scene. my wife arrived next with the aid car. and then another member of our department, sheila dobbins, arrived, they were both swiftwater techs along with myself. so we all geared up, we headed out. we found two patients that weren't what we call their walking green -- they could walk out if we could get them out of where they were. they couldn't get extricated because they were surrounded by a muddy, swampy -- it's like pea soup with logs and trees and torn-up houses. and we found that there was one patient that seemed to be about 600 feet away that we needed to get to because he said his arm was just hanging by a piece of skin. so we considered him critical. so we put together a rope system and the four of us took approximately -- maybe an hour and 15 minutes. i'm not sure on times. you get lost in that. and all three of us traversed out there over a real danger area and got to the patient, packaged him up and got him out. >> jan, how much of the wreckage area, how much of the area have you guys been able to access? >> well, the day after the incident happened, i was up searching and was able to go through a lot of the -- even through the middle of where all the debris was -- most of the homes and the vehicles ended up on the perimeter. from what i've heard, it's about a little over a square mile of territory that was basically leveled. and we'd been searching through -- it's taken -- it's still ongoing. it's taken a week and it's going to take a lot longer. we haven't finished going through all that debris yet. >> jeff, we've been seeing these images, the pictures and the video that continue to come in from washington state. and there are just so many people all over this country whose thoughts and prayers are with you guys. how tough has it been for the two of you on a daily basis, just going out day after day doing all that you can trying to rescue someone? >> it's been tough from the basic standpoint that a lot of times i'm not with my wife, even though she's very capable and a real fine firefighter and rescue tech. just worrying about her being out there in different dangerous areas where i can't see her. that puts stress on us. and just the stress that there are so many people in our community wanting us to find their family members and asking us personally when we get ready to go out there and do that. and that puts a lot of stress on us. but we have a desire to hopefully bring somebody back alive if that's possible or to help bring closure to these families. >> jan, at this point, how optimistic -- >> the families want us to find their -- pardon me? >> go ahead, jan, i'm sorry. >> i was just going to say, it's really important for us to find the people that are lost. a very good friend of ours was looking for his wife and his granddaughter. and both have been now found. and we want to still keep looking. we want to find people and bring closure to these families. there's many, many of them. we want to find them all. >> jeff and jan mcclelland, thanks for all that you guys are trying to do out there in washington state. i appreciate your time. good luck. still to come here, some disturbing new numbers out this week about how many american children are being diagnosed with autism. we'll talk to the mother of one of those kids. this is msnbc. 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[ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ so does hiring someone to write a love song signal the end of romance as we know it? or is this the inevitable next phase of our digital lives? either way, it is today's big idea. it's the brainchild of these three friends. they've put their love of writing music to work. jeremy, evan and brian, good to see all of you. >> thank you for having us. >> jeremy, let's start with, how was this thing born? how did this thing start? >> we all met in college. we sang in an a cappella group together. we said, why don't we do something productive and make a business out of it? that's what we did. >> how's business so far? >> it's great. we launched in december and the orders are coming in and the response has been incredible. >> what kind of songs do you guys get the most requests for? >> we get requests for all types of songs. we have romance songs, love songs, let me propose to you type songs but also jingles, roasts, you name it. >> and your fees are based on the length of the song or what? >> it varies. we have a spectrum -- >> you're the finance guy. >> $49 would be what a musical blast -- our version of a musical greeting card. all the way to our deluxe song. it's everything, vocals, instrumenta instrumentals, background. >> we dug up this song you wrote about the polar vortex. take a listen. ♪ go outside and make a mess ♪ it's the polar vortex ♪ sit by the fire it's the best ♪ ♪ it's the polar vortex >> who requested that song? >> someone requested this song, named ed. he said, my wife and i were joking about this polar vortex phenomenon. and they started rhyming on the subway. they e-mailed us and said, take this rhymes and make a song out of it. >> you're in finance. what are your day jobs? >> i'm a teacher. ty teach theater in queens. >> i'm a lawyer. >> of course. i shouldn't say that. i understand that there is a big idea song that we should note that we will pay -- this isn't a freeb freebie. >> yeah, we thought we'd write a jingle for your show. you don't have a jingle. >> we don't. >> we're going to do it for you. >> this is a "what's the big idea" jingle? >> this is it. ♪ check it out ♪ what is it ♪ it's on msnbc ♪ lots of great ideas from far and near ♪ ♪ hey what's the big idea ♪ ooh >> love it. we'll send you a check. thank you so much. thank you for stopping by. this is evan, jeremy and brian. writemysong.com. do you have a big idea that's making a difference. tell us by tweeting us. you can also use the e-mail address there. there it is right there. that was fun. >> thank you for having us. >> that had the potential to be awful. but it turned out to be -- that was really cool. thank you, guys. up next, the d.c. mayor's race and what it says about the state of the nation's capital. then, a little bit later, new discoveries in the indian ocean. but will they lead to that missing malaysian airlines plane? this is msnbc. defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old. citracal maximum. calcium citrate plus d. highly soluble, easily absorbed. a 401(k) is the most sound way to go. let's talk asset allocation. sure. you seem knowledgeable, professional. i'm actually a dj. 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don't wait to ask your doctor about spiriva. it's an office that sits just three blocks from the white house, the office of the mayor of washington, d.c. and right now, the race for that office has become so scandal-ridden and so heated, it's more interesting than that far-off race for 1600 pennsylvania avenue. tuesday, voters will head to the polls to vote in the district's primary. seven democrats are trying to unseat the current mayor, vincent gray. gray himself is involved in a federal investigation. earlier this month, the u.s. attorney said the mayor knew about an illegal $668,000 shadow campaign that helped launch him into office four years ago. at the debate earlier this week, mayor gray continued to deny those allegations. >> i did nothing -- i've said over and over again that i did nothing. there was no wrongdoing involved on my part. and all i can do is repeat what i've said before. >> people know all of the allegations. they know that there may be an indictment. they know that the mayor deserves the presumption of innocence and still they say, they don't trust this mayor. what residents of the district of columbia have said is they want a fresh start. >> muriel bowser there. tom sherwood is a political reporter in washington, d.c. my old colleague and buddy, tom. good to see you, sir. >> glad to be here today. >> let's talk about the effect. what kind of effect are these allegations having on mayor gray's bid for reelection? >> the mayor should have a dream run for reelection this year. the city's doing great. the economy's up. crime is down. the schools are making improvements that they haven't made in decades. everything is going well except mayor gray's 2010 campaign is still haunted by a shadow campaign that jeffrey thompson did. and he admitted in court a couple of weeks ago, jeffrey thompson did, that he said mayor gray knew about the shadow campaign. and that's dogged the mayor for the last three years. even as the city's done so well on so many different levels under gray, he's not done well at all in the popular opinion polls. >> and thompson, you correct me if i'm wrong, he's the fourth or fifth gray campaign staffer to be indicted, is that correct? >> he wasn't a staffer. he was the money man. he was the deep pockets from city government contracts for health and other things. he's the one that provided the money. and he provided it to several people and two gray campaign staffers, vernon hawkins and genie clark harris, have also pled guilty saying they participated in this scheme. the mayor keeps saying as he said a moment ago, i didn't do anything, i didn't do anything. but what the mayor hasn't done is he hasn't told the voters of the city what he did do. how could all this $688,000 to the campaign be run out of the room? the mayor won't talk about it. >> this is a new poll out. muriel bowser, she has the support of 28% of likely democratic voters. vincent gray is at 26%. it's a statistical dead heat. no other candidate getting more than 11% of the vote right now. has bowser run an effective campaign or is she merely benefiting from gray's troubles? >> well, she's certainly run an effective campaign and she represents the upper tier of northwest washington, which is a mixed black and white neighborhoods. she's been pretty well there. but the -- she was so far back in the polls in january, there were polls showing she was way back. now she's come up. in our own poll, her support from white people went from 18% to 36%. part of that, she's been endorsed repeatedly by "the washington post" which does have an effect on the elections here in the nation's capital. and she's run a good campaign. gray again is stuck. he can't move up. doesn't seem to be moving down. he seems to have his support. which is a key to the election for him on tuesday. he's out campaigning today. he's got to get his voters out. >> tom -- >> i'm sorry. the polls, they feel very strongly that vince gray has been mistreated by the prosecutor, has done a good job and deserves to be reelected. muriel bowser's support is softer. so it's a real get out the vote contest now between today and tuesday. >> tom, quickly for folks who don't live in our beloved city, why should people who don't live in d.c. care about this election? >> you know we're 650,000 people, not everyone here works for the federal government. it's a real place with families and synagogues and churches where people go to school and they live like all other americans. we also have 20 million visitors a year to the nation's capital. we have the cherry blossom festival coming up in a few weeks. it's a really great place. it's a real place, it's not a federal town at all. people ought to come visit it and mayor the will welcome them, whoever that is. >> tom sherwood, i miss you, my friend. thank you so much. coming up, we're going to talk to a coach who thinks that student athletes forming a union might set a dangerous precedent. hundreds of aftershocks following the earthquake in los angeles last night. we go live to l.a. for more. ♪ ♪ ♪ told ya you could do it. (dad vo) i want her to be safe. so, i taught her what i could and got her a subaru. (girl) piece of cake. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. we've learned how to stretch our party budget. ♪ the only downer? my bargain brand towel made a mess of things. so goodbye so-called bargain brands, hello bounty basic. the affordably priced towel that's an actual bargain. watch how one select-a-size sheet of bounty basic is 50% stronger than a full sheet of the bargain brand. it takes a strong towel to stretch a budget. bounty basic. the strong but affordable picker upper. and try charmin basic. the strong but affordable picker upper. how was prugh.ce? that bad? i dropped 2 balls, mom. eye on the ball! that's all it is. eye on the ball. that's a good tip. i'll try it. by the way, bill... this is delicious! so many grilled tastes and textures. and all the nutrition i need. go on. no really. top notch. (laughing) there it is - there ya go. new american grill from kibbles 'n bits... go together like... food 'n family. hi, are we still on for tomorrow? tomorrow. quick look at the weather. nice day, beautiful tomorrow. tomorrow is full of promise. we can come back tomorrrow. and we promise to keep it that way. driven to preserve the environment, csx moves a ton of freight nearly 450 miles on one gallon of fuel. what a day. can't wait til tomorrow. no matter how remote, i'm always hoping against hope and i'm praying. >> three weeks later, still no answer to the mystery. good afternoon to you. i'm craig melvin. you're watching msnbc. crews off the coast of australia searching for that malaysia airlines plane, have found some debris but now the question is, is it from flight 370? we're a strong community and we're holding together well. we ask that you continue to keep us in your hearts. >> with 90 people still missing in washington state, what search crews are doing and what they're worried about now. also, paying student athletes, some schools call it madness, some athletes insist it's fair. what a decision this week could mean for the future of college athletics as we know it. plus -- >> no parent wants to hear, your child has autism. but you can't be afraid of the "a" word. it's so important to start fighting as soon as you hear that for your child. >> one in 68 kids are now diagnosed with autism. coming up, what that means for the child and for the parents. i'm going to talk to the mother of that little girl there. also on this saturday afternoon, as a new father, my thoughts on parental leave in america and why we need to rethink our priorities when it comes to work and family in this country. first, though, governor chris christie taking questions out in vegas. he just wrapped up his speech at the republican jewish coalition meeting moments ago. one of the questions focused on what the governor learned from the george washington bridge scandal. take a listen. >> for me, i think, it's about me being a lot more questioning about things that are going on, not to just trust based upon long-term relationships or past performance, and it's about sending very clear signals, as i said during the speech. >> governor christie again just moments ago out in las vegas taking questions from the audience at the republican jewish coalition meeting. we'll talk more about all of this with our "brain trust" coming up later this hour. first, though, we are closely following some significant developments in the search for malaysia flight 370 with crews set to resume their search by sea and air soon. two ships combing that new search area off the coast of perth have recovered a number of objects from the ocean. it's the first time since this massive search started that crews have pulled items from the water in the search area. but what's still unclear is if any of the items are related to the missing plane. nbc's kerry sanders joins me live now with more on the search. with daybreak a few hours away in australia, crews are set to resume their search off the western coast by sea and by air, i understand, kerry. what's the latest? >> as you note, they'll be taking off as soon as there's a little bit right around daybreak to go back out. but on the station right now are ships. they're right in this particular area here. in fact, there's two ships there from the china navy. and interestingly, the chinese did spot something under cover of darkness. that's the items you're talking about. ever so hopeful. but unfortunately, as they were able to fish those items out of the water, as you'll see, those items proved to be nothing more than ocean garbage. they were able to pull some of these items out of the water that unfortunately looked like just plastic bags or something like that. the efforts here, though, of course are to find some sort of debris, to find something. they've been actually looking at debris from above. for instance, they have this one here. this one was promising. but they've yet to find it in the water. that's taken from a photograph. they have yet to find this one in the water. and part of the effort now is when the air force planes are flying overboard -- and we have multi nations there. they're dropping down buoys there so they can get a marker with electronics so they can go back with a boat and vector in and find this debris. one of the biggest challenges, if you think how big the ocean is, we're talking about an overall search area that's the size of new mexico. when they say, i saw something and they give the coordinates, with the currents and everything else, it's a lot harder to zero back in and find it. >> they spot it and then have to try and hunt it down. kerry sanders, thank you as always. appreciate you. joining me now is kathleen dohan, a research scientist with a nonprofit firm earth and space research, specializing in oceanographic research. thanks for being with me. part of what you specialize in is calculating surface currents. so you're probably the best person to explain, what's the likelihood, if they find debris that's related to the plane that the remains of the plane would be close by? >> yeah, as every day goes by, the spread of anything that would have been in the water gets further and further away. so at least in this area, it's a little less strong of currents as it was in the previous search area. but it's still -- currents can carry objects from five miles per day to 30 miles per day in this area, depending on whether an eddy goes by and picks it up. so every day, it's probably about ten miles per day spread. and in this case, it's not in one direction. but it's kind of all the way out. there is also the factor of winds -- wind drift -- winds pushing on anything sticking up out of the water. winds can push objects along. and in this area, the winds aren't as strong as they were in the more south area. but they're still fairly strong, 15, 20 miles per hour. so it's -- every day it just gets wider and wider and wider area. >> there was a cyclone in the southern indian ocean about a week ago, as i'm sure you know. how disruptive can a weather event like that be for a search like this? >> yeah, there's a lot of problems with weather like that because first of all you can't be out there searching during storms. but also it can kick up a lot of extra waves, which then can carry objects along with the slight wave drifts -- in addition to the waves, there's also currents that get kicked up by these strong winds. and it deepens the mixed layer of the ocean so anything on the surface of the ocean could get mixed down in and then it's not at the surface anymore and spotting it -- you can't spot it from the air. so if a cyclone went past the area of the debris, then it would scatter it as well as mix it down. the ocean is a challenge. it's always moving. >> we have this image from you calculating surface currents in the area and winds that estimate how far debris could have traveled between march 8th and march 26th. all of the different colors here represent different directions that debris could travel. >> yeah. >> given that we are now well over three weeks, how far could the debris have traveled by now theoretically? >> again, it's crucial to have one single data point because we're still just guessing where the plane went down. we're guessing where debris might be. >> sure. >> but those scenarios that you're looking at, the worst-case scenario are those gray ones, the ones that travel hundreds -- like 1,500 miles away -- >> let's bring that map back and show folks that gray area. >> that's the worst-case scenario. and that's overestimating how much the wind is pushing. so i was just trying to push the limits and say, if you had a seat cushion and it got blown along with the winds as well, how far would it go? more realistically, it would be those colors that are the pinks or the black. and that's still 100 miles or so, 100 to 200 miles, all depending on where you are from march 8th till today. >> kathleen, thank you. >> oh, i do want to also point out that this is an area of convergence. so it's this great garbage patch in this area. so it's going to be -- there is going to be a lot of garbage in this area just from all kinds of other places that all kind of collects up here. that's why there's going to be a lot of garbage spotted but not part of the plane. >> which they have been doing. kathleen, thank you. keep us posted. >> great. rescue efforts back here continue today over a week after that deadly mud slide ripped through the small town of oso, washington. this morning, washingtonians held a statewide moment of silence for the victims. but local officials admit at this point they are increasingly skeptical that any survivors will be found. >> we always want to hold out hope. but i think we have to at some point expect the worst. >> jennifer bjorklund joins me from arlington, washington, not far from oso. jennifer, how likely is it that any more survivors are going to be discovered? >> reporter: it's very unlikely. you heard the executive director for the county, what you heard right there is the strongest official acknowledgment of how many lives might be lost in that mud slide. there are 90 people on the missing persons list. and that was an answer to a direct question from a reporter, do you fear that those 90 people are now dead? and that was the answer. so they have the hold onto hope because that's what's driving them here in this small community. these are all their friends, all people they know. they have to hold onto that hope. but at the same time, these are realistic people. they're loggers. they're workers. they're salt of the earth people. they see what it's like out there. they know how heavy that mud is. they're holding out hope but it is dimming as we move into week two. after that moment of silence at 10:37, we're now in the second week of this disaster. >> have search conditions improved at all? >> reporter: they've actually gotten worse. this morning, it was pouring rain. the conditions are beyond miserable. it's not just a comfort thing. it's not even fun to be outside at all here. but in waist-deep mud which is being reactivated -- and you have to remember the river is running through it. this river behind me is downstream from the mud slide area. it rose considerably and it's rainier than it was. it's made it that much more difficult. in some places, there's quicksand like mud that can go 15 feet deep. they have to be very careful. and also walking along on the logs, the mud that has dried, almost like hard concrete at this point, is now slippery on the top. so it's almost like walking on ice. it's very difficult to navigate and it's very hard to dig through. >> jennifer bjorklund out in washington state for us, again, oso, washington, where rescue workers continue their efforts, jennifer, thank you. an earthquake in los angeles causes a rock slide and other damage followed by more than 100 aftershocks. could this be a sign of a bigger danger on the way? we'll have a live report from l.a. i'll also talk to autism advocate kim cristo who fights on behalf of her daughter and others dealing with the issue. her thoughts on that shocking new report that found autism is much more widespread than previously thought. marge: you know, there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious, and a good source of fiber to help support regularity. wife: mmmm husband: these are good! marge: the tasty side of fiber. from phillips. gunderman group is growing. getting in a groove. growth is gratifying. goal is to grow. gotta get greater growth. growth? growth. i just talked to ups. they've got a lot of great ideas. like smart pick ups. they'll only show up when you print a label and it's automatic. we save time and money. time? money? time and money. awesome. awesome! awesome! awesome! awesome! awesome! awesome! awesome! 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[ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. salegets up to 795 highwayeal's the passamiles per tank.sel salesperson #2: actually, we're throwing in a $1,000 fuel reward card. we've never done that. that's why there's never been a better time to buy a passat tdi clean diesel. husband: so it's like two deals in one? avo: during the salesperson #2: first ever exactly. volkswagen tdi clean diesel event, get a great deal on a passat tdi, that gets up to 795 highway miles per tank. and get a $1000 dollar fuel reward card. it's like two deals in one. hurry in and get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months on tdi models. prosecutors in new york city are reviewing a new report outlining how a tragic series of errors led to the disappearance of an autistic student who was later found dead. 14-year-old avante oquendo's death sparked a citywide manhunt after the boy was seen on surveillance video running out of school unnoticed. a new investigation outlines several contributing factors including the school ignoring a warning from the boy's mother that he could wander. it raises new questions about procedures in place for students with autism. and that report also comes amid new urgency in the fight to find the cause and cure for autism. in an alarming study released this week, the cdc now estimates 1 in 68 children have been identified with an autism spectrum disorder. that's a 30% jump from a 2008 study and represents a steady rise in cases over the last decade. kim cristo is an autism advocate. her daughter ava was diagnosed at 18 months old. john fox, professor of pediatrics and neuroscience with al alberto einstein university of medicine. what were the signs at 18 months? what made you say, something's just not right? >> at 12 months. she had a few words. just a few. but by 15 months, those words were gone and she never said momma. she never said daddy. so i thought to myself, something's wrong here. i took her to a class, like a gym class with other little toddlers. and all the other kids were participating and she was crying because the noise was too much for her. she was overstimulated. i said, you know, there's something different about her. i took her to her pediatrician immediately who gave me the number for early intervention and i started ball rolling and got her diagnosed within a few months. >> you did what a lot of parents unfortunately don't do in this country, start intervening early. dr. fox, 2000, 1 in 150 children in this country. now we're at 1 in 68. is this because doctors are testing children for autism more or are we seeing other factors at play here? >> these are pretty dramatic numbers. 1 in 68 is really rather remarkable. i'm afraid the estimates are going to ultimately go up even further. there will be higher incidence. in this cdc report, it tells an interesting story. for example, in new jersey, the incidence is 21 children in the thousands. very high incidence. whereas if you go to louisiana, the incidence is 6 in 1,000. that's not a realistic difference because if you look geographically across the various places where they were making their samples, the estimates range quite greatly. in georgia, the number is 16 or 17, right next door. so the issue here is most likely, almost certainly, underestimation in a number of the sites rather than overestimation. >> that's precisely why you think the numbers are going to go up? >> these numbers are going to go up. another aspect is there are 11 sites in the cdc study. the four sites reporting the lowest incidences are the places where they have very little records. they're working with less information. when the information comes in and people begin to recognize these children, the numbers will start to look more like new jersey. >> your daughter attends a special school in new jersey, a school that specializes in teaching students with autism. describe the significant changes that you have seen in her development since she started going to school. >> ava goes to an academy in new jersey which is a special school for children just with autism. there's only about 30 children who go to that school ages 3 to 21. so they get individualized attention. she has a one-on-one teacher-to-student ratio. her education programs are detailed, focused on her and what her needs are. so we're able to tackle issues with ava in a very -- almost under a microscope, so we can meet her needs. she went from a child who was completely nonverbal to within three months said "hi, mommy." >> dr. fox, before we get out of here, these numbers that came out caught a lot of folks by surprise. how much more do we know today about autism than we did five years ago? >> well, we know it's more prevalent than we thought. just going back to the numbers, a couple of things i need to say. we're talking about picking up children early. this is key. and it was obviously key in this circumstance. the average age in the cdc report of first diagnosis here was 53 months, 4 1/2 years of age. so we're doing very poorly. in the recommendations they say we need to get in and diagnose this much earlier. we do know quite a bit about the causal factors in a significant percentage of autism. 25% to 35% of autisms, we have identified the causal mutations, gene mutations for this. the others, we don't know yet. but we're getting there. the scientific community is fast chasing these factors. >> kim, thank you so much. good luck to you. dr. fox, thank you so much as well for stopping by. >> my pleasure. when we come back, some lessons that i'm already learning about fatherhood. it's how i look at life. especially now that i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. i was taking warfarin but wondered, could i focus on something better? my doctor told me about eliquis for three important reasons. one, in a clinical trial eliquis was proven to reduce the risk of stroke better than warfarin. two, eliquis had less major bleeding than warfarin. and three, unlike warfarin there's no routine blood testing. [ male announcer ] don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. those three important reasons are why i'm shooting for something better. eliquis. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor today if eliquis is right for you. oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ add vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance and get $100 off for every year of safe driving. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side perhaps you've noticed that i have not been around as much lately. if you have not noticed, shame on you. here's the reason. here's the reason i've been m.i.a. for nearly three weeks now. his name is delano joseph melvin. we call him del. my wife and i welcomed our wide-eyed blessing march 10th at 6:36 in the morning. he spends his days and nights eating like he's in a contest and screaming at us from time to time. he's great. and mommy and i are grateful. but i did realize something while i was out on paternity leave, a few things, actually, our parent company, comcast, provides two weeks of paid paternity leave. i added a few vacation days and was gone for nearly three weeks. that wasn't nearly enough time to bond with my new son, help change diapers, feed, stare at him. at least that's what i thought, until i started doing some reading and realized, i was one of the fortunate few. yes, while we have the family medical leave act which forces medium and large companies to hold your job while you take up to 12 weeks of leave, it does not guarantee pay. in fact, according to the department of labor statistics, about 11.5% of the workplaces in this country provide paid leave for their employees. the percentage providing paid leave to fathers? is even more laughable. in fact, take a look at the company that we're keeping. here are the 62 countries where paternity leave is required by law. among them, our friends in russia, rwanda, cambodia, colombia, guatemala. realizing the federal government rarely takes the lead on anything, california stepped up in 2002 and became the first state to guarantee six weeks of paid leave for mothers and fathers. letting all those people leave work will tank state economies, small businesses, can't afford it, blah, blah, blah. they've done it out west and used a relatively small payroll tax contribution to pay for better work/life balance. california didn't go broke doing it. neither has new jersey and rhode island which has similar plans. the research extolling the virtues of paternity leave is extensive. the most recent and widely cited study came out last year titled "children's chances." it says, quote, when fathers take leave during infancy, they are more likely to be involved in their children's lives down the road. here's the thought, while some contend government's role is already outsized and even a modest few cents per period payroll tax would be too much, i would argue, a modest investment that encourages fathers to start off on the right foot is a more-than-worthwhile investment considering when children whose fathers were not there start growing up, we all pick up the tab. from gloves to wipes, to cleaners, everything... [ sneezes ] except germ-free coworkers. thousands of products added every day to staples.com. [ click ] even protective suits. staples. make more happen. how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. 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>> reporter: i'm just fine. other folks may be shaking, as far as their nerves are concerned. a lot of them had their nerves rattled last night. it was a beautiful night in southern california. take a look. a lot of people were at the stadium. and we get a call of what they found was going on by the -- when they went to dodger stadium for a game. the legendary voice of the dodgers, vin scully, told them what was happening. >> that's going to go foul off to the right upstairs. a little tremor here in the ballpark. i'm not sure if the folks svelte it. we certainly felt it here in press box row. the tremor and only that, thank goodness. >> reporter: it is a thank goodness it was only a tremor. there were a lot of people out. folks at disneyland, the rides were suspended. people evacuated voluntarily. there was no panic, no one was hurt. but you mentioned, craig, there were a lot of aftershocks. take a look at what happened even when experts talking about the earthquake itself were holding a news conference. and listen to what happened during that time. >> now we're having an aftershock. >> there you go. that's no shaking expected. >> reporter: that kind of thing seemed to be going on most of the night last night. now, people wonder, what does it mean for the future? the experts are telling us that it's about a 5% chance that yesterday's earthquake is a precursor to a stronger earthquake to come. but that doesn't mean that that calms a whole lot of people. many people are still feeling very uncomfortable. authorities are saying they should use that discomfort to get themselves prepared. >> nbc's rehema ellis for us out west, thank you. it's a blockbuster ruling that could dramatically change college athletics. northwestern university football players wanted to form a union. and the regional director of the national labor relations board agreed, saying in his ruling this week in part, quote, i find that the employer's football players who receive scholarships fall squarely within the act's broad definition of employee. when one considers the common law definition of employee. meanwhile, northwestern university is planning on appealing that ruling to the federal national labor relations board. the university released this statement yesterday saying, northwestern believes the decision overlooked or completely ignored much of the critical testimony supporting the university's position that student athletes are not employees of northwestern and the regional director also applied incorrect legal standards. paul hewitt is the men's basketball coach at george mason university. paul, good to see you, sir. let's assume for a second that this regional nlrb decision is upheld and this decision stands. what would that ruling potentially mean for college athletics in this country? >> well, first, let me congratulate you on the birth of your son. and hopefully he'll be a student athlete someplace. >> thank you, paul. >> there are a lot of steps to go before we really get to the bottom of what it would mean. i have some concerns about what would happen to the consequences of this. i'm a fan of the athletic scholarship and a fan of the ncaa. but i think there are some steps that the ncaa needs to take moving forward to really make people understand, yes, there needs to be some things done to improve the conditions of the student athletes. but i think you'd be surprised if you really got down to it, it's really not much to do. just have to stop being stubborn and make some concessions. >> this is how the ncaa responded in part to that ruling. they say, quote, while improvements need to be made, we do not need to completely throw away a system that has helped literally millions of students over the past decade alone attend college. we want student athletes, 99% of whom will never make it to the professional leagues, focused on what matters most, finding success in the classroom, on the field and in life. they're acknowledging as well that improvements need to be made. if unionization isn't the answer, what do you think is? >> i think you've been seeing some steps over the years. one of the things that everyone has to address when it comes to the american educational system is the lack of preparedness of a lot of the students that move on from high school to college. one of the things the ncaa has done is allowed kids to come to summer school prior to their freshman year to address those deficiencies that all students have to deal with. there are special assistance funds to give the kids monies when they need in case of emergency. and there are other steps that need to be taken. in regards to the ruling this week, if we went through a situation where they rule student athletes as employees, it would open up a can of worms. glen wong wrote two articles that could give you a much more expansive view of what would be ahead of the student athletes in terms of tax implications, strikes and people crossing picket lines that would impact the experiences a student athlete had. >> you said the education portion of college sports would be out of the equation if this came to pass. what did you mean by that? >> i think number one, people undersell the educational portion of what the student athletes get. i hear even people who have been around the game saying if a kid doesn't want to be in school, we shouldn't make them go to class. i think that's preposterous. if you told me i didn't have to go to class back then, i wouldn't. when you get older, you start to understand the value of an education and you start to take it more seriously and you take advantage of it. i'm just afraid that a concept which i think has really helped to give kids opportunity, to give them access to higher education and access to a better life is really being disregarded and downplayed and minimized. >> paul, thank you so much for your time. who do you have? who's winning this thing? >> i like florida. they're a veteran team. great defensive ball club and a veteran coach. >> yeah, they do look good. good luck to you next season as well. paul hewitt, always good to have you. >> thank you. back to politics now. new jersey governor chris christie hitting the road after that internal report that he commissioned cleared him in the bridgegate scandal. his speech in vegas, only part of the reason he's in vegas, though. our "brain trust" on the man that the governor is hoping to impress, next. in my world, wall isn't a street... ...return on investment isn't the only return i'm looking forward to... for some, every dollar is earned with sweat, sacrifice, courage. which is why usaa is honored to help our members with everything from investing for retirement to saving for college. our commitment to current and former military members and their families is without equal. you want a way to help minimize blood sugar spikes. support heart health. and your immune system. now there's new glucerna advance with three benefits in one. 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[ male announcer ] with 15 calories per serving and real cream, the sound of reddi wip is the sound of joy. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] with five perfectly sweetened whole grains... you can't help but see the good. is really what makes it slike two deals in one.he $1,000 fuel reward card whole grains... salesperson #2: actually, getting a great car with 42 highway miles per gallon makes it like two deals in one. salesperson #1: point is there's never been a better time to buy a jetta tdi clean diesel. avo: during the first ever volkswagen tdi clean diesel event get a great deal on a jetta tdi. it gets 42 highway miles per gallon. and get a $1,000 fuel reward card. it's like two deals in one. volkswagen has the most tdi clean diesel models of any brand. hurry in and get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months on tdi models. and when you are tested, you have to show folks what you're made of. and you cannot leave any room for interpretation because if you do, it will most likely be interpreted against you. >> governor chris christie speaking within the last hour there at the republican jewish coalition. he is on the comeback trail just days after that internal review that the governor and his lawyers hired by his administration after they say that that report cleared him of any wrongdoing in the george washington bridge lane closure scandal. the "brain trust" is here. john rolston, nevada political reporter, mark mecklor and esther armah. john, let me start with you. the event has brought out names like former florida governor jeb bush, ohio governor john kasich, wisconsin governor scott walker in the last couple of days. what does it say about who's not there? >> well, i think the ones who are impressed by a guy with $40 billion are here. the only one who's not here who is very interesting that he's not here is rand paul, of course. who is much more of an isolationist and wouldn't be a favorite of sheldon adelson. he claimed to have some family business. but he was invited here by the republican jewish coalition. but chris christie, scott walker, john bolton and john kasich are all here ostensibly to give speeches. kasich is speaking right now to a luncheon. what they're here for is to get a part of that $40 billion into their campaign coffers if they run in 2016. >> we talked about rand paul not being there. he's won a couple of presidential straw polls. ted cruz is also not there. why do you think he's not there, mark? >> ted cruz is pretty much a juggernaut all to himself. i think ted can afford to be wherever he wants to be right now. he's on a roll. he's definitely one of the leading contenders. but i think it is smart for anybody who is contending to be there. the adelson primary is an important primary in republican politics at this point. >> can a tea party win without adelson's money? >> the question is what is a tea party candidate, right? in one way or another, all of these folks that are running could qualify as a tea party candidate. i don't think there is a pure tea party candidate. we don't expect there will be one. >> really? all of them would be accepted into -- you're right. i guess it's difficult to sort of define it right now. but a chris christie would be considered a tea party candidate? would a jeb bush be considered a tea party candidate? >> on particular issues, each of these folks have their weaknesses. i don't think anybody has an appetite for a third bush presidency. i don't think we're looking for a dynasty. he's the prime proponent of common core, not generally accepted in the tea party movement. he has a lot of weakness there. >> let's talk about governor christie here, esther. there's the rollout of that internal report that we mentioned, the governor did -- he's done two national interviews over the past few days. there was that press conference yesterday. he took in the game with his family last night. now he's out in vegas. how strategic is all this? >> here's what's crucial to recognize about what chris christie has done. first of all, who he chose in terms of doing it in the first place. he did diane sawyer and megan kelly. it's about the mission to get into that white house in 2016. folks are getting really engaged in the detail, what is absent, what is still to be invested. what christie is doing is taking the mission into his own hands and not dealing with the facts but framing them in a way that is about making him to the people somebody that they would trust, think about as a leader, be engaged with and be on the move with. >> and also betting on the fact that john q. six pack isn't going to get bogged down in the minutia as well. >> absolutely. there are multiple audiences when it comes to the bridgegate scandal. in folks who are interested in politics, we get into the details of who sent which memo when. but in terms of the public -- and christie understands this in ways that i think we don't always give him credit for -- he recognizes that folks aren't about that detail. they are about his mission. they are about the way he frames it. diane sawyer is not the interviewer you pick if you're going to have an interrogation. neither is megan kelly. those interviewers are about, who is the man, who is this man? is this a man that you can trust. is this a man who admits as a leader that he's done wrong? this is not about the facts of the report? it was about the future of chris christie. >> jon, you're there in vegas. are people talking about this bridgegate -- are they talking about it at all? >> it was really interesting that there was a question. generally friendly questions submitted in advance to christie about bridgegate. it was phrased in somewhat of a friendly way. what lessons did you learn? what the governor said which i think the crowd liked is, i learned to be more questioning about things around me. but he also said, i think we need to look forward rather than back which i guess is what i would say in his position, too. >> mark, one thing is undeniable. governor christie did display a different tone yesterday from his press conference in january. take a listen to him in january, then yesterday. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. there's no doubt in my mind that the conduct that they exhibited is completely unacceptable and showed a lack of respect for their appropriate role in government and for the people that we're trusted to serve. christine, stop. you have to get the facts right if you're going to ask me a question. it's nice that you eventually got to the question. but the premise of the question is so infirmed, i'm not going to -- i don't know whether you can't take notes or you're not listening. >> so chris christie appears to be back. he appears to be back, mark. is that what we can take from this? >> that's certainly what i take from it. i think the most important thing that i saw -- and christie's been doing this since the beginning -- is he says he's saddened by what happened. he says he clearly didn't know. but repeatedly, he says the buck stops at his desk and he takes responsibility. i read the report. but you have to give him credit for getting the report done, releasing it as quickly as he did -- >> mark, this report, it's a report commissioned by the guy that the report was investigating. >> yeah, i completely agree with you on that. what we're talking about is the way christie's managed this situation. i haven't seen the report. i didn't expect the report would convict him of anything. but he's done a masterful job, politically speaking, of handling the situation. >> i think what we're witnessing, these are the politics of emotionality done successfully. a report in which your lawyers investigate you is not a report emotionality. a report in which your lawyer investigates you, it's not a report about the facts. that's a p.r. job. but the point is the question of leadership, that you're going to get in front of a story that is condemning your judgment and your leadership, you're going to get in front of the store and turn the perception around so that it serves you as an individual and it serves your institutional goal about becoming president of the united states. i don't believe when he says he doesn't know about 2016. he's running now. >> the big money donors, what they saying about how governor christie has handled all of this? >> i do think the big money donor, i think sheldon addelson like any big donor, like any smart person is concerned about this ish because there are some people who are generally going to think whether this report or any other report directly touches him, that he was responsible. he takes responsibility but it's still got to be a long-term negative for him. i do think that addelson will talk to him about that. christie is going to meet privately with him later today, as will the other folks who are here. i think addelson has some skepticism about christie because of the fallout from bridgegate and there's another issue -- >> online gambling? >> online gaming. exactly. >> we'll be back after this break. 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[ thump ] to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings. all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? the brain trust is back on a saturday afternoon. john rossen, mark mclemore, esther orma, she has a play coming up. you're welcome. that's free commercial. we asked for the most overlooked and underplayed stories of the week. >> i don't think most people noticed that lindsey gram and jason chaffetz flounced a bill this week to ban online gaming, seen as sheldon addelson's influence. there's a lot of hype, a long way before 2016. harry reid has a relationship sheldon, which most people don't know about, overlooked that story. >> the new head of the irs came out this week and said it would take them years to review of e-mails of lois lerner. i think you can read in quotes that "years" means after the election. >> i'm not surprised you brought that one up. >> my overlooked story this week is after the and nexting of crimea, don't give it to a woman. there was an agenda that was anti-women. part of the protest line was don't have sex with those money who insist on supporting that legislation and earlier the liberian women said there would be a sex strike to encourage men to think different. sexst protest has not had an historical precedent but what is less discussed is the use of rape as a tool of war. >> again, esther's new play is called "savior," creative arts foundation. i'll be back tomorrow afternoon, 3:00 eastern. right now "disrupt" with karen finney. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month. low dues, great terms. let's close! new at&t mobile share value plans our best value plans ever for business. so i'm going pro. 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