fundraisers there. i expect he will talk about the economy. that s an issue he really wants to be highlighting right now. the unemployment rate at 7.5%. a lot of economists believe we are, in fact, in a recovery. but as you know, these controversies that we have been focused on with the irs, the justice and state departments will continue to take up a lot of his time and focus. craig? nbc s kristin walker from the white house for us on this memorial day eve. kristin, thank you. thank you. folks, this is a story we re really excited to tell you about this sunday afternoon. an inspiring story of a 17-year-old girl who was homeless at one point who overcame all odds to graduate not just graduate, graduate at the top of her class. her name is taleesa fierce, and she delivered a powerful speech as valedictorian at her high school last week saying she gained strength from an unusual source.
folks how the economy is improving in that area. now, of course, again, nothing on the schedule, so if he doesn t do it there, he might hold an event later on this week. so is, of course, what the republicans want to be talking about, not the economy but those controversies that we have spent so much time highlighting in recent weeks, craig, the controversies with the irs, the department of justice, and so that is what you will see republicans hone in on. the mantra behind the scenes here is that white house staffers only want to be spending about 10% of their time focused on those controversies, 90% focused on the president s second term agenda which also includes things like immigration reform and deficit reduction. i think it s going to be hard for this white house to only focus 10% of their time on those controversies, because as you know, there have been new twists and turns almost daily. craig? kristen walker from 1600 pennsylvania for us on this sunday. kristin, thank you. t
will take up immigration reform, and they ll also, of course, be spending a fair amount of time on the controversies, the irs, benghazi, the d.o.j. let s take it to the war room right now. alice stewart is a radio talk show host and former rick santorum press talk show host. good afternoon, ladies. good afternoon, craig. one of the architects of the immigration bill, the senate poured some cold water on expectations that the bill is going to soon get to the senate. he told a spanish tv network, quote, we don t currently have 60 votes identified in the senate. we need to add more votes on the floor. danielle, is there some real concern that the bill won t make it to the floor, or is senator menendez just looking for some assurance? i think he just wants to set proper expectations, but i don t think there s a real concern. i think the general consensus is that this bill will make it to
injured. craig, good to see you. thank you, good to be here. tomorrow is the day for the fallen but we also need to honor those with severe injuries as a result of going to war. you deal with these every day. tell us about some of the folks and some of the injuries you typically are treating. i don t think you have enough time on your show for me to tell you about the folks we take care of because they re some of the most amazing human beings you could meet in your life. they re coming back and facing adversity. they re facing limb loss, they re facing catastrophic limb and body injuries which would make most of us just shudder. yet, i get to see them day after day come through that door with an attitude that just can t be beat. an attitude where they re determined to get better, and it s just an inspirational job and it s an honor to be able to serve them. colonel, how has weaponry and tactics, how have those things changed the types of injuries that you see?
take a listen. people here pride themselves on the oklahoma standard. you know, what governor fallin has called being able to work through disasters like this and come out stronger on the other side, and that s what we ve been seeing this week. let s go to nbc s charles hadlock who is on the ground for us in moore. charles, what else did the president say and what has he been saying to folks on the ground when he meets them? reporter: the president told the group when he arrived at plaza towers elementary school that america has their back. and i think that s the message people want to hear here, that they are not forgotten. that s the biggest fear. fema is here now, but in the months to come, maybe they won t be around. but the president today assured them that the agencies will be here, the government will be here to help people through this disaster, craig. we saw president obama speak to reporters there at the elementary school. what else has president obama been up to on t