A racist and is, quote, hurting. More of her comments as we look at sterlings Legal Options and why some insist a players boycott may still happen. Also today, a major endorsement for a campaign that has not even started. The latest democrat backing Hillary Clinton. And a new generation of power. One citys plans to transform landfills into sources of energy. Its todays big idea. It is also derby day. With horse names like wicked strong, junk in the trunk, and thissiers favorite, california chrome, will we get our first triple crown winner in 36 years . Well go to Churchill Downs as well. Good saturday to you. Im craig melvin. In ukraine, theyre calling it war. Right now the military is desperately trying to take back portions of that country from prorussian separatists. It all came to a bloody head friday when at least 42 people were killed in odessa as fires and gunfights broke out during violent clashes between pro and antirussian groups. 125 people were hurt yesterday. Russias president Vladimir Putin is blaming the surge in violence on ukraine and the west as well. Its putting new pressure on the white house to find a way to force russia to withdraw. Nbcs Kristen Welker is live for us at the white house with more this afternoon. Kristen, first of all, what are president obamas options here . Well, he doesnt have a whole lot of options, craig. The president has been quite clear that a military option is off the table. So right now the u. S. And its European Partners are focusing on sanctions. They have so far implemented several rounds of sanctions, which have largely been targeted at individuals. On friday, president obama met with german chancellor Angela Merkel here at the white house, and the two made a pretty big announcement, which is that they had agreed to move forward with sectorial sanctions, if the crisis in ukraine worsens after the may 25th election. So i dont anticipate that well see any new sanctions prior to that. Then a final decision will be based on what is actually happening in ukraine. This is significant, craig, because the u. S. Had wanted to enforce sectorial sanctions, sanctions against the larger sectors of russias economy. But the u. S. s european allies had been resistant to do so because their economies are so tightly linked with that of russia. And german chancellor Angela Merkel was really the lynch pin here. The fact theyve agreed to move forward with these sanctions means they are on the same page about something about which they were sharply divided a few days ago. In terms of what those specific sanctions will look like, that remains to be seen. Interesting to note, president obama did not mention sanctioning the Energy Sector in his remarks yesterday. The other option that the u. S. Has is to potentially send military aid to ukraine. That is something that ukrainian officials have been calling for, but at this point in time, the u. S. Says that theyre not going to take that route. So far, though, craig, one more point, putin hasnt been swayed by the sanctions. So its hard to see what will change between now and those may 25th elections. But the u. S. And its European Partners continuing to be in touch as they monitor the ongoing crisis there. Craig . Kristen welker for us from 1600 pennsylvania avenue. Kristen, thanks as always. Well have a report from ukraine coming up in just a few moments here. Meanwhile today, president obama has announced plans to tour the devastating tornado damage in arkansas first hand. The president will be meeting with the families affected. Hell also be meeting with First Responders and recovery workers wednesday. Tornadoes struck the state earlier this week, killing 15 in arkansas alone. At least 34 others died in those storms that barrelled through mississippi, alabama, oklahoma, and iowa. This will be president obamas first trip to arkansas while in office. A big endorsement today for a candidate whos not even running for office just yet. Hillary clinton. This morning, virginia senator tim kain announced his support for a possible clinton run for the white house in 2016. Kain telling the South Carolina womens Democratic Council that clinton is, quote, the right person for the job. We will dig into the significance of that announcement with the brain trust. Coming up. The fastest two minutes in all of sports gets underway in just a few hours. Of course, were talking about the 140th Kentucky Derby. This years favorite to win, there he is, california chrome. And the weather in kentucky could not be nicer. Heres dylan dreyer with what we can expect. This year, the weather is going to be ideal. If its too hot, you can run into the situation where its just bad for the horses. If its too cold and too rainy, well, its bad for everybody trying to watch the races. But this year were looking at partly cloudy skies, temperatures around 70 to 75 degrees, and not much humidity either. So thats good for everyone involved here. And especially those horses. All right. That was dylan dreyer in his big red hat at Churchill Downs for us this saturday afternoon. You can watch todays running of the Kentucky Derby starting at 4 00 eastern on your local nbc station. Well, the woman whose taped conversation with Donald Sterling started the fire storm speaks out and defends him. New surprising details this afternoon about those allegations of racism linked to the billionaire who owns the l. A. Clippers. For the first time, were hearing from the two people at the center of the scandal. The 80yearold billionaire sterling broke his silence, telling du jour mag, quote, i wish i had just paid her off. That her refers to his onetime companion. Last night, she told abcs Barbara Walters that his words speak for themselves, but his Actions Prove hes not a racist. Is Donald Sterling a racist . No. I dont believe it in my heart. Have you heard him say derogatory things about minorities in general, blacks in particular . Absolutely. Youve heard him say derogatory things . Yes. Dont they sound racist to you . I think the things he says are not what he feels. Anyone can say anything in the heat of the moment. Espns jamel hill has been following the story closely. Always good to see you. Thanks for being with me. Lets start with that stiviano interview. She really came to Donald Sterlings defense. What do you make of that . Well, can we be all that surprised . If the reports are to be believed, the fact that based off their friendship, shes gotten 1. 8 million, a bentley, and a range rover. I guess that was enough to curry some favor to buy some kind words. I didnt know what to make of it. I think if anybody heard the audio recording that kind of started all this, you could see that, you know, i dont think she even had a clear understanding of what his thought process is like. For her to say that she still doesnt consider him a racist is just unfathomable to me. You wrote today, quote, the clippers players, along with players from other teams who protested sterling by wearing their warmup jerseys inside out and applauded silvers punishment, need to ask themselves if theyre capable of sustained anger. If Donald Sterling wont leave the nba the easy way, theres nothing wrong with making his stay as painful as possible. For most of sterlings tenure, the clippers were considered an nba wasteland. They can be turned into that again. How do you suggest players, fans, and even coach doc rivers and the owners, how do they go about doing that . Heres the thing. I think that, as i alluded to in the column, this is going to be a pretty long fight. It may honestly may be a fight that the nba might not win. Donald sterling has a very deserved reputation as someone who loves litigation. When he was a trial lawyer, he estimated he tried over 10,000 cases. If you look at his history as an owner, hes sued a former coach. Hes had nasty arbitration battles. So this is somebody who does not go away quietly. And i think hes going to be very stubborn. And this isnt to say the nba doesnt have a good case. But they have to leave open the possibility that this may not happen as quickly as they think. So they have to ask themselves, even though Donald Sterling has been removed from all team activities, he cant go to practice, cant show up at the arena, if hes still benefitting financially, what are they prepared to do to at least in the interim drive home the point that his ownership is not acceptable to them. What are you hearing about possible buyers for the clippers . Well, i mean, theres been a lot of speculation. Clearly, because theyre in a desirable location of l. A. , they share the staples center, and while they dont necessarily have the history of a los angeles lakers, its still a really good investment. You have oprah winfrey, also magic johnson. He said he wasnt trying to angle to get the clippers, but i would imagine if they became available, youre going to get a long list of people and groups that are trying to get that team because they probably feel like despite all the bad history thats been associated with the clippers, its still a terrific investment. Yeah, a team that at last check at least was valued at somewhere around 600 million. Espns jamel hill, always good to see you. Thanks again. Thank you. Condoleezza rice responds to the students and faculty who wanted to keep her out of their graduation ceremony. Meanwhile, here in d. C. , congress is reviewing the city wide law that decriminalizes marijuana. D. C. s only member of congress, Eleanor Holmes norton, calls the move inappropriate and illegitimate. Shell join me live. Plus, a group of clergy says North Carolinas ban on samesex marriage violates their religious freedoms. Ill talk to one baptist pastor behind the very unusual claim thats now a federal lawsuit. music defiance is in our bones. Defiance never grows old. Citracal maximum. Calcium citrate plus d. Highly soluble, easily absorbed. Disturbing the pantry. Ortho crime files. A house, under siege. Say helto home defense max. Kills bugs inside and prevents new ones for up to a year. Ortho home defense max. Get order. Get ortho®. Hit the beach in florida. And a reunion in seattle. We can afford to take more trips this year. [man] when hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. [woman] so we got our 4star hotels. For half price. Hotwire hotwire. Com festyle in retire ameriprise asked people a simple question can you keep your lifestyle in retirement . I dont want to think about the alternative. I dont even know how to answer that. I mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last. I try not to worry, but you worry. What happens when your paychecks stop . Because everyone has retirement questions. Ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. To get the real answers you need. Start building your confident retirement today. Nehey r [squeals] [ewh ] [baby crying] the great thing about a subaru is you dont have to put up with that new car smell for long. The versatile, 2015 subaru forester. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Female announcer sleep trains interest free ends sunday. Its your last chance to get three years interestfree financing on beautyrest black, stearns foster, serta icomfort; even tempurpedic. Plus, get free delivery, and sleep trains 100day low price guarantee. But hurry sleep trains interest free for 3 event, ends sunday. Sleep train your ticket to a better nights sleep topping saturday headlines now, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has been effectively kicked off the campus of rutgers university. Rice said today she will not be giving the commencement address there. She had been set to give that address may 18th. Protests and sitins from students and faculty over her role in the iraq war have dominated headlines for weeks. Rice wrote on her Facebook Page today that she realizes the invitation to speak had, quote, become a distraction. The universitys president says rutgers respects her decision. Arkansass attorney general announced today that he supports samesex marriage. The state has a constitutional ban against samesex couples marrying, but the attorney general tells the Associated Press hell continue to defend that law in Court Despite his personal opinions. A judge is set to rule by friday in a lawsuit challenging arkansass ban. Dustin mcdaniel, the democrat, is the first statewide office in arkansas to speak out in support of samesex marriage. Secretary of state john kerry has been subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight committee. Congressman issa wants kerry to answer questions about the administrations response to the september 11th, 2012, attacks on the american diplomatic outpost in benghazi. Kerry plans to be in mexico that day, and that the department will review his schedule. House lead verers have called f new committee to investigate. There are reports now that Speaker Boehner is preparing to create a special select committee to look into benghazi. Is that something you have talked to him about at all . What is your reaction to that . That would be news to me. Ive not been informed by the speaker of his plans to establish such a commission, is it . Benghazi is such a very sad event, more than event, a tragedy. Youll be able to catch that entire interview tomorrow at 8 00 a. M. On up with steve kornacki. A congressional subcommittee will be holding a hearing next week on washington, d. C. s proposed new law decriminalizing marijuana. Under the new law, those found with small amounts of pot would be subject to a 25 fine, not jail time. Smoke pot, meanwhile, in public remains illegal. That bill passed the d. C. Council with a 101 vote back in march. The mayor signed it into law. So why does congress have the final say on a local ordinance . I want to bring in washington, d. C. Democrat congresswoman Eleanor Holmes norton. Youre scheduled to be testifying on the House Committee on this may 8th. I am. Because there should be no hearing on this. Why do you think the committee has decided to even take a look at this thing . This committee and im on the full committee, not the subcommittee has looked at the conflict between local and federal laws on marijuana, and youll note that 18 states have decriminalized marijuana. We are now simply joining them. But in none of those hearings was any local official calls. Now, hes tried to call local officials, and hes going to get at least some or perhaps a police official. When you say he . That is john micah, the chair of the subcommittee. Hes at odds with how the full committee has treated d. C. , which is, you know, d. C. Things are for d. C. Hes respected home rule. John micah is now into way overreach because hes calling hes looking at our law, singling out our law. Now, our law, as it turns out, has the layover. This is another one of the illegitimate actions of congress. It has the layover for 60 days. So it could be a run up to trying to overturn the law. Im going to testify and say, dont even try. The last time the law was overturned by congress was 1991, right . Thats right. They dont they usually dont to it up front. They sneak it into some other bill. But we shouldnt be having this at all. And note the reason the council moved so quickly. By the way, not as quickly as other states. And there was a study done that showed that africanamericans are eight times more likely to be arrested for Marijuana Possession than whites in the district of columbia, the progressive district of columbia. By the way, thats a nationwide phenomenon as well. Do you ever get tired of this . Do you ever get tired of spending so much time in d. C. Trying to convince your friends and colleagues to stop picking on the redheaded stepchild that has become washington, d. C. . That is such a good question. If i were not a thirdgeneration washi washingtonian but politically, whats it about . Why do so many members of congress feel compelled to stick their collective noses in the business of running the city . The fact is, weve beat them back by going strong at them for most of the time. But there will always be an outlier who says, here is an opportunity for me to show off an issue back home. Thats interesting. John micah wants to show off to his farright base that hes against marijuana, and he cant do that in the 18 states, so he uses us as the poster child to do it. And were not going to let him get away with it. By the way, his state is one of the worst in the disparity between blacks and whites being arrested for Marijuana Possession. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes norton, good to see you. You should go smoke that. And well leave it there. Thank you as always. A visit to an Animal Shelter led to a discovery that one new jersey family will never forget. The james family found their dog reckless, thats the dogs name, they found reckless more than a year after losing him during hurricane sandy. Reckless escaped from the family home when the fence in the yard was destroyed by the storm. They went to the shelter to get a dog for 10yearold allys birthday. They got their old dog back instead. Body at rest tends to st rest. While a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Staying active can ease arthritis symptoms. But if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. Prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain, and improve daily physical function so moving is easier. Because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain. And its not a narcotic you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. All prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. They all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to deat