Transcripts For MSNBCW NewsNation 20150602

Seem like members of this joint Terrorism Task force were preparing to make arrests, certainly arrest this man, and thats when he pulled the knife. So were waiting to hear more details. It does seem like theres more to this than weve been told so far and were following it very closely, tamron. Seems theres more information to be found out. Pete, i know youll update it if you get updates. Thank you very much. Also developing now, a major shakeup at the tsa this morning amid new concerns about airport safety. That after a scathing report found tsa screeners at dozens of the nations busiest airports failed nearly every time to detect mock weapons which undercover agents tried to smuggle past them. The failure rate if you can believe this 95 . And as a result acting tsa administrator Melvin Carraway on the job since january, has resigned last night. And he was reassigned excuse me by Homeland Security secretary jeh johnson. Smuggled weapons in 67 out of 70 attempt attempts. In one case an alarm sounded but even during a patdown, the screening officer failed to detect the fake plastic explosives. John pistol who ran the tsa until january called the news disturbing. Any of the failures are a concern both from a technology standpoint and then from a training standpoint officers sounding alarms when the technology does detect them. Joining me now, chief Technology Officer at a Security Firm so bruce, lets first start with how these tsa trainers are screened. I think people who travel often certainly seen from time to time where it appears to be someone shadowing as an individual being trained to screen our luggage. There through the security device, but it seems, obviously, from these numbers, somethings going wrong here. You know we dont know what it is. We dont know if its a failure in technology. What pistole said is important, is it technology, is it training, is it people is it the Precheck Program . We havent seen any details. Hopefully, we will. But yes, clearly, something is wrong here. When youre looking at 70 attempts 67 of them where individuals smuggled in mock weapons and devices that could have been an explosive, that to me goes beyond hey, whats wrong to a slight of outrage might be warranted. This isnt even new. I looked up some past reports, 2003, there were similar reports, 2006 in newark theres a 90 failure rate 2007 at los angeles airport failure rate there have been lots of tests over the years that have been bad. The tsa has been able to spin it as isolated incidents and airports, this is more broad and worse. I dont think this is a new problem. I think this is a newly public report. But yes, this is disturbing. What are we paying for . If it is not a new problem and this report proves that some of these very issues that you pointed out that have been reported on in the past, discussed in the past have not been improved what does it do when youre reassigning some of those at the top of the food chain . Reminds me of the secret service, people being reassigned and very few people shown the door. Well thats interesting. Were used to people not being fired for mistakes in the administration. I thought it was interesting he was reassigned and wasnt fired. I dont know. This is going to be an investigation, its going to be changes, really have to wait and see if there will be changes, but right now were seeing very very expensive security and were right to ask, what are we paying for here what should we expect, is it really this bad, and hopefully secrecy wont keep us from knowing whats going on. Bruce, as we introduce you as a security expert if youre in charge of this looking at the problem, 95 failure rate to your point, the funds are there, theres not a shortage of dollars going the way of tsa and certainly not a shortage of rules we have to follow when we go through these airports what would you say would be the first thing that you would thoroughly examine here . You have to examine the whole system and see what failed exactly what failed and how. There are a couple of points to remember. One is we dont need perfect security. I just need something good enough that the terrorists cant build a plot around smuggling something through. So if you failed to detect 10 , thats still good enough because youre going to ruin someones day if they try to bring a gun through Airport Security and the terrorist wont try it. 95 rate you got a good shot at getting it through. Listen in this one case the alarm sounded, but even during a patdown, the screening officer failed to detect fake plastic explosives, so is that an individual failure, is that a poor training, the magnatometer went off and the person was then patted down. What i can tell from that the agent was wearing explosives on his back it was flat this is hard to detect. We learned this when we learned about the underwear bomber its very easy to mold it and shape it and very hard to detect. Another lesson from this story and all the other stories is that even with this lousy security, there has been no incidents. Terrorism is so rare and most of our security happens not at the airport. Airport security is the last line of defense. We dont know whats been thwarted, whats been stopped. Maybe they havent tried yet. When we say theres been no incidents, not like we have reports where an individual airport a terrorist was pulled out. Thats exactly right. We publicize all of these things, there havent been any. Terrorism is rare. It happens very occasionally and most of our successes happen before the plot gets to the airport. The liquid bombers from 2006 we caught them in their london apartments, their plot was designed to get through Airport Security and we got them 20 miles from the airport. A lot of our safety comes before the airport. We need to get better Airport Security but remember that were still safe even with this lousy Airport Security. Its kind of amazing. It is amazing. Thank you so much we greatly appreciate it. And developing right now, lawmakers are demanding answers from amtrak and federal safety regulators over the deadly Train Derailment in philadelphia that left eight people dead. The House Transportation Committee is holding a hearing on capitol hill and lawmakers want to know why amtrak has not moved faster to install newer technologyies designed to slow down trains going too fast. In 2008 congress set a deadline to set up positive train controller by the end of the year. The train was going 106 Miles Per Hour in philly when it hit a curb where the speed limit was 50 miles an hour. Earlier amtraks president promised it would be installed by the deadline. I still believe the single greatest contribution that my generation of railroaders can make to this industry is to implement as rapidly as possible and i promise you that by the end of this year this system which will dramatically enhance safety, will be complete. Kelly odonnell joins us now from capitol hill. So we have the promise, but it came after fatalities these innocent people on that train and many of asked the question in the past, kelly, why do we need to or why is it we see action after loss of life . So often that is the case tamron. I thought it was notable with the ceo of amtrak his voice broke there. There was almost a choking back of emotion, and as weve been listening to the hearing, i can tell you that the debate that came out right after the accident is playing out again today. The question of where are the resources going, how are they being allotted, is congress providing enough money for infrastructure and those who have questions in congress that are directed to the amtrak officials, is it a case of the money being used in the proper order of prioritization within amtrak . Are they spending the money where it needs to be spent first . One of the criticisms of amtrak is that they have not emphasized enough of whats needed in the very busy and the profitable section of the northeast corridor when there are other regions of the country where a. M. Trok ismtrak is working with empty cars and fewer passengers and so forth, so that debate going forward. We also learned there has been no identified mechanical problem in respect to the crash in philadelphia. So they are looking at human factors. Thats just an interim statement, but it is an indication of where they are at this point. And so the questions about money and priorities linger today and thats what they are trying to get to the bottom of at this hearing. Tamron . Thank you very much. Greatly appreciate it. Also developing now on capitol hill the u. S. Senate is holding a vote on the usa freedom act, a revised persian of the patriot act that expired sunday at midnight. The bill would transfer the bulk collection of data away from the nsa and into the hands of telephone companies. If the Senate Passes the bill as is, today it would go to the president s desk for signature, but some senate republicans, including Mitch Mcconnell are pushing for amendments that would send the legislation back to the house. House sponsors of the bill already say they will oppose any changes to the legislation. And we are following developing news right now regarding the 2016 race for president. Six republican president ial hopefuls are gathered in florida at Walt Disney World this morning for an economic summit hosted by governor rick scott, Jeb Bush Chris Christie mike huckabee, bobby jindal and scott walker are taking part in the president ial cattle call in orlando. Florida native marco rubio kicked off the event this morning by video link. He was attended to stay in person but had to stay in d. C. To take part in todays senate vote. There are new developments on the democratic side as well. This while the Clinton Campaign announced a big rally in new york in ten days where she will formally launch her campaign. Here with our first read today is nbc news Political Editor carrie dann. I think they call it the happiest place on earth. I believe thats what disney is called but some of the internal back and forth between these president ial candidates certainly not the happiest of situations. Thats right, tamron. When the governor of a state like florida, which is so important, both in the primary contest and the general election, asks you to come to his economic summit and youre a republican candidate running for president , its a great invitation to go. Youre seeing six Candidates Plus marco rubio by video, wanting to talk about their economic visions and try to differentiate themselves a little. This is a field where you have a variety of people trying to appeal to regular voters im like you, and talk about more of an economic populism. I think thats something youre going to hear from these candidates in flords today. Ida today. It will be interesting to see, we saw from the republicans a back and forth of the patriot act, mostly being rand paul the target of some of the pretty strong comments from senator john mccain, lindsey graham, who announced his campaign. Will we see that regarding the direction of the economy, do you think . I think thats definitely something that may come up on the economy, and by the way, most of these candidates in florida are going to be taking questions from the press, something republicans are doing in a very enthusiastic manner to differentiate themselves from Hillary Clinton, who they say is not taking enough questions from the press, so well hear journalists asking the candidates on the economy and the patriot act, really put into full view and emphasized yesterday when senator lindsey graham, perhaps the most hawkish on the surveillance issues contrasted himself pretty directly with rand paul in his announcement yesterday. Lets talk about Hillary Clinton. I think everyone is okay wait a minute not official the official is ten days from now, how will this be different from the big rollout that we saw, the meet and greet round tables in iowa . Thats right, Hillary Clinton made her official announcement back in april with a video, but this is going to be her first big campaign rally. Its something that actually critics said in 2008 Hillary Clinton really didnt do when she ran for president before. She didnt give a big speech that outlined why she should be president and even what she said might have been about her than voters, that was a criticism back then. I think the Clinton Campaign would like to look at this june 13th event as a chance to press the reset button on her campaign. Shes been getting negative press about the way press has been handled while shes been in the race. This will be a first big opportunity for her to talk to the electorate as a whole and lay out her vision. Hes doing that in new york city. Shes doing it at a park named for Franklin Delano roosevelt, so aiming for a big comparison between herself and one titan of democratic politics. Carrie dann thank you so much. Also developing this hour hundreds of people are still missing after a tourist boat capsized in central china. The Passenger Ship carrying 458 people sunk in the Yangtze River yesterday. Just 15 people have been brought to safety and five people are now confirmed dead according to the associated press. Nbcs chief global correspondent bill neilely has the latest. Hello, tamron its now clear this is chinas worst Passenger Ship disaster in almost 70 years. More than 400 people are still missing. Relatives who, of course are distraught are asking not just how did the ship sink but how come the captain escaped and survived . The search for survivors is a desperate one. Rescuers hammering on the overturned hull to try to make contact with passengers still trapped inside but time is running out on the Yangtze River, where the ship with more than 450 onboard sank in rough weather. Some people have been rescued. This 65yearold woman was pulled out by divers. A few managed to swim ashore but after a day of searching, hope is fading for so many more on the eastern star which was carrying 406 chinese tourists, five guides and at least 47 crew. Chinas official News Agency Says the ships captain and chief engineer are among the survivors. And both are now in police custody. Reports say the cruise ship sank in less than two minutes. No distress call was sent. Chinese leaders have rushed to the scene. Thousands of police and rescuers are helping, but weather conditions are poor and visibility low leaving relatives clinging to fading hopes that their loved ones will be pulled out. Well, the captain has told police there was a cyclone, the ship sank very quickly. While most of the passengers were asleep. There was no distress call and relatives want to know why the captain apparently took no Emergency Action and why he abandoned his passengers and survived. Tamron . Bill thank you. Developing now in just a few minutes, president obama will award the nations highest military honor to two men. One africanamerican and one jewish man who not only fought enemy forces during world war i, but battled discrimination back here at home. Ill talk live with our very own medal of honor recipient, colonel jack jacobs, to discuss their stories next. Audible safety beeping audible safety beeping audible safety beeping the nissan rogue with safety shield technologies. The only thing left to fear is you imagination. Nissan. Innovation that excites. When i started at the shelter, no one wanted benny. So i adopted him. Hes older so he needs my help all day. When my back pain flared up i was afraid i would have to give him away. I took tylenol at first but i had to take 6 pills to get through the day. Then my friend said, try aleve. Just 2 pills, all day. And now, im back for my best bud aleve. All day strong. And try aleve pm now with an easy open cap. Your pet. 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Private Henry Johnson was a member of an allafricanamerican unit known as the harlem hell fighters being honored, Teddy Roosevelt once called johnson one of the five bravest americans to serve in world war i. William shemin being honored for his heroism also in france. In 2011 Congress Approved the William Shemin jewish world war i act requiring the pentagon to determine whether Jewish American veterans of world wars i and ii were denied the medal of honor because of antisemitism. Joined now by retired army colonel jack jacobs who was awarded the medal of honor during the vietnam war. Thank you so much for joining us. My measure. Rough count, this would be about the 43rd person honored in this way by president obama. Most of them post humanous. These individuals, you talked to their families, long time coming, as they say. Long time one of the longest i can remember. The pentagon frequently has review boards that determine which among the people recommended for lesser awards or who were recommended for the medal of honor so receive the award or get upgraded. It happens all the time now, recognizing the system is imperfect, its run by human beings lots of instances which people did things and few people saw it the witnesses themselves were killed in action there were no further witnesses left or there was outright discrimination, which has happened frequently. Absolutely, and its interesting these stories highlight the sad part of our history as it relates to discrimination. You know my dad was in the army for 30 years and talked about how in vietnam he was fighting there with white guys from the south and they were really brothers, but then when he came out of the military to be faced with the world and the discrimination that was taking place in texas and everywhere else. Such an interesting experience for him. Military forces werent even integrated until 47 or 48 by harry truman who himself was a combat soldier, he was in the artillery as an officer, a battery commander in the first world war, so he knows what hes talking about, but weve had a long history and tradition of knowing people who have made their sacrifices for the country. Im reminded of the 42nd Regimental Combat Team the most highly decorated unit in the United States army made up almost exclusively of japaneseamericans who with their families were put into concentration camps at the beginning of world war ii and designated as enemy aliens and who demanded to go fight against the enemies of the republic and eventually formed their own unit. We have to Pay Attention to these things because if we dont, i think were being and i think the government also believes, most people believe, that were not being true to ourselves. Weve got to recognize those people who have done their bit. I mean medal of honor recipient named ted ruben who was recommended four separate times, finally received it 55 years after the fact. Interesting again noting these two men deprived of this honor because of discrimination and here we are, fast forward, still discussing the equality that Women Deserve in the military as well as the debate that continues about gays serving in the military. You know of course the Society Changes and except for language, i think, nothing changes faster than culture. And were in a period of rapid change. And now we have threats that we have to deal with with a very small force. I think we better be cognizant of the fact there are lots of people who want to serve this country and we better Pay Attention. People from all walks of life who are willing to give up their life for ours. You know, youre looking at somebody, we talked about this before i think everybody whos lucky enough has to do something for it in the form of service and maybe even have to sacrifice, but if you talk to anybody whos been discriminated, any service or one of the service was discriminated against, all tell you the same thing, they were in it to defend the country and also in it to take care of each other and i think thats got to be worthy. The ceremony is beginning now. Lets listen in. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States. We read in the sacred songs, even were i to walk in a ravine as dark as death, i should fear no danger for you are at my side. Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me. Let us pray. All powerful ever living lord of all, may you guide this time this gathering, as we remain mindful of the costs paid for our liberty. We gather here in gratitude for the men we recognize today, for their courage, their faithfulness, and their selfless service. May the lives of sergeants Henry Johnson and William Shemin remind us the soldiers heart, the soldiers spirit and the soldiers soul are everything. Keep us mindful always of these men, of their acts of valor, their witness to the indomitable Human Capacity for good even in the face of the most inhuman conditions of the battlefield. May these soldiers their acts of heroism, continue to form the fabric of our nations unyielding devotion to protect the dignity of all humanity of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Let us take to heart these words once spoken after battle that it is for us the living to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought have so nobly advanced. God of redemption and grace, i ask these things in your name. Amen. Good morning, everybody, please be seated. Welcome to the white house. Nearly 100 years ago, a 16yearold kid from the midwest named Frank Buckles headed to europes western front. An ambulance driver he carried the wounded to safety. He lived to see our troops ship off to another war in europe and one in korea, vietnam, iraq, afghanistan. Frank buckles became a quietly powerful advocate for our veterans and remained that way until he passed away four years ago. Americas last surviving veteran of world war i. On the day frank was laid to rest in Arlington National cemetery, Vice President biden and i went to pay our respects, and we werent alone. Americans from across the country came out to express their gratitude, as well. They were of different ages different races, some military some not, most had never met frank, but all of them braved a cold winters day to offer a final tribute to a man with whom they shared a powerful conviction, that no one who serves our country should ever be forgotten. We are a nation a people, who remember our heros. We take seriously our responsibilities to only send them when war is necessary. We strive to care for them and their families when they come home, we never forget their sacrifice. And we believe that its never too late to say thank you. Thats why were here this morning. Today, america honors two of her sons who served in world war i nearly a century ago. These two soldiers were roughly the same age, dropped into the battlefields of france at roughly the same time. They both risked their own lives to save the lives of others. They both left us decades ago, before we could give them the full recognition that they deserved. But its never too late to say thank you. Today we present americas highest military declaration, the medal of honor, to private Henry Johnson and sergeant William Shemin. I want to begin by welcoming and thanking everyone who made this day possible. Family, friends, admirers. Some of you have worked four years to honor these heros, to give them the honor they should have received a long time ago. We are grateful that you never gave up. We are appreciative of your efforts. As a young man, Henry Johnson joined millions of other africanamericans on the great migration from the rural south to the industrial north. People in search of a better life. He landed in mixed sodas at a pharmacy worked in a coal yard and as a porter at a train station. When the United States entered world war i, henry enlisted. He joined one of only a few units that he could, the allblack 369th infantry regimen, the harlem hell fighters and soon he was headed overseas. At the time our military was segregated, most black soldiers served in labor battalions not combat units, but the general sent the 369th to fight with the french army which accepted them as their own. Quickly, the hell fighters lived up to their name and in the early hours of may 15th 1915 Henry Johnson became a legend. His battalion was in northern france tucked into a trench. Some slept, but he couldnt henry and another soldier stood sentry among no mans land. In the predawn it was pitch black and silent and then a click, the sound of wire cutters. A german Raiding Party, at least a dozen soldiers maybe more fired a hail of bullets. Henry fired back until his rifle was empty. Then he and needham threw grenades. Both of them were hit. Needham lost consciousness. Two enemy soldiers began to carry him away while another provided cover firing at henry, but henry refused to let them take his brother in arms. He shoved another magazine into his rifle, it jammed he turned the gun around and swung at one of the enemy, knocking him down. Then he grabbed the only weapon he had left his knife, and went to rescue needham. Henry took down one enemy soldier, then the other. The soldier he knocked down with his rifle recovered and henry was wounded again, but armed with just his knife, henry took him down too. And finally reenforcements arrived and the last enemy soldier fled. As the sun rose the scale of what happened became clear. In just a few minutes of fighting, two americans had defeated an entire Raiding Party and Henry Johnson saved his fellow soldier from being taken prisoner. Henry became one of our most famous soldiers of the war. His picture was printed on recruitment posters and ads for vktry ry victory war stamps. Former president Teddy Roosevelt wrote that he was one of the bravest men in the war. In 1919 henry rode triumphantly in a victory parade crowds lined for miles cheering for this american soldier. Henry was one of the First Americans to reap frances highest award for valor, but his own nation didnt award him anything. Not even the purple heart, though he had been wounded 21 times. Nothing for his bravery, though he had saved a fellow soldier at great risk to himself. His injuries left him crippled. He couldnt find work. His marriage fell apart, and in his early 30s he passed away. America cant change what happened to Henry Johnson. We cant change what happened to too many soldiers like him who went uncelebrated because our nation judges them by the color of their skin and not the content of their character. But we can do our best to make it right. In 1996 president clinton awarded Henry Johnson a purple heart and today, 97 years after his extraordinary acts of courage and selflessness im proud to award him the medal of honor. We are hoon nornored to be joined today by very special guests, veterans of henrys regiment the 369th thank you to each of you for your service. And i would ask command Sergeant Major louis wilson of the New York National guard to come forward and accept this medal on private johnsons behalf. [ applause ] the president of the United States of america, authorized by acts of Congress March 3rd 1863, has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to private Henry Johnson, United States army. Private Henry Johnson by extraordinary acts of heroism at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a member of company c, 369th infantry regimen, 93rd Infantry Division on may 15th 1918, during combat operations against the enemy on the front lines of the western front in france. In the Early Morning hours, private johnson and another soldier were on sentry duty on a outpost when they received a surprise attack of a german Raiding Party consisting of at least 12 soldiers. While under intense enemy fire and despite receiving significant wounds private johnson mounted a brave retaliation, amounting in several enemy causalities. When his fellow soldier was badly wounded and being carried away by the enemy, private johnson exposed himself to grave danger by advancing from his position to engage the two enemy captors in handtohand combat. Yielding only a knife and gravely wounded himself, private johnson continued fighting, defeating the two captors and rescuing the wounded soldier. Displaying great courage, he continues to hold back the larger enemy force until the enemy retreated, leaving behind a large cache of weapons and equipment. Without quick actions and continued fighting even in the face of almost certain death, the enemy might have succeeded in capturing prisoners in the outpost without bondabandoning intelligence. Above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, company c, 369th infantry regiment, 93rd Infantry Division, and the United States army. [ applause ] [ applause ] growing up in new jersey William Shemin loved sports. Football wrestling, boxing swimming, if it required physical and mental toughness, made your heart pump your muscles ache he was all in. As a teenager he even played semipro baseball. So when america entered the war and posters asked if he was tough enough there was no question about it he was going to serve. Too young to enlist no problem. He puffed his chest and lied about his age. Thats how William Shemin joined the 47th infantry regiment 4th division and shipped out for france. On august 7th 1918 on the western front, the allies were hunkered down in one trench the germans in another, separated by about 150 yards of open space, just a football field and a half but that open space was a bloodbath. Soldier after soldier ventured out and soldier after soldier was mowed down. So those still in the trenches were left with a terrible choice. Die trying to rescue your fellow soldier or watch him die, knowing that part of you will die along with them. William shemin couldnt stand to watch. He ran out into the hell of no mans land and dragged a wounded comrade to safety. Then he did it again. And again. Three times he raced through heavy machine gun fire three times he carried his fellow soldiers to safety. The battle stretched on for days eventually the platoons leadership broke down. Too many officers had become causalities. So william stepped up and took command. He reorganized the depleted squads. Every time there was a lull in combat, he led rescues of the wounded. As a lieutenant later described it william was cool calm intelligent, and personally utterly fearless. That young kid who lied about his age grew up fast in war. And he received accolades for his valor, including the distinguished service cross. When he came home william went to school for forestry and began a nursery business in the bronx. It was hard work lots of physical labor, just like he liked it. He married a redhead, blueeyed woman named bertha shiffer and they had three children who gave them 14 grandchildren. He bought a house upstate where the grandkids spent their summer swimming and riding horses. He taught them how to salute. He taught them the correct way to raise the flag every morning and lower and fold it every night. He taught them how to be americans. William stayed in touch with his fellow veterans too, and when world war ii came william went and talked to the army about signing up again. By then his war injuries had given him a terrible limp, but he treated that limp just like he treated his age all those years ago, pay no attention to that he said he knows how to build roads, he knew camouflage maybe there was a place for him in this war, too. To berthas great relief the army said that the best thing william could do for his country was keep running his business and take care of his family. His daughter elsie, whos here today, with what seems like a platoon of shemins, was a has a theory about what drove her father to serve. He was the son of russian immigrants and he was devoted to his jewish faith. His family lived through the progress she says they saw towns destroyed and children killed. And then they came to america and here they found a haven, a home, success, and my father and his sister both went to college. All that in one generation. Thats what america meant to him. Thats why hed do anything for this country. Well elsie, as much as america meant to your father he means even more to america. Takes our nation too long sometimes to say so because Sergeant Shemin served at a time when the contributions and heroism of Jewish Americans in uniform were too often overlooked. But William Shemin saved american lives. He represented our nation with honor, and so its my privilege on behalf of the American People to make this right and finally award the medal of honor to sergeant William Shemin. I want to invite his daughters, elsie and ida, 86 and 83 and gorgeous, to accept this medal on their fathers behalf. [ applause ] the president of the United States of america, authorized by act of Congress March 3rd 1863 has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to sergeant William Shemin United States army. Sergeant William Shemin distinguished himself by extraordinary acts of heroism at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with second battalion, 47th infantry regimen American Expeditionary forces with combat operations against an armed enemy in france from august 7th to august 9th 1918. Sergeant shemin upon three different occasions left cover and crossed an open space of 150 yards, repeatedly exposing himself to heavy machine gun and rifle fire to rescue wounded. After officers and senior noncommissioned officers had become causalities, Sergeant Shemin took command of the platoon and displayed Great Initiative under fire until wounded on august 9th. Sergeant shemins extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself with the g company, 2nd battalion, 47th infantry regiment, 4th division, American Expeditionary forces, and the United States army. [ applause ] [ applause ] well it has taken a long time for Henry Johnson and William Shemin to receive the recognition they deserve, and there are surely others whose heroism is still unacknowledged and uncelebrated. So we have work to do as a nation to make sure that all of our heros stories are told and well keep at it no matter how long it takes. America is the country we are today because of people like henry and william. Americans who signed up to serve and rose to meet their responsibilities and then went beyond. The least we can do is to say we know who you are, we know what you did for us, we are forever grateful. May god bless the fallen of all of our warriors may you watch over our veterans and their families and all those who serve today. May god bless the United States of america. With that id ask chaplain to return to the podium for benediction. Lord of all, as we go forward today, we ask you to instill within us your peace, your courage, your strength. Lead us to all that is good and brings honor to your creation. Help us to defeat the evils we face each day. Bless us with the wisdom to celebrate and recognize our capacity for good to free the oppressed, let us serve all with valor as these men have shown and witnessed to us today. Be upon us now and remain with us always, amen. With that we conclude the formal ceremony but i welcome everybody to join in a wonderful reception and lets give our medal of honor winners one big round of applause. [ applause ] [ applause ] thank you everybody. An uplifting and reflective ceremony at the white house where the medal of honor was awarded to private Henry Johnson, Sergeant William whos two daughters ages 85 and 86 there to receive their fathers long overdue honor. Well toll the latest news in this last ten minutes. We have an update on secretary of state john kerry. Hes back in the state. Well be right back. Out of 42 vehicles based on 6 different criteria, why did a panel of 11 automotive experts name the Volkswagen Golf motor trends 2015 car of the year . Well give you four good reasons. The Volkswagen Golf. Starting at 19,295, theres an awardwinning golf for everyone. You are looking at two airplane fuel gauges. Can you spot the difference . No . You cant see that . Alright, lets take a look. The one on the right just used 1 less fuel than the one on the left. Now, to an airline a 1 difference could save enough fuel to power hundreds of flights around the world. Hey, look at that. Pyramids. So you see, two things that are exactly the same have never been more different. Ge software. Get connected. Get insights. Get optimized. Developing now, secretary of state john kerry undergoing surgery right now on his broken leg following that bicycle crash. He was at Massachusetts General Hospital in boston last night. He flew from in switzerland. He tweeted. Work goes on. Onward. We have sarah now in boston. Reporter good morning. Surgery to set the bone got started just before 9 00 this morning. This dr. Has previously operated on secretary kerry and flew to europe to monitor here on the trip back to boston. Before he went to surgery this morning, kerry reportedly has a busy morning. The state Department Said he was up at 4 00 a. M. To take part in the International Conference to combat isis. He gave 20 minutes worth of remarks over the phone. The state department shows that work and treatment will continue throughout his recovery. He will not take time off and remains focussed on diplomatic negotiations including with iran. Throughout this ordeal secretary kerry has reportedly maintained in good spirits and remained on social media, tweeting out his thanks to well wishers. Its been quite an hour. Thank you for sticking around for the show. Back tomorrow, every weekend at 11 00 of course. Up next Andrea Mitchell reports. And we see no reason to stop. So cvs health is creating industryleading programs and tools that help people stay on medicines as their doctors prescribed. It could help save tens of thousands of lives every year. And that would be something worth shouting about. Cvs health, because health is everything. Bennys the oldest dog in the shelter. He needed help all day so i adopted him. When my back pain flared up, i thought id have to give him away. I tried tylenol but it was 6 pills a day. With aleve its just 2 pills, all day. Now im back aleve. All day strong. 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Tsa agents failed to prevent Homeland Security teams with guns fake obama cares through getting through airports. Tsa officers failed to detect 67 of 70 attempts of weapons. 95 failure rate. The challenger. Well talk to Bernie Sanders live taking on Hillary Clinton and intelligence establishment now on the line for votes on nsa. Its better than the patriot act. It doesnt go far enough in my i mind in protecting our civil liberties. Survivor story. Nbc exclusive from a Remote Island many the middle of chad refugees fleeing boko haram trying to survive. When medicine a u arrives, it truly hits us. Mothers holding up their babies clamoring for supplies including Water Purification tablets. Aid workers are overwhelmed and they just got here. Good day. Im andrea mitch nel washell in washington. The acting director of tsa has faced serious investigation. According to the report undercover agents from the Homeland Security were able to get banned items including mock ex employees is and weapons through security 95 of the type. Jay johnson has ordered tsa to conduct training at all airports nationwide. Joining us is tom costello. I know these red teams are working all the time have inside guidance to weak spots. This is a dreadful report. It really is. I think we all have seen over the course of 14 years since 9 11 since tsa has been stood up. Weve seen audits in which Homeland Security Inspector General personnel, red teams, go in and probe different airports. In this case they fou