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avo: whatever you can imagine, all in one place expedia, find yours the polls closed in iowa. we're covering the results live there tonight. and in mississippi, whether the tee party will make the first primary win in the senate. first we'll look at the right-wing playbook for the newly released american pow, wounded man not out of the hospital yesterday. swift vote first. ask questions later. >> days after the decision to swap five former taliban commanders for america's only prisoner of war. >> great day for america i could not be angrier. >> growing anger directed at him. >> how much of this do you think is politics. how much of this is going to be

a legitimate inquiry to what actually went on. >> do you think this will feed into the summer of hearings. about benghazi. >> benghazi. benghazi. benghazi. >> those hearings. >> six or seven on the irs. >> these days the republicans will criticize president obama for whatever he does. was bergdahl a hero or deserter. >> let's give bergdahl a chance to tell his story. >> he walked off willingly. would you oppose an operation or swap to get him back. >> puts a whole different light on that. >> president obama is standing by his decision. >> regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be. >> one military law expert who say, what everybody has to do right now is cool down a little bit. >> we still get an american soldier back if he is held in captivity. period. good evening to you. i'm ari melber in for lawrence

o'donnell. there is a lot we don't know about the transfer that returned bowe bergdahl, was he lost or a deserter for example? or whether this trade could lead to larger negotiations with the taliban. what we do know is that bergdahl, a former pow under treatment at a military hospital is being swift boated by the reflexive anti-obama machine. we know that whatever process he may ultimately face, whatever judgment he might ultimately be issued even in a military court, we know that right now, he does deserve better than this. last night, bill o'reilly said bergdahl's father looked muslim. today fox built on theme. >> i mean he says he was growing his beard because his son was, because his son was in captivity. well your son is out now. so if you really don't, no longer want to, look like a member of the taliban, you don't have to look like a member of the taliban. are you out of razors?

>> meanwhile, "the new york times" reported on a very unusual republican project, a former aide to mitt romney, is now organizing a pr push for bergdahl's for former platoon members. look at the unusual line from today's paper we are seeing. yes, i'm angry, joshua cornelison, said in an interview. the important part. in an interview araged by republican strategists. what exactly are republican strategists doing in the middle of that reporting? the times then also went on to quote another former platoon mate of bergdahl who offered a social detail. saying he wouldn't drink beer or eat barbecue and hang out with the other 20-year-olds. in an interview also arranged by republican strategists. those soldiers of course have every right to their views, but many of their new political allies have little interest here in the facts or the history around bergdahl, swift boating is hunting much bigger game.

>> we have a federal statute which makes it a felony to provide material assistance to a terrorist organization. including human assets. so i have argued that by letting these people free, and their natural, probable results of them being let frees they will rejoin this terrorist organization. the president has done what the justice department prosecuted people for, successfully. providing material assistance to a terrorist organization. >> you don't have to listen closely there to hear why conservatives are so downright excited about all of this. this is not a debate for them about policy. about whether this was the right trade. which would be of course the fair debate. it is now a debate about working against america and a pretty conspiratorial link between some of the worst accusations against the former pow which are currently totally unproven. and rhetorical question as but

this particular president's commitment to our national security. >> the release of the five taliban war criminals, sets a troubling precedent. almost indefensible in the face of sergeant bergdahl's status. mr. obama is going to do what he wants to do. and the consequences be damned. i believe that assessment is accurate. just think about it. why would you swap one alleged deserter because surely president obama knows the guy left his unit voluntarily for five, five notorious war criminals? why would anyone do that? it simply doesn't make sense. because these taliban guys will go back to killing people. >> why would anybody do that, bill o'reilly wants to know? why ever release any fighter who targeted americans? that could sound like a damning question to people who have no familiarity with our history whatsoever. but countries of course make tough calls about exchanging pows all the time. and do so often at the end of

many conflicts that involve living with our former enemies. not vanquishing every last one of them. even fox news viewers reminded of that basic historical fact when a former national security counsel from the bush administration was asked about this transfer deal. >> i do think this is a defensible deal. this is not an easy decision. and, and, the national security world often for government, you are caught between hard choices like this. so, certainly this deal can be criticized. but, you know, sometime in the next couple of years, perhaps as early as 2015, we would be required to return these taliban any way. the war in afghanistan is winding down. and we would be required at the end of the conflict to return them. it seems reasonable in this case to get our -- our sergeant bergdahl back not new leave him on the battlefield. return people we would have to return sooner or later anyway. >> bellinger served as bush's

senior counsel and advised the national security counsel. there are of course serious questions to ask about bergdahl, his record and whether the transfer was worth the risk, that exists and we have to measure. it is telling that so many of the loudest voices here on the right today remany utterly uninterested in any of the questions. and are instead obsessed with hurling any accusation that might, just might stick to this particular president. joining me now is karen finny host of a show. >> is he right? >> he is right. he made a very good point. we were going to have to give up those soldiers, or those taliban commanders eventually. we got a soldier that had been captured.

we got a deal. i think what john bellinger is saying, international law matters. and the further prosecution of the issues matters. one of the thing that's been missing is what are we going to do in afghanistan? the taliban is not al qaeda. they are a very large incumbent force that we are going to have to deal with even after we leave afghanistan. we need new look at the strategic context of bergdahl, not the narrow sense of one guy for five taliban commanders. >> those five taliban commanders, come out of a larger number of 600 people at guantanamo who have been released. most have not returned to the battlefield. some have. that is a risk that is involved every team you deal with detention issues. >> right. right. that's exactly right. and what will they do -- will they go back into an operational role? is that a reasonable assumption? why is it the republicans who are criticizing the republicans, two thing thousands, one.

recently as, as just a few weeks ago were urging the administration to do whatever was in their power free bowe bergdahl, i didn't hear any voices raising concerns during the bush administration when a number of individuals were freed. as you pointed out, some did end up going back to the battlefield. >> yeah, to your point about the history here. we get it. there are hypocrisies in pollices. but this is pretty serious. particularly when you look at the kind of innuendo hurdled against a pow that can't get up to speak to defend himself. he is literally being debriefed in a military hospital. as i said, if there is any court martial process. that will play out. let's be yjudicious about that. let's not begin with the questions. on the diplomatic front, i want to play sound at length, is lum niglum -- senator mccain asked about

the transfer swap, out of gitmo. >> the taliban demanded the release of five prisoners from guantanamo in exchange. new discussions led by diplomats and the pentagon are under way. >> would you oppose the idea of some form of negotiations or prisoner exchange. in 2012, you called the idea of negotiating with the taliban, bizarre, highly questionable? >> well, at that time, the proposal was that they would release taliban, some hard core, particularly. five, really hard core, taliban leaders as a confidence building measure. now this idea is for an exchange of prisoners for -- for our american fighting man. i would be inclined to support such a thing, depending on, a lot of the details. >> so if there was some, possibility of some sort of exchange that's something you would support? >> i would support, obviously, i would have to know the details.

but i would support ways of bringing him home and if exchange was one of them, i think that would be something i think we should seriously consider. >> steve, put that in context for us. >> john mccain was a prisoner of war. he understands prisoners of war. we have chuck hagel, secretary of defense who is known as sergeant hagel. it is a sacred responsibility to bring soldiers home that are made prisoners of war. this war is coming to an end. i think john mccain was sensible at that time. you know, dennis mcdonough, the president's chief of staff, said unambiguously yesterday, i was in the room, that he not only knows consultations were held between the white house and the congress. he did the consultations. i'm sure john mccain was part of the consultations at that time among others. i think what you are seeing is a lot of opportunistic, knee jerk, politicking around bergdahl to avoid any foreign approximately

see sequester ses that president obama might try, might be achieving here. the broaderer to in qatar, the taliban have an office. we have been frying trying to se a peace deal, this step with bergdahl is vital to that. >> as we look at the fallout. at what point do attacks on the pow, before his poe ten sthtentn court, if he ever has a day in court, will they backfire on right-wing critics? >> i hope sooner rather than later. i think here is one of the things they have done on the right. they jumbled all of the issues together. they're using surrogates to attack this young man. and attack, an american idea. that you are innocent until proven guilty. by the way. part of what we are supposed to be fighting for. that they have jumbled all of this together so that essentially the focus is on, questioning president obama's decision making. we have a number of different, use here. rather than separating them out

and taking them piece by piece. they are, i think, as steve said, being opportunistic. really disgusting. it was not even, within hours, we saw attacks on this young man. on this decision. there wasn't a moment. you would have licked to have seen a moment of. let's all rejoice as a country that, this young man was freed. then let's deal with the other issues. but we, we barely even got that moment. >> right. the issues are, as we have said. larger than this vichltdindivid. there is nothing more anti-american than being anti-american. to the extent. the attacks are political. the ones from the republicans in "the new york times." people with vendettas against the individual. it is out of bound. i distinguish that from former platoon mates who may have their own views and no political ax to grind. we are going to keep on the story, obviously. karen finny, steve clemens, thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks. >> thank you, ari. >> next, our election night coverage as promised. breaking news and results from iowa and mississippi. republicans are fending off a

tee party challenge. the balance of power and picture in the senate may get clearer tonight. that's straight ahead with steve schmidt, former strategist for john mccain. and what the nra is really afraid of when it comes to restaurants saying no to big guns in their restaurants. the video next up. also we'll look at something, a video that went viral over the weekend. nearly 6 million hits on the story of a goat and a donkey separated and lost without each other. they were reunited. what happened next? the last word is your place for the story. mr. g, the goat, and jellybean the donkey. i have their rescuer here. you don't want to miss that. does your mouth often feel dry? a dry mouth can be a side effect of many medications but it can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath. that's why there's biotene. available as an oral rinse, toothpaste, spray or gel, biotene can provide soothing relief, and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. remember, while your medication is doing you good, a dry mouth isn't.

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>> you may have heard it is primary night in america. the polls just closed in iowa, awaiting results in a mississippi race that could put a tea partier in the senate. my guests join me next.

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sites you feel are acceptable. teach them how to deal with cyber bullies and encourage them to navigate safely. the more you know. we return to our election coverage tonight. eight states have voted to day in the two most closely watched races. the votes counted in iowa. polls closed minutes ago at 10:00 p.m. the political newcomer going into the race as the front-runner. a five person gop primary. the winner there, needs 35% of the vote tonight to move to a general election campaign. if no one reaches that threshold in iowa, a state convention that will pick the winner. now you may recall, first, drew national attention with this ad. >> i grew up castrating hogs on an iowa farm, so when i get to washington i will go now how cut pork. >> she distinguished her selves and drew endorsements from sarah

palin, marco rubio and mitt romney. stakes may be higher in mississippi. polls close at 8:00 p.m. eastern. we have numbers. right now with 58.7% of resin kts reporting, thad cochran has a slight lead over chris mcdaniels. senator cochran has 58%. we are going to go, i think, let's go directly out. casey hunt, e.j.dion, steve schmidt with us tonight. let's go right to you, casey, on the numbers. what do we hear? >> at this point it is anybody's guess. this is a very, very, close race. all along. senator cochran has had a little bit of an edge. no one in the campaign is sure that will hold. they're up in some places. not as far up as they would look to be in some other places. at this point we are watching for the remote possibility that

this could head to a run-off. there is actually a third candidate in this race. if no one hits 50%. if the third candidate's margin is bigger than the difference between cochran and mcdaniels. we could see three weeks of the race. still an outside chance at this point. with the numbers so close, there is no telling if that could happen or not. >> casey, what are you hearing from any folks on the cochran campaign? >> they started out this night nervous, but cautiously optimistic. i will say, i was here a few months ago. it was a situation where mcdaniel was trying to come from behind. sort of, you know the tea party candidate. no one was sure if he was going to catch fire. pretty clear he has -- caught fire in the meantime. he was sort of taken down a peg by this, nursing home scandal. some supporters of his were arrested. in conjunction with a break in to senator cochran's wife's bedside. that has sort of scrambled the race. between the mcdaniel's surge,

fading in the face of that. and cochran's campaign sort of keeping on forward. it, we have ended up at a pin the where no one really knows what the outcome is going to be. >> e.j., what is your view? i know you were out and about today. looking at what the mcdaniel campaign has been up to. what is your view of this race right now? i think the mcdaniel folks. up in hattiesburg tonight. let's give rub rubs in the state credit. but the mcdaniel people, really believe that they have sent a message, one way or the other. because, they have really -- if cochran ekes this out, they believe this does not mean an end to the tea party. there is this run-off possibility team. the first person to suggest this rather gleefully, ricky coal, the democratic chairman who

would devoutly love the campaign to continue. because democrats actually have a plausible candidate in former congressman, travis childress. most people around here don't think childress can defeat cochran. but if mcdaniel were to pull this out -- and particularlybite weeks, you would have the odd possibility of a real contest for a senate race in mississippi. which no one was anticipating at the beginning of the year. >> right. steve schmidt, this is a, this is a place where -- the republicans in presidential years, pull about 55%. that's a lot. not necessarily out of the ballpark for a democrat under the right circumstances. walk us through the fact that when we say as a reporter tonight. thad cochran up a couple points. 42-year incumbent. these kinds of races typically aren't suppose to be close in the first place, steve.

no, look, thad cochran didn't run a great campaign. questions abut his residency in the state. mcdaniel ran a great insurgent campaign against him. in a part of the country where the tea party is alive, well, thriving, very upset with the establish. in washington, d.c. i think at the end of the day, what might have happened here is the dirty trick perpetrated by people really close to mcdaniel may have been enough off to put thad cochran over the top. over the threshold -- very, very narrowly, to aindividuvoid a ru situation. still early in the night out there. a very, very close race. and does point out thad cochran's vulnerability in the state. still tough to see how democrats would pick the state up in november. >> yeah, you mentioned some of that. in sort of the hangover of the dirty tricks. cochran seized on that. in an ad. let's actually listen to that. >> chris mcdaniel's radio

co-host, fund raiser, hometown friend charged with felonies. the mcdaniel campaign scandal spreads. had enough? >> senator thad cochran is ltd best of what makes mississippi great. navy veteran endorsed by nra, the governor, and national right to life and voted against obama care more than 100 times. >> got to get the 100th anti-obama vote, 99, you don't know if you are against us. walk us through how the ads are working and the idea that cochran despite his voting record was somehow beating back charges he was insufficiently conservative for this electorate. >> well, this was, less about -- mcdaniel's people have been trying to cast him as insufficiently conservative. cochran has been running on the idea. he brings back all the federal money to the state. obviously something that doesn't resonate with tea party voters around here. but, you know, at this point, those ads, you know late in the campaign. particularly the nursing home ad that you played a little bit of. it has clearly had an impact on

mcdaniel. he was surging here. in the weeks before that ad went up on the air. the cochran campaign has really seized on it. and, and focused on it. i will say there is a little dissent among cochran supporters for how effective the campaign was and handling the nursing home scandal. in the press, the campaign went out there and litigated it. some times back and forth. questioning statements. mcdaniel kachl pacampaign had m. made them look like they were getting down in the mud. there were some who say that was a bad idea. that actually activated mcdaniel supporters to feel defensive and be more excited to go out to the polls and stand up for him. >> e.j., your thoughts? >> i think also the story had a weird double edge to it. did get a discussion going of cochran's relationship with an

aide who traveled with him. a lot of people i talked to wondered if the whole thing was a wash. >> yeah, steve, we are now seeing that with about, we are doing breaking news here, what we are learning with about 70% in. we see cochran, just edging up over the 50% mark. give us the break you, does he hold his own in the rest of the precincts. >> too close to say. when you are sitting on election night. you have 70% in. up over 50%. a close race. you are feeling good. but you are not totally thinking this is in the bag. and of course, both campaigns are looking abut what par aing state are ballots coming in from. what's j what's outstanding?

are they coming from the state where each man has an advantage on the model? depending on where the outstanding ballots are. that will be the tale for the evening. >> that's what we'll be watching. steve schmidt, thank you. casey and e.j., on location in mississippi. thank you as well. >> good to be with you. >> thank you, ari. great to be with you. >> have fun, enjoy the live band. voters in one state tonight are deciding if they want to secede and become the 51st state. where? why is this happening? that's up next. e brain. little things, anyone can do. it steals your memories. your independence. insures support. a breakthrough. and sooner than you'd like... ...sooner than you think. ...you die from alzheimer's disease. ...we cure alzheimer's disease. every little click, call, or donation adds up to something big. alzheimer's association. the brains behind saving yours. sfx: car unlock beep.

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in the spotlight tonight, a big vote in california not abou it is about secession. holding votes about seceding to create a new state. at this hour votes are coming in counties where residents voted on a ballot measure proposing a 51st state. they want to call it jefferson. that would join four northern counties that voted to join the movement. another secession vote next week. organizers say secession will ensure rural and smaller communities have more power and more control over their own particular way of life. documentary filmmaker alexander pelosi got a firsthand account of why they feel the need to secede. >> i'm here at northern border of california where they're voting on whether or not to secede from the rest of california. and form the 51st state. >> fire!

♪ [ drum roll ] >> why do you want to secede from california? >> the reason we need to do this is our survival depends upon it. most of the legislators in sacramento have never been to the northern rural counties? what we would look from sacramento is representation so that we can help determine the direction our own lives take. men and women will die here today. i want you to think about that. >> you are starting your own civil war now? >> this is the civilest of wars. this is about taxation without representation. we know our votes don't count. the urban aagenda, the urban legislators overwhelm us. the time has come for 51. we have to do this now. >> interrupting you? >> no, that's all right.

we are having fun fighting. >> we have nothing against san francisco and los angeles. there are just laws that get passed in those areas by those representatives that don't necessarily have the view point of what we have up here. if the government is not willing to come up here and visit with us. we can't expect them to understand this. some times i feel like, i am treated like a foreigner in my own state. some times i feel like they treat, the county, like it is -- like, you know another world, or another country. like we have to have -- you know, an embassy up here so we can have representation from, from sacramento to come up here and actually pay attention to us. >> it is totally different cultures. we are rural people. being told what to do by a bunch of multimillionaire people. that are all fine with smoking pot. but if you want to -- own a firearm, well, i guess you are -- that's, no. that's not good. so it is okay to get stoned. but it's not okay to defend yourself if somebody breaks into

your house. >> but if you uh get your 51st state hour, are you going to sustain yourself? you don't have business here. hollywood has movies. san francisco has tech. you don't have anything here? >> this area has ranching. it has farming. it has lumber. it has mining. it has fishing. along the coast. there are lots of things that can be done here. let us have our own state so we can live the way we want to. >> joining me, former san francisco mayor, willie brown. and political strategist, who worked for president obama and senator clinton. welcome to you both? >> thank you. >> thank you. >> mayor brown, let me start with you. what's going on out there? >> well, that has been some, some form of a concept for a very long time. people have wanted representation, tailored to just them. even though they are in a distinct minority in terms of numbers they're very poor place,

they do not offer anything to the rest of the state of california. except maybe a little built land. and there is not much population. so they really are struggling for what they don't have. and that is -- exclusive representation. they have general representation, like the rest of us. they want exclusive. >> yeah, and i though you have been a practitioner of politics and student of political history. secession is a big recurring theme in our history. not just in the south, i should mention mention, a map that shows what the u.s. would look like if previous attempts had been successful. kind of crazy. we would have 124 states ein total. what do you make of the recurring or perpetual interest in and out of the south. in and out of the confederate reference to, to the politicians of secession. >> yeah, look this is not really a new problem. i mean, the country mouse and city mouse have been at loggerheads since the time. but i would argue this is a new

phenomena, something that is really different from the previous secession movements in the country. a movement that has really been exacerbated by an extreme brand of tea party rhetoric that has really exploited a real crisis in rural america. if you think about it. you heard on the video there. a lot of discussion about access to high caliber guns. what about providing high quality education. which would do much more for rural america and plight of rural america. didn't hear anything about that. didn't hear anything beyond resentment. no, no real positive solutions to the problems of rural americans. >> yeah, mayor brown what do you make of that. and theied is being in rural california, not to generalize, people don't think of the tea party being as strong on the west coast. nor there being as much of an interest in second amendment absolutism. >> well in part. it clearly has implications for the tea party.

and it comes with the tea party's blessings. the conservative attitude. the absence of any full understanding of diversity t the indifference to almost every other problem that human beings experience regardless of where they live. you cannot live like that. you have got to be thinking of everybody. and you have got to be contributing and one fashion or another to a solution to all of the problems, not just making it, a bigger problem for yourself, by isolation. that's what this movement is attempting to do? >> let's look at this a little bit in the broader political context. we were in the previous block, looking at mississippi, and tape party challenge there, and a lot of calls for, a more historical conservatism. do you think in some sense, the republican party gets to benefit from some of the passions and everybody feeling like they're into american history? or do you think this is really going to hobble them as they look towards another national

race in 2016. >> going to definitely hobble them. only 16% of americans live in rural america. a number dropping every year. a century, 72% lived in rural america. the declean of rural america is a big reason why the republicans have lost the popular vote in five of six elections. however, as these voters have vanished, you have seen the rhetoric become more extreme. and, you know we talk about the tea party, versus gop. this last weekend we just had the star of duck dynasty, at a republican leadership skon frens. that te -- leadership conference. that tells you where the gop is going. not in a place designed to to answer any of the real needs of people in rural california and the rest of, rest of rural america really do have. if you look at for example in california, the parts of the state that really want to secede, they, that is the part of the state that has been most affected by climate change. the terrible drought in

california. however, the republican leadership, including that star of duck dynasty was clear they deny that. >> mayor brown. about to go. the last point i want to mention. california counties that are looking at this on secession. have 25% of california's land mass. 1% of the population. sort of the reverse of maybe what you had in san francisco. so, in that sense, are they, are they really -- out of leverage as they ask for more power? >> they're totally out of leverage. when this country went to one man, one vote, and baker versus car, the power of the people who had small populations began to wane. it is now in fact where it should be. we ought to be representing people, not land. we should be representing people. not trees. that's what this nation has said in its democratic way. and believe me, rural america, has got to be obedient to that,

as rural america was years ago. >> one person, one vote. seems to make more sense than one tree, one vote. willie brown, thank you both for joining me tonight. coming up what really scares the nra. that's next.

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the big gun news yesterday was the nra struck a different note by calling out activists brandishing assault weapons on their burrito runs. the gun news tonight, the nra is backing off the statement. and that is next. show 'em the curve. ♪ do you know what this means? the greater the curvature, the bigger the difference. [sci-fi tractor beam sound] ...sucked me right in... it's beautiful. gotta admit one thing... ...can't beat the view. ♪ introducing the world's first curved ultra high definition television from samsung. out for drinks, eats. i have very well fitting dentures. i like to eat a lot of fruits. love them all. the seal i get with the super poligrip free keeps the seeds from getting up underneath. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles.

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the more you know,the better you can plan for what's ahead. talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum♪ [announcer] call 1-800-farmers and see how much you could save. the nra drew lots of attention when it disagreed with a pro gun group. open carry texas for bringing asalt rifles to some kind of gun solidarity stunt. >> over 100 of the group's members gathered outside stores this weekend. chipotle was so worried about

demonstrations it asked customers around the country to leave their guns at home when they went on burrito runs. the statement noted while unlicensed open carry of long guns is typically legal in most places a rare sight to see some one saddle up in line for lunch with a 762 point rifle slung across his chest. not only is it rare it's downright weird. open carry texas didn't like that. and responded saying if the nra wouldn't detract their disgusting, disrespectful comments, oct will have no choice but to with dradraw its support of the nra and establish relationships with other gun organizations. what did the nra do? backed down. the lobbyists went on a radio show, nra show, the statement they posted was the view of one staffer expressing a personal opinion. >> the truth is, an alert went out that referred to this type of behavior as weird. or somehow not normal. and that was a mistake. it shouldn't have happened.

i have had a discussion with the staffer who wrote that piece. and expressed his personal opinion. >> personal opinion. okay. maybe the nra has employees who think the website is actually their personal blog. but this whole exchange is actually far more revealing than the nra ever intended. and that's because it had to explain why. why did it object to the open carry demonstrations in the first place. the criticism was not that some one might get hurt. but that their political standing might get hurt. here is the first statement again. if it explained that, when people act without thinking or without consideration for others especially when it comes to firearms, they set the stage for further restrictions on our rights. firearms, challenges. we don't need to be the victims of friendly fire. the nra isn't against brandishing assault weapons balls it is dangerous, menacing,

provocative but a risk for firearm owners facing a challenge on any rules on their guns which in the statement the nra tastelessly refers to as friendly fire. that's why nay see all of this as just tactics. >> what is the best tactic to win? that's what we are interested in. we are not interested in distracti distractions. or are gug wiguing with the new. we are interested in winning. >> sadly the only confusion is about whether the nra actually thought bringing assault rifles to dinner was a bad idea. they don't think it is a bad idea. they just think it is bad pr. >> ultimately what this comes down to is a tactics discussion. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas.

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welcome to the modern world. could mean less waiting for things like security backups and file downloads you'd take that test, right? well, what are you waiting for? you could literally be done with the test by now. now you could have done it twice. this is awkward. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. >> we are bringing you breaking news from iowa. the candidate who ran ads about hog castration and shooting guns at obama care has won the iowa

gop senate primary tonight. we do not know who she will face on the democratic side yet. but those are the results. and up next -- we have a last word exclusive with the rescuers of mr. g and jellybean. it starts with little things. tiny changes in the brain.

little things, anyone can do. it steals your memories. your independence. insures support. a breakthrough. and sooner than you'd like... ...sooner than you think. ...you die from alzheimer's disease. ...we cure alzheimer's disease. every little click, call, or donation adds up to something big. alzheimer's association. the brains behind saving yours. tonight the last word goes to a story of friendship and perseverance, captured the hearts of millions. the story of mr. g and jellybean.

>> joining me now, a volunteer that drove 14 hours to reunite the animals. animal place executive director, kim sterling, and mr. g and jellybean. welcome to everybody. kim, tell me about the type of situation where these animals were rescued from? >> they came from southern california from kind of a hoarding situation. and it was an elderly person who could no longer properly care for the animals. neighbors were concerned. they called animal control. animal control, came, intervened. a local rescuer, matched us up with, animal control down in l.a. >> and, kim how did you know that mr. g wasn't just down and out, but was going to be, i guess cheered up by having a friend? >> well, good question. and i didn't know for certain. we had rescued mr. g, the goat,

we felt we could find a home for him. a sanctuary was going to take jellybean. when mr. g came up here, all the way from los angeles, to northern california, he was completely off food. this went day after day, after consulting with veterinarians. offering him everything imaginable. he couldn't leave his stall. he wouldn't eat anything. then we learned that he was actually very good friends with the donkey down there. so, we took a hunch. took a gamble. put a call out for volunteer who was willing to drive down there with the stock trailer and peck peck -- pick up jellybean. >> that goes to jeff. >> kim, tell us when they cam together and were so happy? >> well, that was videotaped. of course that's the video that has gone viral with millions of viewers. but, just the transformation of when he heard jellybean come out, come out of the stock trailer, got a whiff of him and saw him. it was almost instantaneous.

a different animal. it's a beautiful illustration that, that, the bond, and intellect and the connection that animals have with one another and with different species. and those of us that work around animals and live around them we know that. this is a store that we were able to document and share with others. that's the beauty of it. >> yeah, as you say, a beauty that a lot of people are connecting with. jeff, tell me about your trip? >> well, i had never actually towed a donkey before. so this was going to be an exciting trip. when i heard animal place needed someone to transport the donkey. i said i would be happy to do it. i came up and got their stock trailer and shot on down to l.a. with the help of the folks with animal control, got jellybean loaded. and, turned around and came on back. so, when i got up to, to the ranch where we first introduced jellybean to mr. g.

it was very touching, as soon as she got out of the trailer. you could see mr. g perk up. and i don't usually cry a lot. boy, i had a big lump mine throat when i saw this. it was, it was exciting. it was fun. it was thrilling. >> i think anytime you see a connection between two species. nonhuman, two nonhumans, two humans. it is a beautiful thing. it's really hard not to get moved when you see an individual animal, feel such incredible grief simply because, simply because his buddy is gone. and that -- going to essentially a starvation mode. it's -- these stories are, they do warm our hearts. it's, it's just wonderful that we're able to have them together and they're going to live out their life in pure luxury at animal place. >> the newsroom wanted to talk. glad we had mr. g and gel gee bean on the shot. i've didn't get to ask them about the mid terms. maybe do that in our next cable

news interview. jeff, and kim, and mr. g, and jellybean. thank you, everybody. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> that does it for us. i'm ari all in with chris hayes starts right now. good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. the right tonight is in full freak-out mode over the circumstances of the success or return of the only prisoner of the war in afghanistan, sergeant bowe bergdahl. if you're surprised by that, you have good reason. until bowe bergdahl was released by the taliban after nearly five years in captivity, it was a fairly common view that all steps should be taken to make sure he comes home. last year, republican senator james inhofe of oklahoma said it's important that we make every effort to bring him home. now he says the president negotiated with terrorists. the republican senator from new