NBC News MSN

The Last Word

Most Recent

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, on Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Hong Kong. The Guardian identified Snowden as a source for its reports on intelligence programs after he asked the newspaper to do so on Sunday. (Photo by The Guardian/AP Photo)

First Word: New leak reveals U.S. and British intelligence tracked world leaders

The former NSA contractor, Edward Snowden, has obtained classified materials about American and British government surveillance tracking diplomats at two London conferences in 2009. Read More

President Obama delivers remarks during an event in support of the Senate's bipartisan immigration reform bill at the White House in Washington, DC, June 11, 2013. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP)

As immigration bill moves forward, right-wing fights harder to block reform

Although the Senate voted down a Republican effort that would have delayed a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, conservatives are still fighting to kill comprehensive immigration reform. Read More

The parents of Newtown victim Ana Marquez-Greene hold a photo and react at a January press conference.

Six months after Sandy Hook, grassroot groups and the gun debate

So far, no federal gun laws have changed. But even NRA leaders now feel that the "Connecticut effect" may last longer than they expected. Read More

A Syrian living in Serbia displays a placard on March 16, 2013 during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the center of Belgrade.  (Photo by Alexa Sankovic/AFP/Getty Images)

First Word: Chemical weapons in Syria

U.S. officials concluded that leader Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against the opposition. Read More

n_lw_4rewrite_130612

Issa attacks Cummings instead of releasing IRS transcripts

Now that no evidence has surfaced to support Darrell Issa's claim that "Washington headquarters" was behind the so-called IRS scandal, he's struggling to stay relevant by withholding transcripts and attacking fellow Oversight Committee reps. Read More

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, on Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Hong Kong.  (Photo by The Guardian/AP)

Snowden ‘thinks long and hard before coming to a decision,’ friend says

In an op-ed, a friend of Snowden's came to his defense and described him as "an incredibly smart, kind and sincere person" who "thinks long and hard before coming to a decision." Read More

x_30_lw_vlw_130612

Very Last Word: Do bold ideas require formal attire?

On Tuesday's Very Last Word, The Nation's John Nichols spoke with MSNBC's Ari Melber about the relative merits of dressing formally when presenting bold political ideas. Read More

tdy_state_dept_130611

New allegations of a State Department cover-up?

New allegations rocking the State Department involve alleged incidents during Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. Read More

(Photo by Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call, FiIe)

Record-low support for affirmative action, poll says

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll suggests support for affirmative action is at a record low in America: Only 45% say it's still needed. Read More

An interview of Edward Snowden by the South China Morning Post newspaper and a website supporting Snowden in Hong Kong are displayed on a computer screen in Hong Kong on June 12, 2013. (Photo by  Bobby Yip/Reuters)

First Word: Snowden says he’s not hiding from justice

Edward Snowden gave a new interview to a Hong Kong newspaper and vowed to fight possible extradition. "I am not here to hide from justice. I am here to reveal criminality." Read More

President John F. Kennedy is shown as he started his radio-television address to the nation on civil rights, June 11, 1963 in Washington. (Photo by Charles Gorry/AP)

Watch: JFK’s civil rights speech, 50 years ago

On June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy spoke to the nation after a day of racial turmoil in the state of Alabama. Watch his famous address. Read More

House Speaker John Boehner leaves after his weekly news conference June 6, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Boehner calls NSA leaker Snowden ‘a traitor’

Republicans on Capitol Hill offered differing views of the former NSA contractor who leaked top classified information detailing the American government's surveillance activities to The Guardian newspaper. Read More

This image made available by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows an undated image of Edward Snowden, 29. (AP Photo/The Guardian, Ewen MacAskill)

First Word: NSA leaker Edward Snowden fired

Well, we can't say we didn't see this coming. Get a list of headlines shaping tonight's 10pm ET rundown. Read More

Sonya Geis writes a note at a memorial at Santa Monica College, Monday, June 10, 2013, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Nick Ut/AP)

Santa Monica College shooting: Thank the NRA, says O’Donnell

Friday's mass shooting at Santa Monica College was another success story for the NRA, said MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell. The shooter had 1,300 rounds of ammunition. Read More

Participants of Armed Citizen Project making use of a paper target at a shooting range in Houston, Texas on May 19, 2013. (Photo by Pat Sullivan/AP)

Free guns for ‘vulnerable’ women in Houston

The nonprofit group Armed Citizen Project is “fighting the war on women, one free shotgun at a time.” But will it actually make women safer? Read More

Sen. Ted Cruz stands for a TV news interview on Capitol Hill, Monday, May 6, 2013.  (Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Ted Cruz says Obama is playing politics with immigration reform

As the immigration debate begins in the Senate this week, Sen. Ted Cruz says the biggest obstacle to comprehensive immigration reform is not himself, but President Obama. Read More

Edward Snowden identified himself as the man responsible for a series of NSA leaks related to American surveillance in an interview with The Guardian. (via The Guardian).

First Word: NSA leaker Edward Snowden speaks out

Former CIA communications expert Edward Snowden came forward as the NSA leaker. Get details on that story, and others shaping tonight's Last Word rundown. Read More

x_30_lw_vlw_130607

Very Last Word: Will privacy ever increase in the digital age?

On Thursday's Very Last Word, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell discussed the prospect of privacy in the digital age. Also, Joy Reid talked about how the Great Recession hit men harder than women. Read More

Image:

What Game of Thrones teaches us about politics

The HBO show is famous for killing off some of its most beloved characters. Though scenes are sometimes hard to watch, the indifference of the Thrones universe teaches us something important about politics: good guys don't always win. Read More

Newark Mayor Cory Booker speaks at the Newark City Hall on May 8, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Surprise, surprise: Cory Booker expected to announce Senate run

Newark Mayor Cory Booker is planning to announce his candidacy for the late Senator Lautenberg's Senate seat. Read More