smaller community based newspapers. during the past 15 months, berkshire acquired 28 daily newspapers at a cost of $344 million. a former newspaper boy acknowledged that television and the internet have created a challenging environment. he acknowledged that stock market quotes and the details of national sports events are old news long before the presses begin to roll. he said that the internet offers extensive information about both available jobs and homes and that television bombards viewers with political and international news. despite content, buffett laments in one area of interest after another, newspapers have lost their primacy. and as their audiences have fallen, so has advertising. revenues from help wanted classified ads along a huge source of newspapers have plunged in the past 20 years. then warren buffett said this. newspapers continue to reign supreme, however, in the delivery of local news.

if you want to know what's going on in your town whether the news is about the mayor or taxes or high school football, there's no substitute for a local newspaper that's doing its job. a reader's eyes may glaze over after they take in a couple of paragraphs about canadian tariffs or developments in pakistan. a story about the reader himself or his neighbors will be read to the end. where there's a pervasive sense of community, a paper that serves the special needs of that community will remain indispensable to a number of its residents. he could have said something else. they provide an oversight function. in a world where everyone with a computer is a journalist, there's a lack of primary news gathering. and local papers often remain the best watch dog we have over local government. so here's hoping that the oracle of omaha's investment in american newspapers pays off. that's "hardball" for now. thank you for being with us.

"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. thanks, michael. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead. race to the top. big news today from wall street as the stock market hit an all-time tie. it's big news for business. but the middle class and poor are getting hammered. we'll talk about that in a moment. first, the market's big jump today. >> moments ago on the floor of the new york stock exchange, the dow jones industrial average closed at an all-time high. >> the dow ballooned past its previous record high hit before october of '07. >> march of 2009, maria, 6,547 on the dow jones industrial average. and from there it's been almost straight up. >> as you can see, these past

few years have been great for wall street. on the left, you see the financial crash under president bush in late 2008. since then it's pretty much been up, up, up since early 2009 when president obama came into office. but too many republicans refuse to accept that success. to them the president remains anti-business or anti-american. some sort of socialist. they buy socialist obama t-shirts, socialist obama hats, socialist obama tote bags. but worst of all, their so-called political needers just can't get enough of calling him, calling the president a socialist. >> barack obama is a socialist. he believes in socialism in redistributing wealth in

confiscating hard-earned dollars. >> we have a president who wants to turn america into another european style social welfare state. >> this might be the last election to turn the nation around before we go down the road to socialism. president obama and his socialist policies must be stopped. >> obama's socialist policies are bankrupting america. >> socialism. does that really ring true to you? i have a news flash for republicans. we don't need to worry about wall street. they're doing just fine. we care about main street. we care about jobs. we care about the safety net. and we definitely care when republicans try to roll back the clock. today we're learning that congressman paul ryan may be doubling down on his plan to end medicare as we know it. politico reports ryan is about

to introduce a new budget that might allow privatizing medicare for people older than 55. breaking a promise he made with mitt romney when he was mitt romney's running mate. one top republican already saying ryan is heading in the wrong direction. telling the washington post quote, i know a number of people who have real concerns about where this is going. this is crazy. at a time when business is doing well, record profits with a record stock market, republicans want more sacrifices from regular people? they want more budget cuts on top of the ones they already got? not a chance. we settled this during the debate and during the presidential campaign. paul ryan should know he lost. joining me now is krystal ball and james peterson. thank you both for coming on the

show. >> thanks for having us, reverend. >> krystal, wall street is booming while republicans target the safety net. isn't this why republicans are the party of the rich? >> it is. because they have no message what they're for. the only thing we see is them fighting with all their being to protect tax cuts for people who really don't need tax cuts. so when you have no other message, when that's all that you see and then you see new budget plans coming out that are going to be felt the hardest by the people who need the most help who were already suffering in this economy, that just underscores the message that they really have nothing to offer anyone but the most privileged members of our society. >> now, james, paul ryan when you think of him now apparently changing his commitment on medicare, let me show you first what he said last year about the safety net. this is paul ryan.

>> we don't want to turn this safety net into a hammock that allows able-bodied people on complacency. we need to have that dynamic economy returned. you do that by growing the economy, getting people a hand up not a hand out. teach a man to fish, he can feed himself for a life. don't simply feed fish. >> don't simply feed fish. the quote, paul, is teach a man how to fish -- don't give a man a fish, teach a man to fish and he eats forever. but this is a guy that they're going to make the point man on medicare and the safety net? >> well, listen. first of all, we need to teach corporate america how to fish, right? because what we have is kind of a corporate socialism that through tax loopholes and tax breaks allows wall street to excel. president obama has been great for business in both terms thus far considering the global market forces at work here. the stock market does well, main street not so well. the interesting thing about

ryan's proposed new budget, number one it relies on the cuts that the president proposed in order to make medicare more efficient and solvent. not to privatize it but make it more efficient. and also, this budget they have, this ten-year sort of balancing the budget plan doesn't even work without the $600 billion in revenue that the president fought for to get from that tax increase that we just recently had. so at the end of the day, it seems clear that if republicans will work with the president, we could approach things in a balanced way. these draconian measures where wall street can reach all-time highs and middle class people have to worry about what they need, this is absurd. >> well, all-time high, crystal. look at the fact. $1.75 trillion, this is an all-time high. up 18.6% from a prior quarter. look at the fact that ceos

versus workers' pay, ceos' pay has gone up 725% increase in ceo pay. average worker pay has only gone up 5.7%. so why are republicans worried about wall street and corporate america when we have 12 million-plus people out of work? they're worried about wall street having this kind of increase in ceo salaries? >> that's exactly right. and why are we having a conversation about what to cut right now when we need to focus on getting people back to work first and foremost and look at the long-term trajectory of how we change these programs to make them sustainable for the long-term. but republicans' first interest, they're not happy with the cuts to defense. but they're perfectly happy with the cuts hitting the least among us who need the most help. and this, i think this problem

with wall street at all-time highs while the middle class and working class people and certainly the poor suffer, i think it underscores exactly why the republican party is becoming increasingly irrelevant. because they have nothing, nothing, nothing to say about that problem. no solution to offer. they don't even know where to start. the only thing that they know how to say right now is cut taxes and cut spending. that's it. >> this is something else they say, james, and i'm throwing it to you. let me put this on. the other thing they're saying instead of cut is they're protecting the loopholes for these guys. the loopholes on their private jets, yachts. whether or not they end the loopholes whether you make over $1 million a year. in this booming wall street, booming corporate salaries, they're protecting the people that need the protection the least, cutting the people that can afford the least of being the victims or the results of cuts.

>> that's right. we need no review all corporate subsidies. review all the corporate loopholes for the wealthiest among us. to close those loopholes would get us closer to a balanced budget. the wall street numbers kaed for us the sort of wealth and growth of the job creators. those tell us they reflect the job creators. if they're at an all-time high, where are the jobs? >> and why haven't we seen the unemployment numbers go down? because they're booming and we're getting banged. >> that's right. >> krystal, i want to show you something that amazes me. 89% of republicans are concerned president obama will move the country toward socialism. this is a fox news poll. 89% of republicans are concerned the president will move the

country towards socialism. corporate america record highs. he's the most failed socialist if he was one. >> he's a terrible socialist. >> this is incredible. >> it is incredible. it's really a disservice that's been done to republicans by conservative media outlets. they're living in another world. it's part of why mitt romney lost the election. i mean, we saw the interview with mitt romney and ann romney over the weekend where ann romney was quick to blame the media. well, i think blame the conservative media. they fed this perception among the republicans that a toaster oven could beat the president. that he was hated in the country. they created this caricature of him that doesn't have a resemblance to the pragmatic person he is. and you can't run against a caricature and win. you have to run against the real person and engage with the real person most of the country knows. >> when you talk about the practical side, krystal, let me show you, james, senator lindsey

graham. what he said today about president obama and how the president is still reaching out and we know all of the things graham has said. listen to this. >> he just called me. >> he did? >> yeah. i'm very encouraged about what i see from the president in terms of substance and tone. he's calling people. this is how you solve hard problems. maybe because of sequestration and frustration with the public, the time is right to act. he wants to do the big deal. >> so the president wants to do the big deal. he's doing the right thing according to lindsey graham. i mean, does this mean that there's a possibility that the president can work out a big bargain here or something? some kind of adjustment of compromise, james? >> well, listen. the president is always -- and he's shown himself to be willing and able to compromise. in fact, those of us on the left have been disturbed by some of the compromises that he has made. so he's always moving towards

consensus. i think he's always demonstrated he's willing to work with folk in congress. this ryan budget is not a compromise. this is not the kind of compromise that the president will be able to buy into. essentially it changes the terms of the contract for medicare. but at the end of the day of course he's ready to compromise. he's already shown that. we just haven't seen that from the other side, rev. >> well, you say those of us on the left. the question is what's left after they meet? krystal ball and james peterson, thanks for your time this evening. >> thank you. >> don't forget to catch krystal week days on "the cycle" here on msnbc. ahead, jeb bush today, meet jeb bush last year. 2016 media blitz kicks off with a flip-flop that would make mitt romney blush. and senator tom corbin may be making it harder on

background check. senator blumenthal on progress and the fight ahead. and an unbelievable story. republicans want to defund something that doesn't even exist. look out, bigfoot. you might be next. big show coming. stay with us. ♪ [ whistle blows ] hi victor! mom? i know you got to go in a minute but this is a real quick meal, that's perfect for two! campbell's chunky beef with country vegetables, poured over rice! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.

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about gabby giffords' latest gun safety ad praising her determination. bet says the grace she's shown is an inspiration. susan says she is one courageous lady. praying she can make a difference. looks like we might be on the verge of a major breakthrough in congress. we'll tell you more coming up. but first, we want to hear what you think. please head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. you know what's impressive? a talking car. but i'll tell you what impresses me. a talking train. this ge locomotive can tell you exactly where it is, what it's carrying, while using less fuel. delivering whatever the world needs, when it needs it. ♪ after all, what's the point of talking if you don't have something important to say? ♪

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the fight for gun legislation in this country has been long and hard, but now for the first time in a long time we're on the brink of a major breakthrough. a group of senators have reached an agreement on a bipartisan bill that would make gun trafficking a federal crime for the first time. their proposal would crack down on straw purchases, people who buy firearms for individuals barred from owning one. it would also punish sellers who have reason to believe the gun would be used in a crime. this is progress. it's vitally important, but it's just one piece of the puzzle in dealing with the gun problem in this country. joining me now is senator richard blumenthal, democrat from connecticut. he's one of the co-sponsors of this legislation. senator, thanks for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you so much. >> tell us why this bill in

particular is so important. >> this bill is critically important, because illegal gun trafficking respects no state borders. the traffic in stolen weapons, in illegal guns is porous across state borders. so newtown was a call to action, but children and other innocent people are killed every day by gun violence in illegally trafficked guns. here is the incredible point. there is no federal law now that prohibits illegal trafficking. and this measure would impose for the first time terms of 20 to 30 years in prison and i know that the efficacy of that kind because helped when i was the attorney general and to provide these kinds of law enforcement tools is absolutely critical. which is why we have a

bipartisan group of senators cosponsoring them. senator collins and senator kirk. both republicans of maine and illinois respectively. senator leahy is leading us. senator kirsten and myself from the northeast also involved as the leading cosponsors. so i think we are on the cusp of a major breakthrough if we can move this bill out of committee and through the united states senate. >> it is amazing it has not been a federal crime before. and i know first hand you've been passionate about this. not only are you a senator from the state where newtown happened, but where you've been on this concern a long time since a prosecutor. and as a senator. in fact, i've been in black churches with you in your state where you addressed this question of violence. but the question also is background checks. when we look now, the progress is being made of trafficking but aimed at universal background checks might be in peril.

senator tom coburn and chuck schumer have been negotiating on background checks but coburn says they have failed a reach an agreement on his top concern. and that is that no permanent recordkeeping on gun purchases be made a result of background checks. now, this is a key portion of president obama's gun control agenda. in your opinion, senator, will it make it? >> i believe that it will. you made the point absolutely correctly earlier that there's no single solution. it has to be a strategy that includes background checks for all firearm purchases. not just the 60% done by gun deals. but the private gun shows that are right now exempted under the loophole. you're right that senator schumer has been negotiating with coburn and others. i have tried to help in those kinds of talks. and i have my own proposal for

background checks on ammunition purchases. but remember, again, the basic common sense point here is that right now under our law, there is a prohibition against fugitives, felons, drug addicts, all criminals, mentally ill and domestic abusers from buying -- buying those firearms and ammunition. this makes imminent common sense and i hope we can surmount the recordkeeping. in my personal view as a prosecutor based on my experience, some kind of records of those transactions is necessary in case that gun is used in a criminal act and it can be followed. >> as well as we see 40% of all gun sales are made by sellers who aren't required to conduct a background check. and clearly that's why this universal background check is so popular. 92% of people polled want to see it. but where the rubber meets the road is the victims, the people

that you have to deal with as constituents. one of them the father of a young boy killed in newtown spoke before congress last week. take a listen. >> jesse was the love of my life. he was the only family i have left. it's hard for me to be here today to talk about my deceased son. there are many changes that have to happen. mental health issues, better background checks. bans on these weapons, bans on high capacity magazines. they all have to come together and they all have to work effectively. >> at the end of the day, senator, isn't that what it's really all about? you defending and standing up for victims, innocent victims in

your home state that you served as both a prosecutor and a senator that is in pain for no good reason? so we do not keep victims and fathers of victims like this. >> listening to neil heslin who just spoke, talking to the families of victims, the 20 beautiful babies an the 6 heroic educators who tried to save them throwing their bodies in front of those bullets and perishing as a result. newtown has changed me. i think it has changed many of us in connecticut. seeing the absolutely horrific, unspeakable violence that are caused by these assault weapons and the high capacity magazines. some of those children, maybe all of them would be alive today but for those assault weapons and the high capacity magazines if there had been this kind of ban. so neil heslin is right when he says it all has to come

together. and we have to come together as a nation. it's not enough just to talk about it as i have been and thankfully leaders like yourself have been. but organizing overcoming the opponents like the nra which have lost at lo of their political heft. we have to do it for those victims. >> we're going to leave it there. thank you senator blumenthal for your time and all that you do. >> thank you. ahead, jeb bush might have more than his last name to battle in 2016. jeb versus hillary. who would win? and why in the world are house republicans trying to defund something that doesn't exist? go nessie go. next. ♪

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we're back with big developing news. house republicans will not set aside money for bigfoot this

year. i repeat. bigfoot will have to get through without subsidies. there's no funds for the loch ness monster either. and it's the same story with the aliens. the truth may be out there, but federal money isn't. now, you and i know these things don't actually exist. so of course congress wouldn't give them money. and of course congress wouldn't feel the need to announce that, right? well, in the house gop's latest budget bill, they made sure to say no federal money would be distributed to acorn. the only problem, the community organizing group acorn folded in 2010. it doesn't exist. the group closed after a right wing smear artist released doctored videos claiming acorn workers advised people on how to break the law.

a report by an independent investigator found nothing illegal, but the right wing relentlessly kept up the attack until acorn was defunded by republicans in congress and closed. and even now the right refuses to believe that acorn's gone away. a recent poll found that 49% of republicans believe acorn stole the 2012 election for president obama. and now house republicans are bravely trying to defund something that doesn't even exist. did the right wing think we wouldn't notice they're still going nutty over acorn? nice try, but we got you. some e to see to believe. the color of our shimmering waters. the beauty of our swaying palms. and the magic of a people...

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it's turned into republican idol. and the first contestant was this guy. ♪ oh beautiful spacious skies >> okay. mitt romney hasn't -- he wasn't the big wonderful republican. so they thought this guy was their savior. >> nothing has frustrated me more than false choices like the one the president laid out tonight. >> so, marco rubio's not the best choice either. but look out republicans, there's a new candidate for the job. jeb bush. yes, the son and brother of former presidents bush is the latest republican to say he'd consider a run for the white house. but is he conservative enough to

win over the far right? last year he said he'd support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. >> you can't ignore it. and so either a path to citizenship which i would support and that does put me probably out of the mainstream of most conservatives. or a path to legalization. a path to residency of some kind. >> now, that was last june. but now he's flipped. in his new book jeb opposes a pathway to citizenship. he writes it is absolutely vital to the integrity of our immigration system that actions have consequences. in this case, that those who have violated the laws can remain but cannot obtain the cherished fruits of citizenship. okay. so now jeb opposes a pathway to

citizenship. right? wrong. here's what he had to say just today. he's flipped back. >> if you can craft that in law where you can have a path to citizenship where there isn't an incentive for people to come illegally, i'm for it. i don't have a problem with that. >> oh, i see. so now he's on a book tour to say his book is wrong. or he wrote his book to say he was wrong before. and he's wrong again today. you got to hand it to the republicans, they really know how to pick a winner. joining me now are former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and richard wolffe. thank you both for being here tonight. >> thanks for having us. >> governor, let me go to you first. jeb bush has flipped and flopped back on immigration. what does that say about him and what does it say about his party? >> well, it shows that the right

wing is still such a dominant factor in the republican party that is moderate -- a moderate conservative like jeb bush has to worry about the right. has to tailor his remarks that are in some ways against what he believes. look in the end president jeb bush if that would happen would be for a pathway to citizenship if it were to resolve this problem. i think it's going to be resolved before then, but jeb bush probably has the props and the stature to be a very effective republican candidate. he -- if it wasn't for his last name which is somewhat of a drawback, probably less as years go on, he might be the leading contender. he has the stature, demeanor, all those things. jeb bush learned from mitt romney you can't get there just by appeasing the right wing. it is a prescription for disaster in the general election. >> and richard, it makes people feel less than comfortable about

you at least being a solid person that has convictions. i mean, bush tried to explain today that the timing of what he wrote his new book effected what he wrote about and the pathway to citizenship. listen to this explanation. >> we wrote this book last year, not this year. and we proposed a path to legalization. remember, this is a proposal that we attempted to put out prior to the election to create a consensus for conservatives to actually get in the game. because in november prior to the election we weren't even in the game. >> so, i mean, if the book had been written after the senate republicans embraced it, he would have written something snels. >> i have no idea what his position is. people always said he wasn't like his brother. they said he was the smart guy. but at least you know who he stood with his brother. he may have said some strange

things and done some stranger things, but he ran a campaign, his brother did, against a guy who was for it before he was against it. i don't know if he's for or against what. this is a book called "imabrasi"i "immigration wars." >> this is what the whole book is about. >> it's not a side comment in a debate because he's got people on the right pushing him. even mitt romney did better than this. i cannot believe that jeb bush, the famed smarter, wiser brother of george w. bush is this unready for primetime. >> now, governor, you had mentioned his name may be all right or better over time. you know, the bush name does have supporters and it does have detractors. usa today writes in national politics, the bush name looms as both a blessing and a curse for jeb bush. for some skeptical

conservatives, he is shadowed by his father's decision to break his no-new-taxes pledge and his brother's expansion of the federal government and the budget deficit. so even before you get to the general voting public, they may have other reasons to not like the bush name. the conservatives even have problems with his father and brother. you think over time two or three years down the road that will start to dissipate a little? >> i think a little bit. and again, i think the republicans and particularly the conservative wing are going to be so intent on winning back the white house that they may forgive some of those things. look, in the end they forgave those things for mitt romney. mitt romney dominated the people who consider themselves strongly conservative. so i think they would forgive the sins of bushes past and look at jeb bush has a strong candidate. there's no doubt about it as a loyal democrat he's the person i'd least like to see on the

ballot in 2016. >> let me say on the other side of that, richard. he appears to have a lot of support. when you look at a recent ppp poll in florida just florida voters. when they were asked who they'd vote for in a hypothetical heads up, hillary clinton got 49%. jeb bush 44%. hillary clinton, 50%. marco rubio 46%. could he be a serious candidate? >> he's a serious candidate and would have access to money. there's something to not ek ignore here. right now looking at saying deficit first. that party knows that his brother blew up the deficit. whether they think it was because of wars or prescription drug benefits, but he is going to be dogged all the way through his campaign by the questions of do you support your brother's policies or not? those were the kinds of

questions that actually tripped up hillary clinton as well. do you support where your husband is on not? if you have to answer for your own candidacy and someone in your family, it becomes two things you have to carry. and it's very tricky in a high-pressure campaign. >> governor, quickly it looks like the bush family is trying to make a comeback. you have jeb bush's book "immigration wars" released today. you have george h.w. bush's book "all the best" where he stands up to the criticism of his criticism george w. received. and talking about his son, george w., his presidential library dedication will take place on april 25th. so looks like they're back. >> sure. they're back. and i think richard properly assessed some of the problems that jeb's going to have. but i think again, the desire to

win will be the driving force in 2016 just like it was the driving force in 2012 among conservative and republican primary voters. so we'll see. and i personally believe that if hillary clinton chooses to run, rev, that no one even jeb bush will beat her. but that's a long way off. none of us know what hillary is going to decide. >> well, i don't know who runs. i don't know who's what nominee. i do know one thing, governor, when i was growing up in brooklyn, my mother used to tell me when she let me go outside to play to stay out the bushes. governor ed rendell and richard wolffe, thanks for your time tonight. . coming up, an air force sexual assault scandal in san antonio. virginia messi the first victim at the base to speak publicly shares her story next. otherworldly things. but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second.

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the first victim to speak publ publicly about the sexual assault scandal at the air force base joins us next. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation,

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now to an important story about our military. the sexual assault investigations at langlin air force base in san antonio. the air base is home to the air force where every american airman and airwoman reports for basic training. also the scene of a massive sexual assault investigation.

62 trainees have been identified as victims of sexual assault. at least 32 instructors are involved. seven instructors have already been court-martialed. walker was sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes involving ten women including virginia messer. she was a 19-year-old recruit in april of 2011 when sergeant walker lured her into an empty room in the dorm and raped her. it's been difficult. a difficult journey. but now she's telling her story. she's the first victim to speak publicly about the scandal at lackland air force base. virginia and her attorney susan burt join me now. first let me thank you both for being here. >> thank you. >> thank you. thank you for having us. >> virginia, take me through the

story. i mean, what happened and how did it happen? >> when i was in basic training my instructor had actually started letting me use facebook and e-mail because i had a friend in afghanistan who he wanted me to say that in a professional way that everybody needed a friend while they were overseas. so over those types of weeks, he would let me use his private computer to let me proceed with doing that. and then it started to where he would make sexual comments to me and he would try and grope me. and at first i was just trying to get away from it and told him don't come near me. and one day i was actually on laundry crew assistant.

i did laundry for all basic training females at all times. and he pulled me out from my job and told me to meet him upstairs because there were some towels i needed to get from the upstairs dorm which was empty at the time because a new flight was coming in. and when he told me to come up. he told me to wait five minutes for the cameras. and i followed him up to the dorm and that's when he pulled me into the dorm room and i walked inside of a door and he closed it behind me. and that's when he proceeded to rape me. >> now, when -- and i know this is painful, but i admire your courage for coming out publicly so this can stop this from happening to others. when investigators first asked

you about the attack, you down played it. this happens often with victims. why did you do that? >> when the investigators came to speak with me, i had no idea what they were there for. they walked right into my base and they dragged me into a room and said they had already knew everything. that i needed to tell them what happened. and i basically sat there for two and a half hours and didn't tell them anything. i wouldn't talk to them. so one of the investigators got very hostile with me. and he threw a piece of paper and pen down that if i wrote a statement he would leave me alone. i don't understand where at any point if since my rape do i ever want to express what happened to me to two complete strangers especially now a male investigator who's being hostile

towards me. there's no way i'd want to talk to them. >> you faced a court-martial. what was going through your mind when he was testifying? >> anger. it was just complete and pure anger. and at one point when i did testify, i completely just let it go. i got angry. i yelled and screamed and did whatever i needed to do. because i was not -- i'm not afraid of him. that was my main mind thought when i was going in through the court was because i wasn't supposed to be scared of him. it's my turn for him to be scared of me. and afterwards, even though i still have so much pent up anger due just from ptsd, period, i went ahead and did what i needed

to do. i was in court and for that being the first time that i'm facing him, let him know how i felt and what he did to me. and i walked out. >> now, susan, the air force had said they take preventive steps. generals say no reports of misconduct in the last seven months. is the problem solves? "the new york times" story says quote, commanders say they have taken preventive action at lackland. there wasn't much supervision said general leonard patrick. but now we want to put more leadership into the equation and more accountability. is the problem solved? >> no, reverend, not at all. we're old enough to remember tail hook back in 1991. what we have is a series of rape and sexual assault scandals that

once in awhile rise to public attention. we much appreciate you covering the issue, but there's a structural problem. there's significant underreporting. most men and women do not report being raped because they know it will not be treated seriously. and the way the structure is set up, a single person in the chain of command, a single individual, has the power to simply wipe away a conviction of a jury. this happens time and time again and so predators know that they're able to get away with it. the victims know that there is no justice. and so we really as a nation, we need to ask ourselves why are we letting this problem go on decade after decade? we've got to step forward and congress has to act. >> well, we're going to stay on it. virginia, thank you so much for standing up in your courage and sharing your story. and susan, we thank you as well. and we're continue to follow developments as they unfold. >> thank you so much.

>> thank you for letting me share my story. >> god bless you. we'll be right back.

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