exposed to hiv and hepatitis. he's accused of using dirty instruments and not sterilizing those instruments and allowing unlicensed assistants to sedate the patients. his practice was shut down after two patients tested positive for both hepatitis and hiv after recent visit. >> it's ongoing. there are so many multi-facets to this, i can't tell you. >> joining me to talk more about this, robert bezel. >> robert, thomas. >> tom, bob, call me anything you want. letters now going out to 7,000 patients of dr. harrington. the big thing that gets everybody caught off guard is they've been going to this guy who has had a history of practice there, 36 years. >> it's amazing he could go on so long having dirty instruments and unclean -- not sterilizing

them properly. one would think the main message from here is, first of all, very few of these people did get infected because it's not easy to pass on these blood-borne infections with dental care. if you see a dentist is not sterilizing instruments properly, or the dental assistants saw this, they should have reported it. >> they stress this is not technically considered an outbreak as of yet. what would change the tipping point? >> if they would find a lot more cases. i think they haven't yet. the possibility exists. don't forget, there was a famous case in 1989 when a woman in florida was infected by her dentist with hiv, and she was one of six. and that guy died, that dentist died and his name was david aker and he -- the cdc never proved it because he was dead but they think that he did it

intentionally, he actually injected people. so this is a different situation. but this is the second time there's been this kind of incident. and it is -- it is very scary but it's important to know that it doesn't pass easily and that it's very rare. >> i think for everybody watching, that would be -- the dentists get a bad rap anyway, especially with adults and kids alike. what ammunition should a future patient going into their dentist being asking so they feel self-assured about the office. >> you want to see that every instrument that dentist puts in your mouth is in a sterilized package before it's removed and there doesn't seem to be any evidence of anything that's less than hygienic in the office. if that's the case, it doesn't matter if the dentist is infected with anything because it doesn't have to be just hiv or hepatitis. there's a great danger of nonsterilized equipment in any medical or dental setting passing it on to the patients if people don't take proper hygienic precautions.

>> bob, great to see you, sir. >> also on the jaagenda, the she campaign. the president is sending a loud message to those thousands of gun control advocates across the country and telling them to get out there to pound the pavement across the nation to make sure it gets back on track. tomorrow there will be a massive rally in hartford in support of the newtown families. yesterday hundreds held a rally yesterday for what was called a national day to demand action. there were tense moments between both sides. >> who goes on a hunting trip with this? >> lots of people. >> do you know anyone? >> yes, i do. >> i don't know anyone. >> i do. >> it's my right and i don't have to show a need for this firearm to own it. >> president obama trying to

reignite the post-massacre. >> the entire pledged we would do something and that this time can would be different. shame on us if we've forgotten. >> joining me is the co-vice chair of the newtown alliance. all of this is coming after the investigation into the sandy hook shooting, we learned adam lanza fired 154 bullets, the event lasting less than five minutes. investigators found these multiple boxes of ammunition in the lanza home, along with three samurai swords, the spear. all of the firearms were bought legally. is the bigger issue here is this perverse american fascination with legally being able to amass personal home arsenals? >> yes. it's clear that adam lanza had ammunition that he should not have had.

it's shocking he was able to legally acquire that much and it is time to reverse the trend of the economic of gun violence this this country. we're hoping -- the newtown residents are hoping what happened in newtown on december 14 is the tipping point for meaningful action and we are asking congress to do something. >> let's talk moore about congress. yesterday we did see members of your organization outside the national shooting fond as, an ally of the nra in newtown. if there's not an agreement in newtown, can we really expect something to come from our elected leaders, to come from congress? >> you know i think there's more agreement than you think. there was a quinnipiac poll that was published and over 70% of the people in connecticut support reasonable, sensible measures that had been presented. so i believe that we have that type of support in newtown and in connecticut and i think in the country.

>> po murray with the newtown action alliance. thanks for making time for me this morning. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> all this action and the call to it comes as two more republican threaten threaten to filibuster gun control, marco rubio and james inhofe. saying we intend to oppose any legislation that would infringe on the american people's constitutional right to bear arms. you may remember that congresswoman spear is a survivor of gun violence herself after being shot five times in jonestown in 1978. congresswoman, it's great to see you today. as you hear those words, we'll talk more about ted cruz having this to say as well, "it is saddening to see the president today one against try to take advantage of this tragic murder to promote an agenda that will do nothing to stop violent crime

but will undermine the constitutional rights of all law-abiding americans." when you hear of the news of more legislators filibustering on upcoming gun legislation, how concerned are you about that? >> i'm very concerned about it. it makes me realize that the system is really orchestrated to protect the cowards in this country. everyone said it had to start in the senate, that the legislation had to be taken up in the senate. we all know that a filibuster requires only one person. and i feel that it's been set up so that no one has to take a tough vote. when 91% of americans believe that there should be universal background checks, how can we not stand up and do the right thing? >> well, let's talk about that, about a tough vote. because as we mentioned earlier, the president was pushing for congress to get something done on gun control yesterday at the white house saying shame on us if we've forgotten those kids in

newtown. take a listen. >> the notion that two months or three months after something has horrific as what happened in newtown happens and we've moved on to other things, that's not who we are. >> so think progress is looking at data, congresswoman, from six democratic senators that have wavered on expanding the background checks. we've got senator mark pryor, kay hagan, joe donnelly, and now "the washington post" is reporting the top donors are threatening to pull cash, the money from the democrats who don't support the expanded background checks. so can anything without more democrats on board truly pass? >> i think we do have to have these democrats on board. and,you know, what we're really talking about here is whether or not you're going to get reelected, whether or not you've got a shot at becoming president, whether or not you're going to stay in power. they're not thinking about the newtown kids, they're not

thinking about their families and they're not thinking about the american people. and i am one of those that feels like, you know, shame on us, what the president says is absolutely right. i mean, what are we doing in congress, what are we doing if we're not going represent the majority of the country. >> the appetite for gun control polls show has gone down. we talk about newtown and the bigger incident you would think we would have gotten something moving after congresswoman gabby giffords were shot and others were murdered at the corner event you had in tucson. do i see that people now are losing the appetite to get something done? >> the nra said it. they said we will wait for the connecticut effect to dim. and they know how these issues, you know, have a short life

span. they're just waiting for that to pass. but there will be another one. we know there will be another one. look what's happened in colorado. it took columbine and then aurora, but they have finally done what i believe is the package of bills that needs to be put in place. the heller decision that gives everyone the right to bear arms also says that it does not mean that you can have any gun for any purpose at any time anywhere. and we don't want them in front of our schools, we don't want them at churches, we want to be able to put some rational kinds of controls on it but everyone has the right to have a gun for personal recreation and for self-defense. but do you not need an assault weapon and everyone should be willing to have a background check so we make sure that people that are felons that have been convicted of misdemeanor or greater domestic violence and who are mentally ill don't get them. >> california congresswoman

jackie speier, thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> my father had a ranch. we used to hire 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes. >> congressman done young says he regrets using that racial slur. plus the entire nation prays for nell san mandela. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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less than two weeks after the rnc released its report, not everyone got the memo on sensitivity.

the long-time congressman seemed to be reminiscing about the good ol' day when he made this racial slur in an interview late thursday with alaska radio station krbd. >> my father had a ranch. we used to hire 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes. it takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. it's all done by machine. >> so congressman young issued an apology saying i used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in central california. i know it's not used the same way nowadays and i meant no disrespect. gang, it's great to have you hear. hogan, we have don young, who has been serving since 1973, pretty well known for being outspoken, at least his style. but his comments come at a time after that autopsy come at a

time struggle with minorities and needing that connection. he didn't help with it, did he? >> he slightly did not. i hate people calling the rnc document an autopsy because that's a document when you're dead. the rnc isn't dead. we're trying to move ourselves forward, show ourselves as a party of inclusion, come to some comprehensive reform, let people know that we want them in the party and comments like this just go to undergird a narrative that we're a racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobic party. what's worse is his apology wasn't even a deep felt apology, it was just a, hey, that's just a term we used at that time. >> congressman young went on to say that migrant workers play an important role in america's

workforce and earlier in an interview i discussed the compassion i have for these workers. it was called a we don't get it moment at a time when the party need it is least. is this a way to sum up? >> i think so. i would like to see the high higher-ups in the republican party condemn what he said. this gets into a branding and imaging party for the republicans. you have these comments and it reminds people this is kind of in some sense of party of a chif bu -- of archie bunk aer. that is not where republicans need to be. he's going to turn off hispanics

and other demographics and others are going to look at the republican party and say we don't feel like we're wanted there. >> jackie, when it comes to immigration specifically and we look at the contrast that we know that has happened since the election itself and talking points memo cites this new pew research poll shows the republicans like immigration reform but they're not sold on immigrants. the poll showing while 64% of republicans support reform, only 43% agree that immigrants strengthen the country based on their hard work and talents. this is a country that's built on immigrants. so is the party recognizing the changes foundationally that it really needs to? >> i think the party proper does. here in washington that's all you hear about when you talk to party leaders. it hasn't really trickled down in a lot of ways to maybe some of the districts, some areas. i mean, you see john mccain when he had a town hall a couple weeks ago people yelling at him about amnesty. i think they're worried about

how that looks and how that is going to look as we go into debate. we haven't even started yet. there's not even legislation that's going to the floor yet and we're already hearing some of these comments. i think they might have something to worry about going forward. but, yes, there's definitely to answer your question, there is an acknowledgement that there needs to be some ground made up here because of the demographic shift. >> hogan, you mentioned that the party can come across as racist, sexist and homophobic. we have the "detroit free press" saying that the michigan gop commitman is under fire for anti-gay facebook posts. a group says "this isn't about what we believe either politically or as women or men of faith. this is about realizing you cannot win an election by

insulting a wide swath of the electorate." as jackie was saying there, it seems as if this memo of what the results were from the rnc taking a look back in hindsight of 2012 that that information is not trickling out to the masses of people to get with the program. >> right. well, look, the problem with that to me is the comment made in the statement you just read. look, you can't talk about the homosexual community in those terms but i also don't like the fact that someone says, well week got to win elections. that's not the issue either. if you want to stand up for your principles, that's fine. but there's a way to do it and present it where you're not offensive to other people. this isn't about marriage that i read in this article. it was something much more deplorable, calling the homosexual community filthy. i think that turns off a lot of voters. you need to have a conversation

of common sense, let people into your party and show people how we're alike. and using terms like wetbacks and filthy don't help the situation or the party. it shouldn't be about winning elections. it should be about taking a stand for what you believe in and principles. don't forfeit those principles but at the same time you don't want to offend. you want to bring people in. you want to explain to people why you're a better party and comments like that, articles like that just don't help at all. >> i want to move on to this point because we have republican congressman steve king of iowa criticizing the first daughters sasha and malia and the recent spring vacation they had to the bahamas during the federal budget belt tightening after the sequester. is it fair to go after them in that type of critique? >> absolutely not. this is a tactic by republicans to do dog bhwhistling to their

base and say the obama daughters are princesses and talking about the president filling out an ncaa bracket to make this case that he's lazy. this is subtle, racial dog whistling to the base of the party to somehow mobilize them against the president. and they should be totally off limits. the democrats never said anything about the bush daughters. look, they're kids. they're in eighth grade. i think steve king should be ashamed of himself. >> hogan, i see you shaking your head. you're not disproving? >> i disagree with that. i think the media coverage has been blanketed. if the president says he pays for his own vacation, we want want to foot the bill for security and travel. i don't think think it's a dog issue or racial issue. i think the optics are atrocious for this president -- we just talked about young saving something about wetbacks, how it reflects on our party. this is how it reflects on the democrat party continuing to spend, continuing not to

understand we're out of money and to do things like this makes him seem out of touch on where the rest of the country stands where he's sending his family on vacation on our dime, he's not focused on what he should be doing. >> so house republicans, it's okay for them to spend millions and millions of dollars defending doma, a clearly discriminatory law? >> i don't disagree. it should be uniform across the board. >> kids taking spring break vacations, i don't see the problem. >> you're couching it in terms of spring break vacation. the issue is he's using taxpayer dollars to do it. that shows a complete reality check for this president who seems not to understand spending whatsoever. >> maybe we should find out how many senators are sending their kids on spring break. >> i agree. i'm for it. i'm with you. >> i got to leave it there. i don't think the obama daughters need to sacrifice spring break for the sake of all of us.

so let's not fight about it. >> i agree with us. thanks, gang. >> just ahead, ready for revenge. north korea leader kim jung un. and the battle in new york city, it is not over yet. but first today's pick "kfc launching a new bucket for kids, the little bucket kids meals on the same day kids meals flunked. kids can either get a grilled drum stick or extra crispy chicken tenders and green beans. check out my facebook page.

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defense secretary hagel says we need to take that threat seriously. a u.s. army vet from arizona was arrested for allegedly fighting with al qaeda in syria. eric harroun said he hates al qaeda and was only trying to help topple the regime. >> and nelson mandela is in the hospital being treated for a lung infection. we'll have a report on that in a few minutes. >> and many of the whidbey island residents evacuated because of the recent landslide are concerned about looters. the issue was addressed at a meeting last night and officials now say they plan extra patrols. >> the white house plans to clean up gas and automobile emissions. the epa's new plan will cut out sulfur levels and it will result

in cleaner air and slightly higher gas prices. >> new york city is fighting to restore the ban of big, sugary beverages. the ban was struck down before it ever took effect. >> and there goes another number one seed. syracuse beating indiana last night 61-50. they face marquette next. [ male announcer ] this one goes out to all the allergy muddlers. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word... if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts... well muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour one on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour three. zyrtec®. love the air.

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don't budge. i'm going to say you are a senate insider. jimmy, it's good to see you, buddy. we talk about claire mchaskell, kay hagan, bob casey, sticking to their guns. what's holding them back from moving forward? >> we have to go up 30,000 feet and talk about whether we want democrats to control the majority in the senate. you have a republican house, democratic senate. the democrats could lose because of social issues to a degree. some of those senators like mary landry and others, it's a matter of whether or not they can actually go home and run and not get the crap beat out of them on this issue. now, let's go down into the senate and come down from the 30,000 feet. let's talk about certain senators that should be profiles in courage and showing leadership. here's a great example. bob casey of pennsylvania.

he just got re-elected. his first election in the senate was because lgbt folks came out in massive numbers to get rid of the biggest homophobe that ever served in the senate, rick santorum. the lgbt groups are talking to him and it's time for him to listen to them. >> the president, that was his favorite way to talk about his status, evolving. could that pay a political price in the long run for those that don't support marriage equality, at least in the near future? >> not for lisa murkowski. she's very independent. she beat a tea party guy and one is an independent. she votes with the democrats a decent percentage of the time from a very conservative red state. other republicans, look for them to start moving this way. i think the republican party has

seen the ground shift underneath them and it startled them to a large degree. senator portman is a great example of this. you'll find others in the house as well. it's going to take a little more time because of their evangelical base. they just doesnn't want to give on this issue. >> jimmy williams, as always,

nice to have you with us. >> this we we saw advocates and opponents voice their opinions on equality loud and proud. it was the 1967 landmark supreme court case brought by mildred and richard loving that set the precedence for who could marry, specifically interracial couples. when it comes to the case of two men and two women marrying, will the supreme court replicate the progress they made 40 years ago? joining me is the co-editor of your book "long way from loving." it was basically my bible on vacation. in an article she said i understand it, i believe it. as we take a look at the 16 states with had ant anti-massogination laws, do you think that we could have a sexuality blind supreme court ruling? >> absolutely. because it's all the same issues here. it's about marriage, equality and it's about fairness. when we look at this from a constitutional angle, there would be a due process angle,

which is about fairness itself and can the people actually be heard, their fundamental rights issues be realized. so all they wanted to do is just get married and then they wanted to be treated the same, there's an equal protection issue that's also a constitutional issue and they just want to be treated just like everyone else. >> when we talk about these cases and look at the constitutionality of it all and about freedom of consent, is this basically the same thing of how interracial marriages that were hyper sexualized? >> absolutely. when you look at the relationships from the outside, they're just doing the same things that other married people do, they look at the news, they nicks dinn fix dinner, the absolute most boring things that other couples do. the negative thing is we're just looking at this as a sexual

issue, we see a black man and white woman. we don't do what they during the day but we just think about what they do at night and that is the negative aspect of it and there's so much more to their marriage. >> when it comes to the coverage itself, what we've learned through the cases of the audio recordings of how prop 8 was presented and doma was argued, what your predictions for june? >> here's what i'm hoping, at least for doma, we know the judges are very amenable to knocking that down. for the same-sex marriage case it's a little bit different because when we're looking at that, do we have a litigant there that's identifiable? and eight little different. in the loving case, we have that woman, we know what the couple is, they have that great name of loving. and i'd like to see both of them come out the same way and that we end up on the right side of history. >> great to have you here, the book, "loving v. virginia," it's

a great read. >> nelson mandela is reported making steady progress after being admitted to the hospital yesterday for a lung infection. president obama expressed concern yesterday for mandela's health. >> we're all deeply concerned about nelson mandela's health. he's a hero for all of us, i'm sure i speak for the other leaders here. we will be keeping him in our thoughts and prayers and his entire family. >> keir simmons is outside the hospital. what more can you tell us about mandela's condition? >> reporter: we are hearing positive news for the millions around the world who are watching and waying. we're told this morning nelson mandela enjoyed a breakfast.

it was his second night at the hospital before he was taken from his home behind me in johannesburg late on wednesday. it's also reported that family members have been to see him. he was actually photographed with one of hit late grandsons last month looking fit and healthy, but he has had this recurrent lung infection that dates back to when he was a political prisoner and suffered tuberculosis. he's been in the hospital three times in the last four months and for three weeks back in december. so it is an ongoing issue. but the positive side to that of course is that in each of those cases he has returned to his home here and the very fact that this is nelson mandela, this is a strong man who we, again, see overcoming this ongoing issue regularly. >> certainly a lot of international well wishers sending nelson hmandela and his family the best. >> a blockbuster deal on paid sick leave in new york city. it's good news for some one million workers. but is it good for business and

will other cities follow suit? and our question of the day for you is momentum on gun control gone or can the president debt get it back? find us on facebook. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information and rewards for addressing my health risks. but she's still going to give me a heart attack. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. looking for a litter

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however, he's for banning big sodas and keeping people healthy. when it comes to paid sick leave, is that a dichotomy. why wouldn't he come out in full support of this? >> it's such a contradiction to

be spending time talking about what size soda people should be drinking and whether they should eat salt, yet if a monday has a child who is sick, she has to send them to school or risk her job. most restaurant workers, 80% don't have any paid sick time. that's just dangerous to the health of the city. you would think a health mayor like mayor bloomberg would be in favor of it. >> we still wait for his reaction. sherri, great to see you today. thanks for coming in. >> thank you. >> the debate gets personal. >> that does not mean can you not step back into life again. >> a compromised candidate is not what we want. it's not what we need. >> former governor mark sanford admitted to failing very publicly but says that humility will serve him well in congress.

being off the campaign trail is apparently agreeing with mitt romney. here's what he told dennis miller. >> i have to admit, being able to go back to our own life and going to the grocery store and shopping at the store is kind of nice to do by myself without a lot of people with me. i like the life of a normal citizens. >> it is cash-only for chief justice roberts. a police spokesman says he was the victim of credit card fraud. he had to pay for his morning coffee with cash because he cancelled his credit cards.ms ♪ ♪ back against the wall ♪ ain't nothin to me ♪ ain't nothin to me [ crowd murmurs ] hey! ♪

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we asked and you answered, is momentum on gun control gone, or can the president get it back? one twitter response, 154 bullets plus five minutes equals 26 dead. it's time to wake up and another

tweet, i don't think it's gone. the fight's there, just too much opposition. we encourage to you keep the comments coming in you can find us on twitter an facebook. so not far from the mind of at least one justice at spreemt court this week from the thousands of families with same-sex parents. >> there is an immediate legal injury or legal -- what could be a legal injury. and that's the voice of these children. there are some 40,000 children in california, according to the red brief, that live with same-sex parents. and they want their parents to have full recognition and full status. the voice of those children is important. >> that was justice anthony kennedy during arguments tuesday about california's proposition 8. more than 111,000 same-sex couples are raising an estimated

170,000 biological, step or adopted children. joining me is director of communications for the family equality council. steven, it's nice to see you. as we saw on the steps spreext court this week, one of the couple bees hind the prop 8 suit, they brought their twin sons with them to the arguments. i want to play briefly what the kids had to say after the hearing, take a look. >> i just want to say how incredibly proud we are of our parents. we love them, we love our family, and we look forward to the day when we will be treated equally, just like our neighbors' families. >> so, steve, what justice kennedy said this week about the families directly in california. what does that mean to lgbt families living across the u.s.? >> well thomas, i think clearly justice kennedy gets it. the court and our country cannot have a full understanding of the issues in this case, until they take into account the real-life

experiences of the millions of kids in our country who have same-sex parents. that's why we thought it was so important to elevate their voices. we were thrilled to be invited to file an amicus brief with the court that elevated the voices of these children. because clearly, i think here's what's important there are no better people to talk about the importance of marriage in this country, than those people who benefit the most which are the children. >> let's talk more about that. according to new research from the family equality council, of children living with same-sex parents, the majority are biological children. other families, they do have adopted and foster kids. is there research, steve, to suggest that families with same-sex parents fare any differently? let's remind everybody that heterosexual couples and heterosexual parents can raise great kids, they can raise bad kids. the same argument can go for gay and lesbian parents. they can raise amazing children or they cannot. i mean it's, they're the same

kind of parents, basically. >> sure. well i can tell you this. i mean a week ago we had the american academy of pediatrics release a powerful statement endorsing marriage equality and saying that marriage benefits all families. and behind that is more than 30 years of social science research which tells us that the kids raised by same-sex parents grow up with the same positive developmental outcomes as their peers who are raised by opposite-gender couples. so there is, there's a body, there's a wealth of research out there, that says that these kids are just the same as every other kids. and but what is different, thomas, i think is important, is what is different is they lack the benefits and protection that marriage affords. >> over 1100 of them. steve majors of the family equality council, nice to see you, thank you. that's going to wrap things up for me. have a great weekend, everybody, "now" with alex wagner is coming up next, joy reed is filling in.

president obama has hit the road to push his agenda, gun research, the economy and immigration. we'll answer the question, is anyone on capitol hill listening. plus extreme comments from the right wing of the republican party show a disappearing centrist viewpoint. is the gop happy hanging on the fringe. it's good friday, we'll look at reforming faith in the catholic church. all that when "now" starts in 180 seconds. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility.

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