ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. right now "news nation," an unprecedented $765 million settlement between the nfl and thousands of players suing over concussions. fast food fight. what could be the largest day of walkouts by workers demanding they deserve more than minimum wage. plus, new protests against a judge who verbally attacked a 14-year-old rape victim who committed suicide. but first the "news nation" is following the congressional briefing expected to happen in just a few hours between top white house officials and congressional leaders on the crisis in syria. now one of the top questions, the evidence u.s. intelligence

has gathered on the assad regime's reported use of chemical weapons. the conference call briefing will include secretary of state john kerry and defense secretary chuck hagel and will only include chair men and ranking members of certain congressional committees, but 116 lawmakers from both parties are now asking the president to obtain full congressional authorization before carrying out any military action no matter how limited. now speaker of the house john boehner wrote a letter to the president calling on him to, quote, make the case to the american people and congress for how potential military action will secure american national security interests. president obama says he has not yet decided to launch a military attack. >> we have not yet made a decision but the international law against the use of chemical weapons needs to be kept in place and nobody disputes or hardly anybody disputes that chemical weapons were used on a

large scale in syria. >> complicating matters more from the white house, reports russia is sending two warships to the mediterranean fueling tensionness that region. great britain's america's biggest potential ally in any action against syria is now walking back its support for strikes delaying key votes until next week. in a contentious debate, prime minister david cameron warned the consequences of inaction. >> i think we can be as certain as possible that when we have a regime that has used chemical weapons on 14 occasions, that is most likely responsible for this large scale attack, that if nothing is done it will conclude it can use these weapons again and again on a larger scale and with impunity. >> meanwhile, they're asking that u.n. inspectors be given more time to carry out their work. u.n. officials have rejected those calls. they're expented to leave on saturday. we'll go live to nbc's ayman

mohyeldin who's in lebanon. ayman, we're talking about the entire region. you're in lebanon. part of this is the refugees, people fleeing syria going into turkey and lebanon as they prepare or anticipate some type of military strike. >> you're absolutely correct, tamron. in fact, there's so many layers to it. there is a humanitarian layer that you talked about which has in the past 24 hours seen a massive spike of syrian refugees crossing the border. there's also a serious layer of violence here. keep in mind that hezbollah, which has been one of the strongest allies of the syrian regime, is based out of southern lebanon. they have stood by president assad throughout this entire conflict sending fighters and troops to fight alongside his regime. so there is the growing concern that across the region there can be a massive uptick in violence

of those who support the president of syria if, in fact, the u.s. strikes. we've heard from a senior iranian commander saying that any american strike on syria would almost be the second vietnam war for the american military and it would not secure israel, an indication that perhaps there can be violence in the region. so that's certainly another dimension to it. all roads really of the syrian conflict do lead to lebanon by some extent. there is a massive concern in jordan and lebanon that there could be a massive uptick in refugees pouring across the border. that is something neither one of those two countries can handle given the economic stresses the current refugee strike has caused. >> people in damascus indicate civilians are flooding stores bringing in food into their homes because they believe that this is imminent, this is inevitable, some type of strike is near. >> reporter: that's correct.

in fact, we've been speaking to sources on the ground in damascus. the official government line out of syria is that they are remaining defiant. the situation remains calm. the people and the government will defend their territory in the face of what they're calling western aggression, but no doubt about it, when you speak to ordinary syrians as we've been, there is a great sense of anxiety and fear. in fact, we've seen in the last 24 hours a massive spike in prices of basic food commodities, basic gasoline, a lot of basic medicines. people are nervous. people are anxious. that is a dimension in all of this. the humanitarian dimension of the people caught up in this conflict is driving a great sense of fear across the region, tamron. >> thank you, ayman. let me bring in chuck todd. chuck, you heard ayman's report. syria as defiant as ever. the people are preparing for an imminent attack. tell me what you've been able to uncover regarding the briefing

later? >> reporter: the briefing is for the high level members of congress. it's something that the white house knows and they've been turning their attention to. if the first 48 hours of this week was about trying to get an international coalition toget r together, trying to get all of the ducks in a row, talking to the prime min sners of canada, the next 24 hours will focus on trying to calm members of congress down. they know that there is a lot of anxiety among members of congress about it. they're hoping that presenting the evidence of the chemical weapons attack to the high level members of congress who are on the key committee, foreign relations, intelligence, armed services, etc., plus members of the leadership, that perhaps some of this public criticism or public calls for the president to slow down, get congress -- wait till congress gets back, maybe that dissipates. so i think a lot riding on how credible this briefing is to these members of congress because i can tell you another

thing i've been hearing, tamron, is the reports this morning out of both the associated press and "the new york times" that indicates that the intelligence the united states has is circumstantial, that they don't have the smoking gun or there are a lot of caveats in here. that has some members of congress spooked by iraq and wmbs a little nervous. >> i think, chuck, i want to talk more about that. people at home, i know we've talked a lot about iraq and weapons of mass destruction. here you have this undeniable proof that secretary kerry so passionately spoke about earlier this week. they said from the beginning it wouldn't be fool proof. dead children is not something that can be faked or denied. are you hearing in washington the continued comparisons of the mistakes of the past? has that wrongly been processed with what's happening here?

>> you bring up a good point. for instance, is it assad or was it a rogue general? could some elements of the rebellion maybe have gotten their hands on some of this? these are the -- that has within been the issue in these intelligence reports is that they don't have the chain of custody. they don't have the chain of custody all the way through, and because of that they can't be 100% certain. i think another way to look at this, tamron, don't forget the intelligence community learned lessons from iraq, too, which means they don't claim anything's 100% anymore. >> right. >> reporter: they don't claim anything is ever a slam dunk because that didn't work out so well for the cia director who went into the oval office on wmds. you have this coupled with an intelligence community that's frankly more honest about caveats than it used to be. >> absolutely. since the president has not determined or decided what the

appropriate action should be, i think that's also intriguing, chuck, in that when the infamous or now famous line about when a red line was uttered, one would say a lot of the ifs, ands and buts would have been decided. >> reporter: that's right. i think that's what's coming upon the white house now. they have to explain the sense of urgency. why now? why can't it wait? we're hearing more members of congress, democrats and republicans saying, hey, we come back in two weeks. what's the rush? you heard david cameron say, guess what, 14 times they think assad used chemical weapons at some point during this civil war. we've waited for months, what's another couple of weeks? the white house needs to explain the why now. >> chuck, thank you very much. joining me now, retired army four star general barry mccalf free.

he's an msnbc military analyst. amy smith is a senior fellow. she's an expert on chemical and war weapons. thank you all for joining me here. jay, let me start off with you. michael crowley in "time" writes this about the unhappy war. obama faces a defining test in syria. the art is preventing no win decisions from ever presenting themselves and in retrospect obama's caution may have worked against him. what is your take on what michael wrote there? >> it's relaally a tension bein able to warn off these tensions but also the iranians. we're seeing what happens when syria crosses that red line. do we take action? do we actually punish them for this?

balancing that at home with the deep unpopularity of any idea of going into syria. clearly we're not even talking about putting boots on the ground, any kind of involvement in syria is very, very unpopular with americans. that's really obama's struggle here. >> general mccalffrey, let's talk about the options. it's not about removing bashar al assad. it's pointed out more answers needed on syria. they go on to write, mr. obama has yet to make clear how military strikes will actually deter chemical attacks without further enflaming a region in turmoil. ayman mohyeldin reported this is more than a battle for syria. >> well, we've got ourselves in a real mess here, largely

because we didn't write down the mission we were trying to achieve. a limited strike, tomahawk missiles on syria, is unlikely to do anything but worsen the situation. we're going to end up with the assad regime defiant of us. they could detonate chemical weapons during the strike and claim we did it. they could gas their people three days later. they could attack the israelis. we haven't thought through what do we do when an ineffective limited strike takes place. we have to think through that. you have to do it with the legit maci of congress. this isn't an intimate threat to the united states. this is a humanitarian, moral argument we're making. we don't have u.n. support, we don't have the arab league, we don't have nato, they didn't think through what they were doing. >> we've seen the incredible pressure placed on david cameron today. let me bring you in, amy.

from the beginning i felt that it was quite clear at least from the u.n. that it would almost be impossible to have 100% determination on who carried out these acts but as secretary kerry pointed out, at least in his estimation and many others, this is something you cannot dispute in i guess reasonable opinion that this is the assad regime, whether it is someone working under assad or not. what is your take if we're never able to with certainty determine who launched these multiple chemical attacks? >> well, there is a win-win option out there for the obama administrati administration, the cameron government and 186 other nations. this treaty which banned chemical weapons required all of these other countries to provide assistance. in this case it should be assistance to the opposition and to the syrian citizens.

this can be a matter of gas masks with simple instructions in arabic. there needs to be other medical supplies provided to the physicians and paramedics that are trying to contend with these attacks. this is win-win. the international community can deal with this. >> is that an appropriate -- you've seen the pictures. you are the expert. you know better than i here. when you look at these images, passing out gas masks, this seems to be whomever is responsible here, their goal is to take out lives here. >> i clearly think that the assad government is responsible, particularly for this latest attack. and one thing that providing chemical defenses does is it sort of levels the playing field. it takes away the military advantage of using chemical weapons if you have provided respiratory protection and coached the civilians in how to do decontamination. we're talking about saving lives first and foremost and also

preventing further loss of life if in the aftermath of any military strikes there is additional use of chemical weapons. >> tamron, can i interject something? >> yes, sir. >> look, i've worked with chemical warfare my entire life. i'm very uneasy about something that's been said for the last week. after that widespread massive attack killed or sickened thousands of people, there should have been hundreds of chemical rockets or artillery shells which are easily identifiable, they're low order detonations, i do not understand -- obviously it was a chemical attack. the question is, who carried it out. this wasn't one or two munition, this would have been extensive employment of chemicals unless it was a rebel jihadist unit that detonated two of them near an intake of bunkers. i'm still waiting for the evidence of the attack.

it is easy to determine whether this was a rocket attack. >> jay, let me bring you in. this is a part and leading up to what will happen in the next couple of hours, this briefing, that will include secretary kerry and secretary haggle with members of congress. we've seen a letter signed saying there needs to be congressional agreement. what do you anticipate will come out of this meeting or this conference call today? >> well, the administration does need to make its case on why they believe so absolutely that the assad regime is behind this attack in syria, that it is not the rebels that are behind this attack. as they've said, they warrant that they don't have a smoking gun on this but they do believe that they have enough connecting of the dots that it is the regime that's responsible. >> but, jay, let me ask you. are we past that? when you look at what secretary kerry has said, i mean, obviously they'll go into more

specific classified information, but i would imagine more of this conversation within around what would seem to be in reasonable circles the obvious here. >> certainly everyone that i've spoken to has said in the administration and in congress has said -- who have seen the evidence that it really is undeniable. that really the opposition doesn't have the capability to handle chemical weapons in the same way that the regime does, that they're trained to do. it really is hard to imagine that the opposition can set off this kind of massive attack. there has to be, therefore, a response to it. you cannot allow a regime to gas its own people. you cannot allow these red lines to be crossed with impuimpunity. otherwise it encourages people to cross those red lines down the road. >> general, let me bring it back to this movement from russia as i said complicating matters. russia's sending two warships to the mediterranean. what is your take on this aspect

of this already incredibly complicated situation we are in? >> very little importance. syria is a client state. he's trying to indicate he's engaged. there is zero probability of the russian navy con fronting us in the mediterranean. >> what is that movement? >> he's trying to indicate he's there. back to the conclusion though, is it guaranteed this was the assad regime? it is not clear to me that it was. it is easy to imagine a circumstance under which some number of weapons were captured by the rebels and detonated against their own innocent people so we've got to rule that out. it would be an utter disaster six months from now to learn that's what happened. >> thank you very much. thank you. still ahead, new reaction on

the developing story involving the nfl and a massive $765 million settlement with former players suing over concussions. plus, more protests and outrage against a montana judge who verbally attacked a teenl age rape victim who committed suicide. the judge said the child had as much control of the situation as the teacher who raped her. >> i'm not sure just what i was attempting to say at that point, but it didn't come out correct. very angry people agree with that. plus, a first of its kind decision when it comes to texting and driving. here's a question. should a person who sends a text message be blamed for accidents if they knew the person they were texting was behind the wheel? it is our "news nation" gut check. we'll tell you how you can put your answer in on that one. and join our conversation on twitter. you can find us @tamronhall and @newsnation. [ male announcer ] imagine this cute blob is metamucil.

and this park is the inside of your body. see, the special psyllium fiber in metamucil actually gels. and that gelling helps to lower some cholesterol. metamucil. 3 amazing benefits in 1 super fiber.

new reaction after the nfl agrees to a $765 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by former players and their families over concussions. more than 4500 players signed onto the suit alleging the league misled them about the dangers of head injuries and failed to properly protect them. among the plaintiffs were players with advanced dementia and families of players who died from what they claim were long-term effects of head trauma. money from the settlement will go towards funding medical exams, concussion related compensation and a program of medical research. it will cover some legal expenses. the case is the largest of its type and could provide the framework for future lawsuits brought by other athletes who

say they were not protected. nbcsports.com's mike florio joins me. let me get your reaction to this settlement and what it means. >> my first reaction was surprise because i didn't think that at this stage of the game the two sides would come together and work out a deal. tamron, there was a key ruling due next week from a judge in philadelphia that could have sent all of these cases out of a court system and into an arbitration setting where the value for the plaintiffs would have gone down dramatically so the two sides used this opportunity to come down and work it out. the more i look at the terms the more i think the nfl got a very good deal here. >> so the nfl executive vice president jeffrey pack said in a statement, this agreement lets us help those who need it most. commissioner goodell and every owner gave the legal team the same direction, do the right thing for the game and for the men who played it.

i think that while that is worded to conveysincerity, you'll have some families who won't believe it because the nfl did fight it for so long. >> there is reason to be skeptical. the way this is structured, $675 million will be set aside for players with actual injuries, cognitive difficulties, alzheimer's, als. they will be evaluated by doctors to determine how much they should get based on their age, the number of years played in the nfl. the guys who have been injured in the proposed settlement will get most of the money. that's the way it should be. it's important to be skeptical until it plays out the way they say it should. >> we're still talking about 4500 players, $765 million. that sounds -- when you say the dollar figure on his head sounds like a lot when you break it up and some of the injuries and the long-term issues these players deal with, you wonder if it is

enough. let me play a documentary, "bell rung" featuring dorsey levins talking about the high price athletes play. >> if you want to do something, make sure that the veteran health care is in place that these guys can get tested early so that maybe you can have a better future. it's so deep it really makes you wonder like if i had a son, do i really want him to play this game? >> and, mike, that brings me to this. what impact does it have on the game? yeah, i'm from the state of texas, football country. this is your passion as well. what does this say for all of these young players right now out in the sun getting ready and high school, in middle school who love this sport but realize it is dangerous? >> well, and that's the thing. they realize it's dangerous, and this is a realization that has become clearer over the last three or four years. these lawsuits arose in large

part from the allegation that for decades the nfl hid from the players the risks of suffering these multiple mild concussion, but yaefr one knows the risks now. the nfl is trying to protect players from multiple concussions, being vigilant about not letting them get out on the field. the hope is that the thing the nfl is trying to do will trickle down to college and high school and pee wee level. time will tell whether or not that means parents will allow their children to keep playing football. >> mike florio, thank you very much. we'll be discussing this. still ahead, the fast food industry now hit with what's believed to be the largest strike ever. you may have noticed it in your area. workers walking out. they say they deserve more than minimum wage. we're going to take a look at the impact of this. >> the reason we are doing this is because we work too damn hard.

>> they are fired up. what is the fast food industry saying in response? first in today's money minute, a look at how wall street is doing right now. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones. now, everyone's in the spirit of sharing. hey, can i borrow your boat this weekend? no. [ male announcer ] share more. save more. at&t mobile share for business. ♪

congestion, for the smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the buses are running on natural gas,

they don't throw out as much pollution into the air. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment. right now fast food workers in more than 50 states walking off the job. they are hoping to increase pressure on employers to pay what they say is a livable wage. today's demonstrations are happening in major cities across the country. chicago, detroit, l.a. the rallies are expected to be thee the biggest since last summer. they say they simply cannot survive on what they're being paid now. >> we work hard and we make a lot of money for these companies.

mcdonald's and burger king are part of a $200 billion year industry. nbc's katie tur is live in new york city. mcdonald's has released a statement, wendy's the same. the franchisees determine how much they pay employees. what are people saying there? >> they're saying basically that each of these stores can't afford to pay their employees more, they'll have to have layoffs and they'll have to raise prices. people hearsay that's absolutely not the case, these companies make a ton of money and they can afford to raise the minimum wage. they're asking to go from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour. they're asking to be able to unionize without any fear of consequence. we had hundreds of people walk through here a while ago. now they're moving on to union square. this is the tip of the iceberg here. there are 60 cities having rallies across the country. workers say they cannot survive

on that wage. they can't feed their families. you might think these are teenagers that will have better jobs. that's not the case. jobless claims show 3 out of every 5 new jobs are minimum wage jobs. the national employment law project says 88% of those earning less than $10 an hour are over the age of 20. 1/3 of those are over the age of 40 so certainly a lot of people that are aging into these jobs but, again, the fast food companies say they simply can't afford it. they'll have to raise prices. that ultimately they argue is going to hurt the poor even more. >> it's interesting they say they have to raise prices. for example, forbes says that no change would happen. companies would simply cut costs to remain competitive. another report out indicated that a big mac would ultimately be 5 cents more if these people were paid more to work there. as i mentioned, this has been ticking up sense november. did you get the sense from the people that you spoke with that

they are really in this for the long haul? >> i certainly got that sense. i spoke to a number of people that have been to multiple rallies. at first people rolled their eyes at them, what are you doing? we can't do this together. now they're seeing some momentum. they're hoping they can get a change. they're hoping they can shame these companies into raising their wages. it might not get to $15 an hour, even if it gets raised a few dollars, that would help. there are other economists that will say it will not happen. they say the job market is so bad that they can replace these employees with other employees. >> katie tur, thank you very much. still ahead, pennsylvania fighting to invalidate licenses given to same-sex couples. comparing them to children. this is one of the things we thought you should know. i don't want you to pay for this.

it's not happening, honey. let her get it. she got her safe driving bonus check from allstate last week. and it's her treat. what about a tip? oh, here's one... get an allstate agent. nice! [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call 866-905-6500 now. here we go! hold on man. is that a leak up there? that's a drip. whoo. okay. aah. now that's a leak. that is a leak! and if you don't have allstate renters insurance... game over. [ female announcer ] protect your valuables from things like water damage for as low as $4 a month when you add renters insurance to your allstate auto policy. call 866-905-6500 now. plus, drivers who switched saved an average of $498 a year. just a few more ways allstate is changing car insurance for good. [ female announcer ] call an allstate agent and get a quote now.

it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.

more now on our top story. in just a few hours congressional leaders are expected to be briefed by members of president obama's cabinet on what action, if any, the u.s. will take against syria. meantime, in israel people are rushing to gas mask distribution centers. they fear that if the u.s. goes ahead with missile attacks on syria, israel will be the first target of retaliation. nbc's a tia baughy is in tel aviv. >> hi there, tamron. there is a panic among certain civilians inside israel that they may be targeted if there is a u.s. air strike in syria. you mentioned thousands of israelis have lined up at various distribution centers. these are government issued gas masks that are given out to the population to protect them, any time during the year. in the last couple of days we've seen more and more israelis going out and trying to pick those up. they've been waiting in line

anywhere from 4 to 12 hours. we've seen people shoving each other, cursing each other trying to get the gas masks to protect their families just in case there is an attack on israel. that being said, israeli officials say that it is unlikely they'll see a syrian attack on israeli soil because basically syria's diminished capabilities to strike israel. they're exerting all of their energy in their own civil war. in fact, in january and may we saw israeli airstrikes inside of syrian soil targeting possible weapons shipments from the syrian regime to hezbollah and we saw no retaliation by the syrian government then. prime minister benjamin netanyahu says although they don't expect an attack, he did say if we identify any attempt to attack us, we will respond and we will respond forcefully. that being said, he has deployed -- the government has deployed 1,000 reservists up north where that border with syria is.

they've also deployed an extra iron dome. that's an antimissile battery. they already have one up north. now they have another one just for preparation. >> atia , thank you. as to the role of congress and any response to syria, our first routine notes every day that goes by more and more members of congress believe that they should have a voice on whether the united states launches strikes against syria. joining me live, dominic dominico montenera. let's talk about this conference call later today. is this about presenting the information that the u.s. has or is it truly to discuss what the action should be different the word from secretary kerry earlier this week? >> we know that it's going to be a briefing from the white house for members of the national security team to especially members of important key committees in congress because there has been some of this discussion on whether or not the united states should go in.

you've seen some members of congress, 116, send a letter saying they need to get congressional approval beforehand. we haven't seen that from speaker boehner to be the case. you hear him saying that he's supportive of the president's goals when it comes to syria and what he said previously, he wants him to make the case to the american public, more notably less than congress even, on why action would be necessary. >> let me play a little bit of what the president said last night on pbs raring the security issues here in the united states as it relates to this ongoing crisis. let's play it. >> there is a prospect, a possibility in which chemical weapons that can have devastating effects could be directed at us, and we want to make sure that that does not happen. >> so, doe min niko, that's intriguing for a number of reasons. we read the polls.

people believe there is a media hysteria or drum bet putting pressure on the president to act. there you hear the president bringing this in a sense back home and how this does impact the security of the united states. >> i do think after a decade of war, however, that the american public is skeptical of when a government comes forward and says here is the evidence that we say that there is evidence but you're not seeing what the evidence is. and for the president to say, well, we think it could be the case that chemical weapons could be used against us, i think rational thinking americans and journalists will say, how? how is that the case? will they pass them to hezbollah or will they filter them to another country like iran. how would that exactly work and how is the united states directly implicated? the american public is very skeptical of doing anything right now. >> politically how does that work? the president was one of those who was skeptical of what happened in iraq, very vocal to say the least against that war

now saying the if/then scenarios, the very things that people, the average civilian pushes back from. >> look, i think that we've seen that with this president in his reticence to want to even conduct any kind of an attack until he's absolutely sure, and i think that we're seeing some of this pumping of the brakes a bit from members of congress, even from the debate that played out in parliament and britain. if you don't have britain on board, france completely on board, australia and not to mention germany, i think it's very difficult. i don't think president obama wants to be saying, okay, it's a unilateral united states action especially when the u.n. is also saying not to do anything right now. why not wait a few days, weeks, whatever since you've waited this long. i think this president is open to that message. he hasn't been trigger happy yet. i don't see that being the case going forward.

>> all right. thank you very much. coming up, a montana judge under fire for suggesting a 14-year-old rape victim who ended up committing suicide has just as much control over the situation as the teacher convicted of raping her. >> what i said was demeaning to all women, not what i believe in. >> okay, but that's not enough. some people want him out. the judge apologized. we're going to take a look at this story and find out your thoughts as well. on twitter, you can send it to us. v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle.

but you had to leave rightce to now, would you go? world, need a little kick? ooh! man: 'oh i can't go tonight' woman: 'i can't.' hero : that's what expedia asked me. host: book the flight but you have to go right now. hero: (laughs) and i just go? this is for real right? this is for real? i always said one day i'd go to china,

just never thought it'd be today. anncr: we're giving away a trip every day. download the expedia app and your next trip could be on us. expedia, find yours. when i first felt the diabetic nerve pain, of course i had no idea what it was. i felt like my feet were going to sleep. it progressed from there to burning like i was walking on hot coals... to like 1,000 bees that were just stinging my feet. i have a great relationship with my doctor... he found lyrica for me. [ female announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling,

or skin sores from diabetes. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. having less pain -- it's a wonderful feeling. [ female announcer ] ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain. to hear more of phyllis's story, visit lyrica.com. right now protesters are outside the courthouse where a montana judge has come under fire for comments that he made about a 14-year-old rape victim who committed suicide. his comments came as he sentenced the high school teacher who raped her to just 30 days in jail. the judge is now apologizing for what he said but he's standing by his controversial ruling.

>> what i said was demeaning to all women, not what i believe in, and irrelevant to the sentencing. >> judge g. todd baugh is apologizing for comments he made monday when he sentenced a 54-year-old former teacher for raping a 14-year-old student back in 2008 suggesting the rape victim had as much control of the situation as the teacher who raped her and that she was, quote, older than her chronological age. >> i made some references to the victim's age and control. i'm not sure just what i was attempting to say at that point but it didn't come out correct. i owe all our fellow citizens an apology. >> baugh sentenced stacy ram baugh to 18 years but suspended all but 30 days. the student committed suicide in 2010. he says he felt the state lost the case after the student died. >> to the sentence itself i'll add an addendum to the court file to hopefully better explain

the sentence. >> baugh's sentence caused a national backlash. >> the district is appalled at the sentence that was given. we are more in line with what the county attorneys recommended, which was 10 to 20 years. >> the victim's mother says the judge's apology brings her little comfort. >> there's a statement prepared that pretty much says it all. it was a joke. i'm horrified. i don't believe in justice anymore. >> well, baugh, who's been in office since 1985 says he plans to stay on the bench at least until his term ends next year. joining me is aphrodite jones. thank you for joining me. thank you for helping with the show. >> thank you. >> also covering these stories. i wanted to talk to you especially about this because you have such great passion. this is unbelievable and the outrage continues, it swells

throughout this country. >> absolutely. you want to say the justice system is broken in america, here's an example of justice being broken. this is a slap in the face to every single woman who's been raped ever. i mean, it's basically blaming the victim, which is the reason why victims often don't come out and report rape. >> in this case the 14-year-old victim who committed suicide. >> i mean, here's a judge who for all intents and purposes, committing suicide legally is obviously not his perusal but morally you know that the abuse that this child suffered at the hands of someone who was almost 50 years old, he's calling her the intellectual equivalent, someone who's older than her age from a 50-year-old? how do you not call this man a pedophile and give him serious jail time, tamron? >> he ended up serving 30 days or will serve 30 days.

how does that make you feel being an advocate for victims and their families? >> it makes me so angry that you can get away with rape in this country and it's considered not a big deal and you talk about the good old boys network and here is a perfect example. a guy who's been sitting on the bench way too long. 71 years old. and he's not in touch with reality. he needs a reality check. >> the mother of the young girl says i guess somehow it makes a rape more acceptable if you blame the victim even if she's only 14, but apparently the sentence that he handed down to the 54-year-old teacher falls within state sentencing guidelines. >> yes. but the da's asked for a 20 year sentence with 10 years served. so that would have been 10 years behind bars. the defense asked for the 15 year sentence with only -- with then 30 days to serve. and that's what the judge went with. he had the opportunity, tamron, the opportunity to make a

statement to not just slap on the wrist this pedophile, he has the opportunity to make that pedophile an example for america, okay? but what does this judge do? he turns around, gives a slap on the wrist to that rapist and then defends his decision. >> well, the people may get the final word if he decides to try to keep his seat or his judgeship next term. >> he's going to try to keep his judgeship because of that ego. >> unbelievable. i love your passion and what you bring to the show and i appreciate everything you do. great correspond dentd and of course a great anchor of your show and my show, "deadline crime" premiers this sunday night. investigation discovery at 9:00 eastern time. and i'll just say since it's my show, "news nation," we're going to do a live twitter conversation. i will be talking to you live sunday night and i will answer almost all of your questions. i think you know the ones i won't answer.

gut check coming up. i found our colors. we've made a decision. great, let's go get you set up... you need brushes... you should check out our workshops... push your color boundaries while staying well within your budget walls. i want to paint something else. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get a $10 gift card with one-gallon cans and a $40 gift card with five-gallon buckets of select paints and stains. individualization that your body needs. this labor day, don't invest in a mattress until you visit a sleep number store. when we actually lower the sleep number setting to get the sleep number bed to conform to them, it's amazing the transition that you see with people. oh, that feels really good.it's hugging my body. they just look at you like you cured all the problems they've ever had. we hear it all the time: "i didn't know a bed could feel like this." oh yeah. at our biggest sale of the year, every sleep number bed is on sale. queen mattresses now start at just $599. and for one week only, save an incredible 50% on

the sleep number limited edition memory foam mattress sets-but only through labor day! the sleep number bed is more than just a mattress. you sleep on it, you'll understand. don't miss the biggest sale of the year on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. special offer ends labor day. only at a sleep number store. sleep number. comfort individualized.

time now for gut check. many states have laws on their books to prevent drivers from texting and driving, but in new jersey sending a text message to a driver could make you liable for causing the accident. the state's court of appeals ruled this week if a person sending a text message knows they are sending it to someone behind the wheel, this he could face civil damages. the ruling stems from a case involving a couple who was seriously injured when their motorcycle was hit by a teenager found to be texting when driving. the court allowed them to sue the teen but threw out the suit against a friend. despite it being thrown out the ruling clears the way for future cases? what does your gut tell you? go to facebook.com/"news nation." that does it for us. i'll see you tomorrow. "the cycle" is up next. replacing one restaurant dinner a week saves

your family of four over $1750 a year. save money. live better. walmart. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for her, she's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with her all day to see how it goes. [ claira ] after the deliveries, i was okay. now the ciabatta is done and the pain is starting again. more pills? seriously? seriously. [ groans ] all these stops to take more pills can be a pain. can i get my aleve back? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you.

call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral to see a specialist. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people

who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. too small. too soft. too tasty. [ both laugh ] [ male announcer ] introducing progresso's new creamy alfredo soup. inspired by perfection.

a 3:00 a.m. phone call, the implications are there. >> i'm steve in for ari. from one strike to another. fast food workers hit the picket line. i'm krystal ball reporting in from pittsburgh today. obviously i'm breaking important sports news. the nfl makes history but no one considers this a touchdown. i'm toure. it's always a joy to see tamron hall coming your way unless she's investigating you for murder. i have your alibi. you're watching "the cycle." ready for action? it's no longer a question of if we'll respond to the syrian chemical attack, it's a question of when and who's with us. right now