this has been "the ed show." up next, "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton. >> thank you. and thank you to the beautiful wendy and the rest of her clan. and thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live tonight from chicago. tonight's lead, developing news. a major, major step toward justice. today president obama the seasons of crack cocaine offenders all sentenced rnd severe mandatory minimum laws. the president said, quote, if they had been sentenced under the current law, many of them would have already served their time and paid their debt to society. they have been committed to correcting the injustices of our legal system. president obama talked about it

on the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. >> to secure the gains this country has made requires constant vigilance. not complacency. ensuring the scales of justice works equally for all and it's not simply a pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails. it requires vigilance. >> up until the president and congress changed the law in 2011, crack cocaine and powder cocaine were prosecuted completely differently. even though the drugs are essentially the same. possession of five grams of crack cocaine could give you a five-year mandatory sentence. you needed to possess 500 grams of powder cocaine to get the same sentence. the result? gross despairties in sentencing. in some states, black men are

sent to federal prison on drug charges at a rate 57% times greater than white men. and it's that kind of injustice that president obama took to fix today. clarence aaron was a 24-year-old first-time offender when he was arrest in 1993. he was connected to a drug deal in which he was neither the dealer, supplier, or the buyer. and he was sentenced to three life terms. today after 20 years in jail, his sentence was commuted. stephanie george was a 26-year-old mother of three when she was arrested in 1996. she was found guilty of hiding her boyfriend's stash of crack. because of mandatory minimum laws, she was sentenced to life. today that sentence was

commuted. this administration is dedicated to correcting these injustices. earlier this year, attorney general eric holder issued sweeping new guidelines to help fix mandatory minimums. >> today a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration traps too many americans and weakens too many communities. in many aspects of our criminal justice system, they actually exacerbate these problems rather than alleviate them. >> justice delayed, but not denied. there is so much more work to be done in this area, but today the president took a powerful step forward. it is good to see that the words the attorney general said in august, there's actual and tangible action, a breakthrough. many of us have been calling for this for years. joining me now are congressman

bobby scott, democrat from virginia. a member of the judiciary committee. and former governor ed rendell, democrat from pennsylvania. thank you both for being here. >> it's good to be here. >> our pleasure. >> congressman, what's your reaction to the president's move today? >> well, we're delighted to see the action. these eight people were sentenced to draconian penalties that would not have taken place had they been sentenced under the new law we passed just a couple years ago. the draconian sentences should have been -- this should have been retroactive when trying to pass new legislation to make it clear that the new law is to be retroactive. but the president has shown through his pardon powers that he can commute the sentences and make the new sentences consistent with the new law. the new law was passed because we found that the 100-1

disparity you commented on is unjust, has no natural basis. the tax money could be much better spent on prevention and intervention rather than life in prison for girlfriends of drug dealers. or in the other case, people that weren't even in the core of the drug dealing. just out on a tangent. and they're getting sentenced because the sentence is based on the total weight of the conspiracy. not just in what their particular part is. mandatory minimums make no sense. they've been studied and everybody knows it. it's a delight to see the president step forward and do something about it. and just these few cases, thousands of others similarly situated. we have to deal with them too. >> no doubt about it there are thousands of others. and this, governor rendell, is a question of fairness. something that you as a chief executive in the state of pennsylvania know a lot about.

you know, another person giving an example before you comment on the fairness part of this, another person sentenced who was commuted today was wendell smith. 17 years old at the time of arrest. recruited by adults. his first conviction he was sentenced to life in prison. life in prison for a non-violent drug offense. his first. even the judge in this case, governor, criticized the mandatory laws that required this sentence. >> well, there's no question you're right. i speak not only as a governor but as a district attorney. i was assistant d.a. for seven years and district attorney for eight. mandatory sentences work in a very limited area and should be used for crimes crimes like guns that are discharged. things like that. but in this case it creates manifest unfairness.

the president's job is to correct unfairness. i pardoned a number of life sentences in felony murder cases where the person i pardoned wasn't the person who actually shot the gun that killed the victim. and the shooter had gotten off, gone to trial, was found guilty and gotten eight or nine years in prison. and the lifer before me had spent 38 years in prison. well, obviously that's not fair and that's not right and it's not just. our justice system works only if it applies justice equally. >> now, you know, if you look at the fact that the president himself has a personal empathy for those in the criminal justice system. here's what he said in a speech at morehouse college back in may. >> the special obligation i felt as a black man like you to help those who need it most, people who didn't have the

opportunities that i had, because i might have been in their shoes, i might have been in prison, i might have been unemployed, i might not have been able to support a family. and that is motivates me. >> congressman, there is a racial aspect to this even with the mandatory sentencing laws. when we look at the fact that there is evidence that 19.5%, there are longer sentences for black men than white men. this is according to the u.s. sentencing commission. there is a clear race aspect to this. it's unfair for anyone, but is even more egregious when you bring in the studied racial dynamics even by the united states sentencing commission. >> well, we found in crack and powder, that crack defendants

tend to be african-american and in my district of virginia at one point all of the defendants were african-american. and so it has the racial impact. if it's a serious crime and you need a serious penalty, the judge knows what to do. if it is a not as serious and the sentence is not warranted, mandatory minimums make you impose it anyway. even if it violates common sense. that's why we have to get rid of all the mandatory minimums. we have legislation pending to do just that. and hopefully it'll pass. other legislation that will reduce the mandatory minimums. and we could at least start off with those bills. we need to get rid of the mandatory minimums because we already lock up a higher portion of our population than any place on earth. we lock up so much that it actually adds to crime. it's above the level of which

you get any criminal justice benefit. so we need to deal with the fact that the mandatory minimums make no sense. they've been studied and we have to get rid of them. >> governor, you know, this is a very, very serious move toward reforming the criminal justice system by this president, this administration. and even some republicans have come on board saying that we must be stern about fighting crime, but we must be fair. and non-violent offenses should not be taking up this kind of space in the criminal justice system. particularly when you're dealing with first time offenders that are non-violent. some of them didn't get a deal. but these are glaring in being unfair. >> we're talking about non-violent offender.

we're talking about drug dealers. we're not talking about major distributors. the president would never pardon anybody who fell in that. we've got to save our prison space for the most hardened violent criminals. so this is a step in the right direction. there's no question. any time you level out the system and make it more fair, it's a step in the right direction. nobody should think that president obama is in any way, shape, or form condoning real hardened drug dealing. >> congressman bobby scott and governor ed rendell, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. coming up, the duck dynasty star suspended after anti-gay and racially charged remarks. but the right wing is out in force defending him.

what does it say about the republican brand? and how desperate are they getting? they're now attacking this man in pajamas to slam obama care. plus first lady michelle obama gets personal on my radio show on what obama care is really about. >> for me as a mother, i am just -- you know, i just can't put into words how important it is for every american, for every mother, for every person in this country to have health care. and the revvies are coming. we want to hear from you. stay with us. [ ship horn blows ]

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looks like the right wing's found their new boogeyman. this guy. pajama guy. president obama tweeted out this picture writing, how do you plan to spend the cold days of december. wearing pajamas, drink hot chocolate, talk about getting health insurance. pretty harmless, right? well, not to some. >> another i can't wait for the big photo shoot said pa ja pa boy cupping his hot cocoa. >> definition of the adult child here and the adult child look at the obama administration. >> now the american male is a two handed hot chocolate man child with footed pajamas. that is the message that the administration is trying to portray, right? i think it's despicable. >> whoa. it's only an ad, people.

pajama guy is just playing a role. but what they really hate is what the ad is all about. getting health insurance. and behind the joke is something serious. they want to repeal a law that's helping real people today the white house says the law is working. in mississippi nearly 27,000 seniors there save an average of $679 on prescriptions. in arizona 69,000 young adults gained insurance by staying on their parents' plans. and in virginia, more than 3 million people with pre-existing conditions no longer have to worry about losing coverage. real lives are better because of the health care law. that's the point the first lady drove home when we interviewed her on my radio show.

she met with a group of mothers and heard personal stories. >> there was one mother who said she cried herself to sleep every night because her son was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in his early 20s and she didn't know how to pay for it. so she was praying every night that the act wouldn't be repealed. you know, so that's the kind of personal, you know, story that's often missed in that back and forth that turns this issue which is a pretty plain and simple issue, this is about getting people health care. who didn't have it and can't afford it. and now we have obama care. and it's affordable. most people can get a plan for as little as $100 a month. they can be insured. they can go to a doctor on a regular basis. and when they get sick, they won't go bankrupt. it's as simple as that. but health care is so confusing

to most people that it's easy to confuse the situation. >> the gop can mock an ad all they want. the real joke is the people who are still pushing for repeal. joining me now is congressman charlie rangel, democrat of new york. thanks for being here, congressman. >> thank you, rev. >> you see what would happen to people if this law would repealed. yet republican leaders are still attacking and pundits are mocking ads. what is this all about, congressman? >> i'll tell you one thing. there is going to be a change. it is true a handful of people don't care about the republican party, the congress, or the country. and speaker boehner has been yielding to them on every initiative that the president's had. and refusing to bring a bill on the floor so that republicans can vote their conscience. but i think he's fed up with it. i think the american people have

said enough is enough. we jeopardize the fiscal economy in terms of integrity. we have 30, 40 million people without health insurance. and the thing this president is doing and wants to do more in terms of education, immigration and making certain that the criminal justice system has justice included in it. so i am fired up as i was when he first started. and he is moving forward with executive power and i am confident the wall street boys want to protect their interests, they see the disparity we have in america. america cannot succeed without a middle class that has hope and ability to live in this great nation of ours. >> you know, congressman, when i spoke to the first lady about the health care law on my radio show, she said it was personal for her. and she talked about how there was a time her daughter sasha had gotten very sick as a bay si. listen to this.

>> so when i described the symptoms, you know, the fact she had a slight fever but she seemed to be in pain in a way i had never seen as a baby he said get her to the emergency room. just go. do not pass go, just get to the emergency room and as it turned out, she had meningitis. and they had to do a spinal tap. she turned out obviously, as the story ends, she is fine. she's healthy. she's a beautiful young lady. but if we hadn't had insurance and access to a pediatrician and access to a hospital where we didn't have to worry about the cost of care, if we had waited overnight, if we had postponed acting, there's no telling what the outcome would have been. and that's why for me as a mother, i am just, you know, i just can't put into words how important it is for every american, for every mother, for

every person in this country to have health care. >> health care is a personal issue for the first lady. is that the way most people see it, congressman? >> you can't believe how many people come into my office that didn't have health care or they did have it and the insurance company decided that they had a pre-condition so therefore they got cut off their policy. they go to the hospital and they're there for a length of time and they would say that you have an annual cap on what you want or they would say that the hospital is costing too much and they can't pay for it. so there's everybody knows somebody that's either going into bankruptcy because of a serious illness or couldn't get insurance in the first place. and so i would be hoping as the first lady can talk about her experience, how many priests, ministers, and rabbis have seen in their congregation people who suffer because the insurance company hasn't worked with them or they couldn't get insurance.

having a lady like the first lady remind people of their own families even when you're the first lady of the country is going to create an atmosphere for more people to understand this is not a democratic/republican issue. it's a human issue and it's the guts of the united states of america. and i might add what the president did to remind people that justice means that people who should not be in jail should get politicians on the state level the political courage to do what is right and not be afraid of doing the right thing is going to cause them to be called soft on crime. this is the right thing to do. >> now, let me, while i have you, switch gears a little from health care. i'm in chicago today, but i understand that today in new york you indicated that you're going to run for re-election to congress from harlem.

now, there's already two people that have said that they are possibly and probably going to run. senator adriana espaillat and pastor michael walrond. who has worked with me in the past. and who said that like you they respect a lot of what you've done. but like you ran and defeated clay, they feel it's time for new and young change in leadership. how do you respond to that? >> i don't respond to them. i think in this democracy of ours people can ascertain what contribution they want to make to society, to the community. and really it's the community's response to their political ambition. but quite frankly, there's so much that has to be done in the obama administration, and i would like to believe that having been down there for four

decades that i can make a contribution so all of our dreams and aspirations that he started off wanting to do that i can be part of that as i conclude my congressional contribution to my district and this country. and so there are a lot of people that said they wanted to run but most of them came and said, hey, rangel if you can run one more time, give us an opportunity to know the diversity of the district and for god's sake if you're not going to run again, give us the chance to raise the funds that get the diversity together. because the last thing that we need is one class running against another class because of differences. we happen to have a problem in my congressional districts between all parts of it in over 40 years. i don't think we're going to have it now. we all should come together and do what's best for our community. >> all right. i'm going to have to leave it there, congressman rangel. we'll talk about it when i get

home. thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you, al. ahead, a major development in the renisha mcbride case. she was unarmed and shot dead. tonight her family is a step close tore answers. but first, this "duck dynas dynasty" star was suspended from his tv show after making anti-gay and racially charges comments. but today conservatives are rushing to his defense. they're supporting him in a big way and it reveals the big problem for a party trying to rebrand. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ]

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texas senator ted cruz, louisiana governor bobby jindal, radio talk show host rush limbaugh, and fox news show host sean hannity. the question tonight, who do they all have in common? here's a hint. it has to do with reality tv, ducks, and bigotry. the answer is next. life's an adventure when you're with her.

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the gop's got a "duck dynasty" problem, and they're not likely to be happy, happy, happy. "duck dynasty" tv show star phil robertson has been suspended from the show after anti-gay statements in an interview with "gq" magazine. "gq" asked what he considered sinful. he said, quote, start with homosexual behavior and just

morph out from there. bestiality, sleeping around. don't deceive yourself. it's not right. he also said some other things about gays too vulgar to repeat on television. the a & e network didn't want those on air. ted cruz said, quote, if you believe in free speech or religious liberty, you should be deeply dismayed over the treatment of phil robertson. governor bobby jindal says robertson is just misunderstood. >> phil's a friend of mine. he's a man of faith. it may not have come across in this quote. but he's a man with love in his heart that believes in treating people with respect and equality. >> and accusing hollywood of a war on christians. a view echoed on fox news. >> i saw in the religious prism

here, he talks about different sins. they won't inherit the kingdom of god. believe extramarital sex and homosexuality sex is a sin. that's their religious belief. >> excuse me? that's not what all christians believe. and it's time for conservatives to stop using religion to justify mean spirited attacks. joining me now are goldie taylor and jimmy williams. thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> good evening, reverend. >> goldie, let me rush to you. these right wingers really want homophobia and "duck dynasty" to be the new face of the gop? >> i think it's quite interesting that, you know, we are claiming or they are claiming that religious liberty is at stake in terms of, say, affording the woman a right to get birth control pills through her health insurance with her corporate employer, but at the same time a & e does not have the moral authority to decide

what's right for their brand. so i think there's a bit of hypocrisy going on here. in the words of gomer pyle, surprise, surprise, surprise. they're going to use this to drum up their bases. the unfortunate thing about all of this is we are trumpeting this as a first amendment issue when it couldn't be anything further from that. no one has a constitutional right to a reality show or a paycheck or anything else. free speech is when you get out on the street corner and you can say something without consequence or without losing -- without government condemnation. that's not at play here. this is a private enterprise doing what they believe is best for them. >> jimmy, rush limbaugh said that nothing this "duck dynasty" is that he is the one being discriminated against. listen to this. >> who is being discriminated against here except phil robertson? who just lost a job?

because of his religious beliefs. phil robertson. nothing happened to anybody at glaad. nothing happened to any gay people or homosexual people. nothing happened to them. >> nothing happened to people except being vilified in the pages of a national magazine by the country's top reality star. >> "a," he does have the right to say what he said. and "b," the consequences, he has the right to those as well. take a 13-year-old kid in louisiana or mississippi or alabama or michigan who's questioning their sexual orientation. right now as we speak. they hear that and what do you think they're going to do? do you think they're going to run out of the closet and tell their parents they're gay? or will they keep it quiet? he has the right to say what he said. he has the right to use his religion as the backbone of that as i have the right to use my

christianity to say that's hateful and wrong. but he doesn't have the right to earn a paycheck to spew hate like rush limbaugh. i don't like punching down. i think punching down when someone is below you like that is beneath you. i don't think that's worth it. but what i will say is this. i duck hunt. and if mr. robertson would like to go duck hunting with this sissy, i'm happy to sit in a duck blind with him and hunt with him. i guarantee you i'll shoot just as many ducks as he will and i'm gay. >> we'll film it if you let us. >> i'm coming. >> let me raise another question, goldie, before you go off on the duck hunting with these two. the "duck dynasty" star also raised many eyebrows with what he said about race. growing up in louisiana in the jim crow era. and quote -- this is what he said -- i never with my eyes saw the mistreatment of any black

person. i hoed cotton with them. i'm with the blacks, because we're white trash. we're going across the field. they're singing and happy. pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say. were they happy? they were godly. they were happy. and went on to talk about happier under jim crow. and again, the argument is not his right to say it. the argument is that as you say working for a private enterprise, if you say it, they have the right to say this can't represent that enterprise. >> well, that's exactly right. we as viewers and i happen to have been a viewer of "duck dynasty" up until now. the idea that phil or si or any of the others on the show may hold views like this is not a surprise to me. i think i watch it because i want to see another part of our culture. another segment of our society and understand how they live, work, and play. and quite frankly i've seen a few things on the show i identified with. one of the people on the show,

their son brought back a car that was empty of its tank of gas. my kids have done that to me. there were things i could identify with. and there were things i could not identify with. this is one of those things. certainly this is a mischaracterization of history. this is a mischaracterization of how those people he lived and worked with actually dealt with their oppression and did that often through song. we often used uplifting spirituals to keep ourselves in a good state of mind while we worked under oppressive models like jim crow. i think he mistook this joy for really what it was. it was singing the blues. maybe he enjoyed the music, but the person who was singing it was likely feeling the very rigors of a cast of society that did not provide economic viability for them and their families. >> i think it's important that we underscore that he has a right to say whatever. many of us -- i've said thing i've regretted -- but i think

when you say it as you grow and as you represent other things, you've got to be willing to pay a price for it if you're dealing with other people that you're representing. and i think that that is something that sthe gop's going to have to deal with their branding if their representatives and spokes people think this is all right. jimmy, see you on the duck hunt. goldie, thank you for your time. >> thank you. coming up, the first lady's annual tradition of helping the marines with their toys for tots program. but first, this 19-year-old was shot debt at point blank range. today a major development in that case. stay with us. you can separate runway ridiculousness... from fashion that flies off the shelves. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the

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degree murder. the last month shooting death of renisha mcbride. the news comes after more than a day of riveting testimony about what went on that night. on november 2nd, mcbride crashed her car into a parked vehicle around 1:00 a.m. eyewitnesses remembers hearing a boom and immediately called 911. in court, that witness re-enacted mcbride's actions that night. she saw the young woman walking away looking like she was hurt and holding her head in hands. mcbride later returned to the scene at which point that same witness approached her. >> she just kept saying she wanted to go home. i said i wanted to try to get her home, you know, safely. then at that point i saw blood on her hands. so then at that point, i said, you know, you are hurt. so let me try to call -- i asked her did she know the phone number of anyone that i could

call so i could let them know that she had been in an accident and inform them of where she was so that someone would know where she was. i know at that point no one knew she had been in an accident. >> the witness said that mcbride appeared drunk and that she told mcbride to stay in her car while she dialed 911. but she wandered off. and about three hours later, she reached the home of theodore wafer, about a half a mile away. her family believes she was knocking on his door for help. but he says she thought she was trying to break in. and he shot her out of fear for his life. one witness said mcbride was less than two feet away when the defendant pulled the trigger. today the judge argued he couldn't use a bad choice defense to shield himself from prosecution. >> the defendant came to the

door with a shotgun. his first thought was to bring the gun, not call for help, or not answer the door. it suggests to this court defendant made a bad choice w n when -- when there were other reasonable opportunities that were available to the defendant at the time. mcbride's family is simply looking for answers. and today they're one step closer to getting them. no matter which way this trial plays out. joining me now is gerald thirstwell, the attorney for the mcbride family. thank you for being here. >> good evening, reverend al. >> this case will go to trial. are you confident in this case, attorney? >> absolutely. the testimony that was illicited

was that his shotgun had a pistol grip. it's not the kind of a gun that one uses for recreation or sport. there's no sight on it. so it's just a pistol and you just shoot and you kill whatever's in front of you. you hit whatever is in front of you. it splatters. the testimony today and yesterday revealed that he had several pieces of literature in his home from the nra. so he knew about guns. and i think the judge -- in order to bind him over for trial, the court had to determine that there was evidence to show that he intentionally pulled the trigger and killed her. and i think the judge listed some of the intentional acts when he heard the knock on the door, he could have just ignored it. and the judge said he could have just ignored the knock. >> right. >> he could have called 911. but he intentionally went, got his shotgun out of its case,

went to the door. when he opened the door and he saw that she was there, unarmed with no weapon, nothing that could cause him to be in fear of his life, he decided instead of just closing the door and walking away, he decided to intentionally pull the safety off the gun and then intentionally pull the trigger. there was some -- i'm sorry, go ahead. >> let me ask you this. attorney thurswell, the testimony said he assumed people were trying to break in his house. listen to this. >> you don't know how many people are out there, what's happening. and you conferred that, your honor, because we heard the evidence. you can say there's banging on the side. there is violent banging to break the screen on the front door. we have a man alone in his home. >> now, no one else said that she was acting belligerent that

night. but he said he was threatened by her. >> that's very interesting, because there were several people who saw her at the scene of the accident and then shortly after that. and everybody said she was calm, she was quiet, she exhibited no aggressive activity. nothing aggressive. calm, quiet, soft spoken. that was the testimony of every person who saw her at the accident scene and then after the accident scene. >> well, we'll be following this case -- we'll be following this very closely. gerald thurswell, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you, reverend al. joining me now is former prosecutor faith jenkins. faith, what are the key arguments we should expect from the prosecution in this trial? >> well, based on what we've heard over the past two days from preliminary hearing, i think that mr. wafer is going to put forth some sense of -- i

think he's going to be some justified deal defense. so the prosecutors are going to have to disprove that he acted in self-defense. they are going to do that by examining his actions and arguing to a jury that he simply did not act reasonably when he shot and killed renisha. >> now, when he said that he was dealing with his gun that accidentally went off, but yesterday a firearms expert testified otherwise. listen to this, faith. >> okay. >> one other thing that i did as a part of that testing is what we call a six plain safety check. that six plain safety check is done on the firearm to see if there is anything to be done to make that trigger -- or make the firing mechanism operate without pulling the trigger. and the way that test is done is with a small hammer. i tap on the six plains of the

firearm, the top, the bottom, the back, the front and both sides. >> were you able to get that weapon fired? >> i could not get that weapon to fire. >> so the expert is saying that the accident -- he shot holes through that. so now what does wafer have to deal with if he can't say it was an accident, does he have to prove the threat? >> i don't think that he'll be able to convincingly show that this was an accident based on the kind of gun he used and based on that expert testimony. i think the defense knows that now. so going forward, again, the prosecutors are going to have to show that he was unreasonable in his actions. how are they going to do that? i think it's reasonable if a person is knocking on your door at 4:30 in the morning and you're home by yourself you might be scared. then look at the actions he took. instead of calling 911, he chose to make the decision to open his door. he then shot the gun through a

locked and closed screen door. he didn't call 911 until after he shot the gun. and there's no evidence of a break in. you're going to have other witnesses testify about this car accident and they're going to argue there was an accident, of course she wasn't breaking in his home. >> now, is stand your ground a part of this in any way? >> well, every said has a version of the castle doctrine. you do not have a duty to retreat when you're in your home. he's going to argue he was in his home and there was no duty to retreat. michigan does have stand your ground laws. but here he was inside of his home. so it's going to be a version of the castle doctrine that will be implemented in the trial. >> how will they try to deal with the fact that she was supposedly had an alcohol level that was high? how are they going to try to deal with that and how does the prosecution deal with that? >> the defense is going to use

that to say her extreme drunkenness posed a threat. the defense is going to focus very much so on renisha mcbride in her actions that night. that she was no angel. this was a teenager who was drinking, had marijuana in her system. she was driving and had an accident. >> how does the prosecution deal with it? >> they're going to argue that just because those things happened, that did not -- that doesn't mean that she deserved the death penalty. a teenager drinking and driving is not an excuse for lethal and deadly force. >> faith jenkins, thank you for your time this evening. >> thank you. coming up, fighting to reduce gun violence in chicago. it's why i'm here. and tonight some good news to report.

cities like chicago are making big steps in the fight against gun violence. and there is some positive news tonight to report. that's next. people join angie's list for all kinds of reasons. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

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finally tonight, i'm back in chicago where we're working to reduce the epidemic of gun violence. i'll be hosting a town hall meeting here in chicago tonight at hyde park academy in just a few minutes. i hope to see you there. it is important as we see the numbers of gun violence and shootings that have gone down in

chicago. but why have they gone down? in many ways because people in the communities, a different type of ideologies refuse to run by dig in and initiated programs and confronted things to help the city deal with this. what are the solutions and how do they do it? how do we bring permanent solutions and use that as a national model? one shooting is one too many. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now 37 . grabbing the rebound. let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. president obama i