browning of america. i mean, this kind of comments are the comments that totally insult us as hispanics. and we know that they're just pandering and trying to say things, but at the end of the day, they just want our vote. >> okay. annette taddeo, thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> chair of the miami-dade democratic party. and of course we're down here in miami for the weekend. we're doing a focus group tomorrow with a number of voters here in the miami area, and we'll bring that story to you in the coming days.

that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, the gop's shameful assault on obama care with just over two weeks left for americans to sign up for insurance, democrats are racing to get people covered. and what are republicans doing? trying to roll back the clock. today the house held its 51st vote attacking the health care law. think about that. 51 votes, as if the first 50 weren't bad enough. republicans need to face reality. obamacare is here to stay. more than 4.2 million people have enrolled in health care plans, and president obama, republicans can't stop it now,

he said. >> the number of people who signed up is already large enough that i'm confident the program will be stable. but we look forward to seeing more and more people take advantage of it as some of the politics of the thing get drained away. >> more people will take advantage of the law. the president's making a huge final push to get people enrolled. earlier this week, he released a spoof interview with the star of

"the hangover" movies. and today he called into ryan seacrest's radio show to talk about it, i wasn't familiar with this thing. >> right. >> but when i was at the dinner table with the girls and i said well, today i did something with zach. it's called two interference, i

think. malia was so excited. she had seen all the previous episodes. so i figured that it was going to reach our target audience which is a lot of young people. and it's turned out we've now had close to 15 million hits. >> the president is also getting an assist from lebron james, the nba superstar is recording a psa on the health care law. they'll play it in the next few weeks. the first lady is on the case too. making a new ad with moms of celebrities like alicia keys and jennifer lopez, telling people to get covered, to give their mothers some peace of mind. >> taking care of yourself so your mothers can sleep and have a nice life after they'll have done for you is not too much to as> a and democrats generally not run away from it. they shouldn't run -- in fact, they have to start talking about what benefits would people lose if obamacare disappeared. the seniors who get more help on their prescription drugs, the kids who are on their parents' plan. there are a lot of people besides the ones who signed up on the websites, and besides the folks who are benefitting from the medicaid expansion, a lot of people are being helped by this. and i think people have to embrace it rather than run away from it, or else it's going to get defined by all the votes in the congress. >> couldn't that be part of what we see as the defining factor in many districts in the midterm election, angela, is those that will stand up and embrace it and fight back or those that will run? because i've learned in my years

out here in activism and politics, if you run, people will chase you. >> there is no question about it, rev. and the other thing folks have to pay attention to is the fact that people are still hurting economically. that are aware of that and members of congress are candidates who are running and address that are much more likely to get the support of their constituents. the problem on the realistic side of this is, of course, we saw even in the alex sink race that, of course, e.j. just brought up is the fact that these districts are also very gerrymandered. just because your gerrymandered district supports what you're doing to repeal obamacare doesn't mean the rest of the country that is normal does support that. >> now, e.j., a lot of things we talked about this week. but the right's attack on the poor has been really, really, in

my opinion, at high pitch this week. and one of the attacks was by congressman paul ryan who made a comment that has gotten a lot of attention this week. let's listen. >> we have got this tailspin of culture in our inner cities in particular of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work. so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with. >> now, last night on our show, congresswoman marcia fudge, chairman -- chairperson of the congressional black caucus invited ryan to attend a meeting with the caucus. ryan's office then released this statement. congressman ryan appreciates the invitation from the congressional black caucus. he has said he would welcome a productive conversation on how to better fight poverty, and he looks forward to meeting with the cbc in the near future. what is your reaction to that,

e.j.? >> well, i'm glad he did that. i think he realizes that what he said, when you just look at the words, what he said is outrageous. i know what he was trying to do. what he was trying to do is to say we need a broad or a discussion about poverty, and that includes the circumstances in which kids grow up that are very difficult and all that. there were a lot of ways he could have said what he seemed to be trying to say that would not have been offensive and would have been constructive. but to argue that people in the inner city, the implication of what he was saying is that these are all people who just walk away from working. and as anybody who is been in inner cities know, these folks work really hard and don't get compensated very well for the work they do. and so he got himself a terrible -- i'm sorry? >> i'm going push you. he went a little further, because he said it was from generation to generation, and he

said we read books like people by charles murray, who is author of "the bell curve" that said scientifically that blacks were less intelligent. so i don't know if he didn't intend to say what he said. >> well, i guess i am -- i am giving him a benefit of the doubt on this. i was critical of the bell curve when it came out. the irony is the book he cited by charles maury is he didn't even talk about inner cities at all. he was talking about white americans, including rural whites. so that inner city is a code word for -- is a code word. and it sort of made you say oh, come on, why did he do this. >> exactly. >> i think his problem is this goes in tandem with what he said about that story that we've already talk about on the air about the school lunch program. i hope he goes to that black

caucus meeting, because he's got a lot of explaining to do. >> angela, your reaction to that as well as another disturbing comment this week. an arizona congressional candidate wrote on his facebook, basically, this is a quote. basically, slave owners took pretty good care of their slaves. it is my sincere belief that entitlements are a means of enslaving the people of robbing opportunity while taking care of basic needs. now comparing entitlements to slavery, and he is not the first republican we've seen this from. listen. >> right. >> with regard to the idea of whether or not you have a right to health care, you have to realize what that implies. it's not an abstraction. i'm a physician. that means you have a right to come to my house and conscript me. it means you believe in slavery. >> now they're looking toward going on social security or disability, which to me is a form of modern 21st century

slavery. >> what is obamacare? it is a law as destructive to personal and individual liberty as a fugitive slave act of 1850 that allowed slave owners to come to new hampshire and seize african americans. >> so this over and over usage by various republicans about slavery, ryan talking about generational laziness, really, and the culture of the inner city and quoting murray, i mean, what are we looking at here, angela? >> well, certainly, rev, the opposite of the conscience of the congress, which as you know is what the congressional black caucus is called for this very reason. paul ryan needs far more than just a meeting with the cbc. he probably also needs to be introduced to cultural sensitivity training as does the rest of the party, which is what the gop autopsy report was supposed to address. they have a whole lot more work to do. they have a whole lot more understanding to do what it means to be inner city and thugs

and all these other terms that they throw around so lightly. this is entirely too problematic, particularly when entitles and entitlement reform is just fine when it goes to big corporations. >> and can i say on that, reverend, the slavery thing is really atrocious because they're saying government helping folks out, in many cases giving them benefits that they paid for is the same as slavery, suggesting that slaves were well treated by their masters as if this was a social welfare program? i mean, astonishing. >> it is demeaning. >> it is. >> to act as though being treated as chattel is being well treated. >> exactly. and that, you know, back after the 2012 elections, republican consultants were saying we're going to write memos to our candidates saying please never bring up the word "rape." i think republicans, some of these guys need to get a word memo that says unless you're

going to honor the memory of abraham lincoln, just don't talk about slavery, because if you're going to talk about it like this, it shows you really have to go back to high school and study what slavery was. >> maybe even pre-k. need to go back. to e.j. dionne and angela rye, thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks, rev. >> and have a great weekend. >> and you too, reverend. thank you. coming up, an explosive new report on the mystery of that malaysia airlines plane. was there an intentional diversion by a pilot or a hijacker? and should chairman issa publicly apologize for what democrats say is a repeated history of abuse? we'll ask the man who got into that heated altercation last week, congressman elijah cummings is here live. over a year after the mysterious death of a georgia teenager, his classmates are

subpoenaed, and it's been a while, but nice try, mitt romney. we got you ahead. stay with us. [ coughs, sneezes ] i have a big meeting when we land,

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he should apologize publicly for cutting off a congressman's microphone. but wait until you hear what congressman issa is saying today, next. clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month. low dues, great terms. let's close! new at&t mobile share value plans our best value plans ever for business. but we're not staying in the kitchen. just start the slow cooker, add meat

and pour in campbell's slow cooker sauce. by the time you get home, dinner is practically done. and absolutely delicious. everyone is cooking with new campbell's slow cooker sauces. i use my citi thankyou card to get two times the points at the and absolcoffee shop.ous. which will help me get to miami...and they'll be stuck at the cube farm. the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn two times the points on dining out with no annual fee. go to citi.com/thankyoucards. democrats are vowing to hold darrell issa responsible for his epic made for tv meltdown.

this was the dramatic scene on the house floor. late yesterday, democrats holding up ipads with the photo from issa's notorious irs hearing when he didn't let a single democrat speak. the ipad showed his image. it's the throat-slashing motion that issa made when he cut off the mic of ranking member elijah cummings in a stung act of disrespect. >> we're adjourned. close it down. >> illusion directly -- before a single document. >> thank you. >> he continued to -- >> where is your question? >> if you will sit down and allow me to ask the question, i am a member of the congress of the united states of america. i am tired of this. >> well -- >> we have members over here

each who represent 700,000 people. you not just have a one-sided investigation. there is absolutely something wrong with that, and it's absolutely unamerican. >> democrats are now demanding that issa publicly apologize for that behavior. but instead of apologizing, he is lashing out. today he sent this letter to congressman cummings saying, quote, your tactics undermines the committee's investigative prerogatives and harm the institutional interests of the house of representatives. i've encouraged and continue to encourage you to subordinate your political loyalties to the institutional interests of the committee and the house. joining me now is the congressman that was sent to congressman elijah cummings, ranking democrat on the house oversight committee. thank you for being here, congressman. >> it's good to be with you. >> what is your reaction to this letter from chairman issa?

>> i thought it was a very, very sad letter. he was supposed to basically what he had done, reverend, is that he had botched our efforts to get information from a witness, ms. lerner, who had taken the fifth. and that letter was supposed to be a response to my allegations -- not my allegations, but the allegations of two experts who said that he had wrongfully adjourned -- when he adjourned the meeting as he did, he failed to do certain things with regard to ms. lerner's rights. so he was really supposed to be answering my contentions, but instead he went off on some tangent that is just made no sense to me. >> now, when the house democrats stood yesterday on the floor and

demanded an apology in front of the house, he had already called you and talked privately. but you have said, and i think admirably bigger than you, let us remember, congressman, chairman issa has cut off mics on democratic lawmakers before. >> that's right. >> watch what he did to congressman john tierney during a hearing about obamacare in december. watch this. >> now, if you want to ask a new question, go in a different direction. >> the gentleman is not in order, please. >> there is the chair. and i think we have an issue here -- and now you're going to shut the microphone off? >> yeah. >> and he cut the mic off. congressman tierney said now you're going cut the microphone off on me. he said yeah. so this seems to be a pattern that he just operates in his own kind of way like if i don't want

to hear what you have to say, cut the mic off. >> we've had other incidents were witnesses were about to testify on certain things, for example, and he shuts them down and says i don't want to hear it. basically, unless people are saying what he wants to hear, he won't allow it. another example, reverend, you talk about this on your show is the irs transcripts that he refused to submit to the public. on the one hand, he was blaming the president for the problems that were going on with regard to use of certain criteria. but then when there was ex-pupper to evidence in some of the transcripts, he refused to put those forward. and if you recall, i went on and did it. i don't know who is trying to -- >> but he seems to be running this committee like a political

operation from the irs to benghazi, to fast and furious, to anything against this president, anything against the attorney general. this committee on oversight is not supposed to be a political operation against those he opposes. and to silence people that would bring balance to an inquiry if it was a legitimately based inquiry is to me only makes it more transparent what is going on. >> it's very sad. the other thing, reverend, when these things happen, when say for example chairman issa puts out allegations that cannot be proved and are never proved, it only goes against the credibility of the committee and of the congress. reporters will come up to me and say oh, i heard you're having a hearing today, but i'm not going show up. i'll say why. well, we know nothing is going to come out of it anyway. so therefore, a committee that should be dealing with the very,

very serious matters and should have the utmost of credibility, suddenly we have lost it. >> now, do you expect him to publicly apologize in front of the house? >> i doubt it. but it would be a good idea for him to do that, reverend. basically, i think he -- the public needs to -- they saw him shut my mic off and now tierney's in public. they thought it was a public display. and perhaps he needs to do something in public to show everybody that he is indeed remorseful, if he is. >> you know, according to house republican rules, issa is supposed to step down from the oversight committee chair at the end of this year. but political reports quote issa says he doesn't want to let go of the committee. he is leaning toward asking leadership to waive republican rules so he can serve two more years. i mean, i've got to go, but i have to ask you quickly, are we facing possibly two more years

as him as chairman, even though it's against their own party rules? >> reverend, i really don't know. that's up to the republicans. they can do what they want. but i'm always going to be seeking the truth. >> well, we're going to be watching to see if they break the rules and give them two more years, or if they cut off his mic. congressman elijah cummings, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> and have a good weekend. >> same to you, now. ahead, a dramatic quist in the case of a student athlete found dead in a rolled up gym mat. why have law enforcement waited so long to talk to kendrick johnson's former classmates? plus, sabotage, even piracy. investigators are looking at a wide range of possibilities tonight with dramatic new clues in the malacca straits for that missing plane. stay with us.

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america to china. "the washington post" fact checker said the ad earned four pinocchios. and even after romney lost, romney's top adviser, stewart stevens begged the post to reconsider those four pinocchios. in response, the fact checker reaffirmed them. and today, over a year later, we learned that ohio jeep plant is thriving. the toledo blade says it's hiring a thousand new workers. and bloomberg business news reports, quote, it's going

gangbusters. demand for jeeps is so high, the workers are clocking 60 hours a week and still can't keep up. so the plant that romney claimed was being sent to china under president obama is a great american success story. did governor romney think we wouldn't notice? nice try, but we got you again. [ crickets chirping ] but did you know that the lack of saliva can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath? [ exhales deeply ] [ male announcer ] well there is biotene. specially formulated with moisturizers and lubricants, biotene can provide soothing relief and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. [ applause ] biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth. hi boys! i've made you campbell's chunky new england clam chowder. wow! this is incredible! i know. and now it has more clams! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. what? [ male announcer ] it fills you up right. [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. what? nascar is ab.out excitement but tracking all the action

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it's time for the justice files. the big criminal justice story making headlines today. joining me now, msnbc legal analyst faith jenkins and defense attorney michelle suskow. thank you both for being here tonight. >> thank you. >> we start tonight with the investigation into kendrick johnson's mysterious death, and a federal grand jury subpoenaing the teen's former schoolmates and their parents. the 17-year-old was found dead inside of a rolled up wrestling mat at his georgia high school gym in january of 2013. surveillance video captured kendrick walking into the gym and never coming out. his death was ruled an accident. but his parents say he was murdered. a second autopsy report says johnson died of, quote,

unexplained apparent nonaccidental blunt force trauma. this week, over a year later, former students were reportedly seen entering the federal courthouse. faith, should we see charges on this? >> it depends on the outcome of this investigation. when the u.s. attorney started this investigation, he said there were a few questions he wanted answered, the cause of death, was there a crime committed, and who committed that crime. and now you're seeing significant steps being taken in this investigation. it's interesting, because the fbi can go out and interview witnesses. prosecutors can interview witnesses, but now you're seeing witnesses being subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. that means they're giving sworn testimony under the penalty of perjury before a grand jury that could mean that they're witnesses that were uncooperative, didn't want to talk to fbi investigators, so they were subpoenaed and they have to come to court, or they want to lock people into their testimony. they want to lock people into their statements. so they're using the grand jury to do that. >> michelle, what do you think? and what could bring the fall

charges in a case like this? >> you know, i think it's interesting that it's taken this long to get to that point. but i think it's very encouraging that this is going to happen. and i think potentially we're going to probably see the medical examiner coming forth before the grand jury as well. and the local authorities did not do the job that they needed to do. that's why the federal authorities stepped in. now to florida. the new documentary revealed in that popcorn shooting case getting national attention. curtis reeves is charged with second-degree murder for shooting chad olson to death in a movie theater, allegedly because he was texting. but court documents just released reveal reeves himself sent a text message right before the shooting. the dramatic surveillance video appears to show olson throw popcorn at reeves. then reeves takes out his gun and fires it, killing olson. reeves told police that mr.

olson punched him. but witnesses say that he simply tossed some popcorn at him. and today we know reeves sent his own text message before the shooting. faith, will this new revelation hurt his case? >> i think it's underscores the outrageness of everything that took place in the movie theater that night. if this case goes to trial, which i think is unlikely. thing is a plea possibility here. mr. reeves should talk to his attorney. because when you have this kind of video evidence, it's really difficult for you to go and assert the kind of defense that he is asserting right now. but every fact there was against him, including the fact that he was texting is going to be used against him in trial. >> michelle, if you were defending him, how do you beat the video, and how do you explain he was texting when he was supposed to be outraged at his victim texting? >> listen, it's a tough case. i think this case is going to go to trial, especially with the type of defendant this is and this law enforcement background,

i think he is the type of guy who wants to go to trial and have his say in court. and i think in terms of the videotape evidence, he wants to bring in as many live witnesses that were there who obviously is going to build up his own credibility. and in terms of the texts he sent, he could then say in terms of the time, it was before the movie even started. it was way before the victim was texting in the case when he asked him not to do it. so, again, he is using self-defense. he is using stand your ground. we'll see what happens. i think this case is going to trial. >> do you hi he can win? the movie has started so he should have stopped texting so i killed him? >> i think this is a very, very tough case. but again, look at the cases that have used the not stand your ground, but have used stealth defense in florida. so far it seems to be working. whether right or wrong, it seems to be working. and juries seem to be buying self-defense in florida, at least in those two particular cases. >> most cases you don't have

video. in most cases you don't have video like this. and for him to assert the kind of self-defense claim he was in fear for his life, it's not supported by the video. it's not corroborated by the video evidence. >> obviously, we'll watch this one. finally, 18-year-old rachel canning is back at home with her parents in new jersey. it's a case that has the world talking. rachel, a high school cheerleader and honor student sued her parents, shawn and elizabeth for money to go to college. rachel claimed physical and verbal abuse, but the parents say it was just discipline. last week's court session was the first time they saw each other since october. the judge ruled with the parents on some of the lawsuit's provisions, and now rachel has moved back in with her parents. >> there is a long road ahead. this is not something that is going to happen overnight. the point of this process, healing needs to begin.

it began last night, and the less involvement with the court and with attorneys and with the media, the better. >> but the lawsuit is still pending and hasn't been withdrawn. michelle, can she win if this lawsuit moves forward? >> no. you know, i really don't think so. this is a lawsuit that was driven by her best friend's father. she moved in with her best friend. and her best friend's father really may have been driving this. she is back home. and i can see that probably there is some reconciliation here. hopefully the judge wants this case dismissed. i can't say this is going to see the light of day. but if she were successful, this would set a very bad precedent. i don't think she has the grounds to be successful here. >> do you think they would withdraw the lawsuit at some point since she is back home or does it go to trial, faith? >> no, i think it's going to be withdrawn. one of the reasons is i don't think she could win the lawsuit. this is not a divorce case. in new jersey, there are case where parents are required to pay tuition of their children,

but they have divorce cases. this is not a child support case. so this is really a new kind of lawsuit that i don't think she could succeed on. >> this is not separation of parents. >> right. >> and that's why the -- >> it's about -- whether she's an unemancipated minor or whether she is emancipated minor. i agree with faith. new jersey is not going to go in this direction. >> and do you agree with michelle it would set a very bad precedent? >> well, yes. even when you step away from the legal aspect of whether she is an emancipated minor or not, you're looking at really a cultural, that we've seen with ethan couch, the affluenza. and with this woman coming forward i don't like my parents' rules and i left the house, but they should still be required to pay for me. it's sort of a generational thing, right, that young people think they should be given certain things without having to follow certain guidelines and certain rules. and then you're seeing cases like this as a result.

>> faith jenkins and michelle suskauer, thank you both for being here tonight. >> thank you. still ahead, dramatic new information about that missing plane. and what that missing plane did in the moments after it disappeared. the international search for the jet is reaching a critical point. also, the stunning words that americans heard from a u.s. president nearly 50 years ago. stay with us. [bell rings] [prof. burke] at farmers,we make you smarter about your insurance,because what you don't know can hurt you. what if you didn't know that home insurance can keep your stuff covered,even when it's not at home? or that collisions with wildlife on the road may not be covered. and what if you didn't know that you could be liable for any accidents on your property? the more you know,the better you can plan for what's ahead. talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum♪ this is mike. his long race day starts with back pain...

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tonight, an explosive new report that could help solve the mystery of what happened to missing malaysian flight 370. "the new york times" reports the flight experienced significant changes in altitude after it lost contact with ground control and altered its course more than once as if under the command of a pilot. what could have caused it? "the times" says an intentional diversion by a pilot or a hijacker or uneven flying because a disabled crew. and according to this latest report, investigators have dismissed the idea that the plane was landed for use in a later terror attack. the data, a senior american official said, leads them to believe that it either ran out

of fuel or crashed right before it ran out of fuel. but many questions remain in this mystery. joining me now are jim tilmon, an aviation expert and former american airlines pilot, and jim cavanaugh, an nbc law enforcement analyst whose been deeply involved in many high profile investigations, including the unabomber case. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> my pleasure, reverend. >> this new report certainly bolsters the theory that the plane was either sabotaged or hijacked. one portion sticks out and says, quote, an ascent above the plane's service limit of 43,100 feet, along with the depressurized cabin could have rendered the passengers and crew unconscious and could be a deliberate maneuver by a pilot or a hijacker. jim tilmon, as a former pilot,

what do you make of this? >> well, it's just one more item that we have to try to make sense with. we're talking about all of that radical up and down. one theory was that there may have been a fight in the cockpit, and the struggle that took place caused the airport to do some very strange things. and i do think that's pretty strange. climbing up to 45,000 feet, no pilot in his right mind would try to do that knowing that fulfilling the service altitude you're allowed to operator that airport. it's 2,000 feet above where it should be. and then all of the sudden descending to 23,000 feet. that's far. if you want to buy into that theory, then you got to say okay what happened after words. were they able to settle the airplane down and fly it in some kind of a reasonable fashion afterwards? and where did they get the training to do all of these crazy things? lots of questions, reverend al.

>> jim cavanaugh, what do you make of this report? >> you know i've been back and forth with the "politicsnation" team on this data today, reverend al. here is what i see. in "the new york times" reporting story, there is a paragraph in there that is very significant. as a commander, it's the one i went right to. and what it says is "new york times" reporter talked directly to a person, and i believe it was an american, but i may be wrong about that. >> but they talked directly to a person who personally examined the malaysian military radar. and that person said that it left little doubt that the plane went across the malaysian peninsula and toward the straits of malacca. little doubt. and that was based on two different malaysian military sites. >> now why is that important? >> because that absolutely establishes that the plane did not explode back over at the initial spot or completely disintegrate as earlier beliefs. and of course we have no debris

found there, and we have nothing on the satellites indicating explosion there. and now we have this person telling the "new york times" reporter, very good reporting that they saw and they believe it leaves little doubt. that's from two military radar stations. so back to your question to jim is what happened. i think a struggle in the cockpit is real. i still think pilot control suicide is real. remember, if one of the pilots decides to do this, they're going to have to disable, kill, or lockout the other guy if it's a suicide. and you don't do a suicide with your copilot, you know. that's not the way it works. >> right. >> so you're going to have to get him out of the cockpit, disable him somehow or have a struggle. now, if it's not the pilots, it could be somebody who has invaded the cockpit. >> right. >> and has acquired just rudimentary knowledge that you need to turn off the transponders, the radios and might have developed that knowledge. and then is, you know, could have killed one pilot and hold the knife to the other's throat

and force them the other way. of course, the third possibility is disabled. somehow they were disabled through oxygen deprivation. >> jim tilmon, let me go back to you there has been a lot of talk today about pings that showed the plane continued to fly four or five more hours. could the plane have kept flying without pilot intent? >> to a certain extent, it could. but reverend al, one of the things i hope you'll get from somewhere is the timeline. exactly establishing what happened here in so many second or minutes later that happened there. i don't think we ever really saw a nice timeline, things we can really count on really did happen at that time. it might reveal to us a whole lot more information than we have right now. >> we're definitely working trying to get that. let me go back to something you said, jim cavanaugh there is a lot of questions about the two pilots on board the flight. one even had a flight simulator at home. does that raise any red flags to

you? >> yes, it absolutely does, reverend al. and i think it also raised them with jim tilmon the other day. look, they should be into the computer at the pilot's flight simulator examining everything he did on that simulator. i mean, was he practicing turning off equipment and making a hard turn. was he practicing this route that is a flight route that maneuvers itself through the islands towards india? i mean, he might have been practicing that route on the simulator. i mean, that would be a big answer. >> right. >> but it may not be so. he may just be a guy who is so enthused with flying and he loves flying and there is nothing nefarious about it. >> is it odd for a pilot to have this equipment at home? >> i won't call it odd, but most pilots don't. i know that it is done and some pilots do visit. they like to tinker around. some pilots want to be age to simulate going into an airport they're unfamiliar with and go into there for the first time

knowledgeable about it. but somebody else might practice flying at a very low level underneath the radar or doing something else that is not normally done and practice that over and over until they got that to the point of a flight plan. >> in 30 seconds, because i really have to go, jim tilmon, where are you on this? what do you think happened? >> i'm just as puzzled as the last time we talked, reverend al. i mean some of these things make sense and some of them down. >> jim tilmon and jim cavanaugh, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you. still ahead, scott walker's republican allies launch a new attack on voting rights in a critical swing state. but democrats are fighting back. also, we're celebrating pii day in a unique "politicsnation" kind of way. stay with us. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. see how much you could save with allstate. are you in good hands?

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let me wish everyone in "politicsnation" a very happy pi today. it's about pi, you know, this mathematical symbol, the one that equals 3.14. and we celebrate the day because today is 3.14, march 14th. and across america they're celebrating. the buffalo bills tweeted out this number. jersey numbers lined up to equal pi. in austin, texas, five planes

wrote it out in midair. it's literally pi in the sky. and as you can imagine, the students at mit take this holiday very seriously. ♪ >> but some just couldn't resist partisan attacks today. leave it to senator ted cruz. he tweeted, "happy p iday. hopefully there is still a few digits in the national debt that in pi when the debt limit suspension ends a year from now." really, senator cruz? you had to go bring partisan politics into pi day? do you really want to remind people about the debt ceiling fight, the one your party caused? so for that, we've got our own

"politicsnation" way to celebrate p iday, with blueberry pie. and senator, you earned this one. we hope you enjoy it. >> they got the blueberry pie all over their face. they were the ones eating the pie. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month. low dues, great terms. let's close! new at&t mobile share value plans our best value plans ever for business. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ]

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49 years ago tomorrow, president johnson delivered a historic speech on civil rights to congress and the nation as a hole. he said it was an issue for all americans, not just black. >> their cause must be our cause too. because it's not just negroes, but really, it's all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. and we shall overcome. >> we shall overcome.

just weeks after that speech, president johnson signed a voting rights act into law, shaking and with reverend dr. martin luther king. nearly 50 years later, those gains are under attack. in wisconsin, republican lawmakers just passed a bill to get rid of weekend voting. the state's governor scott walker is fighting to keep his state's voter id law. and in ohio, the gop governor also recently signed bills that could make voting more difficult. so far this year lawmakers in 19 states have introduced bills to scale back voting rights. it's remarkable that 50 years after the great triumphs of the civil rights movement, we're still fighting some of the same battles. but we won't get discouraged. we'll continue to fight, because we shall overcome. those 50 years ago had to overcome the fear of death and

jail and all kinds of danger. what we face today is far less, but we must be equally determined and let them know no matter what games were played, lyndon johnson was right as he echoed those marches in the south. we shall overcome. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. making trouble for republicans. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. have you noticed that the liberals usually win the argument, eventually? it's been true for the beginning of our country. back this the 18th century, the tories opposed independence thanks to thomas payne,