tv Ronan Farrow Daily MSNBC April 4, 2014 10:00am-11:01am PDT
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$100 million compensation club is growing. income inequality a key thing. >> they just won't give it up when it comes to paying people a little more. >> the koch bothers and other wealthy donors have wreaked havoc on our political system. >> they are trying to buy america. >> what do democrats think they can connect with middle america by engaging in mccarthy tactics? >> violence has been increasing with attacks focusing on election officials and today there was this horrific attack. two journalists from the associated press were shot. >> this is an improvement from the first one i did of myself. >> the one in the bathtub. >> one that makes me look like alfred e. newman. all right, in just minutes, we're going to bring you big news about the widening kas many between the rich and poor in this country.
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we are awaiting live news from ft. hood, texas the scene of the second shooting rampage is less than five years that we've all been reeling from this week. rick perry and ted cruz are both expected to attend a news conference. we just received a new statement from the family of the suspected gunman specialist ivan lopez. his father is saying, this situation has caused great pain. i ask for prayers for the affected families, even more so when there is still an ongoing investigation. my son must not have been right in the mind. he wasn't like that. weaver also learning more about what may have caused ivan lopez to snap. >> there may have been a verbal altercation with another soldier or soldiers. and there's a strong possibility that that in fact immediately preceded the shooting. but we do not have that definitively at this point, but we do have strong indications of that. >> so this may well have been preceded by a fight it turns
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out. pressure is building continually on the pentagon to take action of some kind. >> we will do everything possible to implement the kinds of reforms and fill those gaps and assure the security of the men and women who work for armed forces and assure their families. >> let's check in with charles hadlock, live from ft. hood right now. charles, do we have any new information about the investigation today? >> reporter: well, the texas governor rick perry and texas senator ted cruz will be talking to reporters, they've been visiting some of the injured soldiers. we hope to hear from them a little later in this hour. meanwhile, the investigation continues by the army and fbi looking into the background, military service record of specialist lopez. they can find nothing out of the ordinary in fact, during his 15 years in the service he had an
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exem playerry record. in the last four years, he received three good conduct records, awards. they can't find anything wrong there. however, they do say he had psychological problems recently. he was experiencing anxiety, depression and sleeplessness. and he was being evaluated for ptsd but there's no indication that had anything to do with the shootings on wednesday. they are focusing on that fight, that verbal altercation that happened wednesday at one of the buildings here with the soldier and perhaps several other of his colleagues which exploded into the gunfire here on wednesday. ronan? >> and in some sense it seems like no answer will be enough but we are following that lead. thank you for that overview, appreciate it. >> we're waiting on a news conference from ft. hood and it's expected to begin in a few minutes and we'll bring you any news that comes out of that.
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let's go to the big news today about the rise of the hyper wealthy. and what it means for all of us americans, companies are disclosing over the course of this week how much they compensated their ceos over the past year. and the numbers are startling. in 2013 the medium wage for overall workers in this country rose 1.4%. in the same period, median ceo pay surged 13%. what kind of money are we talking about here? well, for example, starbucks founder howard shultz made $163 million. leon black received a cool $546 million. and mark zuckerberg could be cashing in for $3.3 billion this year. that's about 94.2 million hoodies, way to go. of course, we also had a new jobs report this morning. the labor department does say the private sector regained all of the 8.8 million jobs lost to
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the recession. on the other hand, the unemployment rate held steady at 6.7%. good news and bad and some stark disparity we need to confront. zachary carabell and author of the leading indicator, a short history of numbers that rule the world and had experience managing hedge funds and other financial institutions. i want your insiders take, why is it worth it to companies to pay out this month? i understand attracting the best and brightest but hundreds and millions of dollars. >> this has been going on for decades. there was a period of time in the 1950s where the ratio between what the average worker earned and the ceo was far smaller. ever since then it's been doing this. it's true it's important we're noticing it but not true this is a 2013 phenomenon. a lot of what you pointed to in terms of ceo compensation is stock based. there's a direct relationship
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between the numbers you flashed and how well equities have been doing, extraordinarily well the past five years, stocks are up 150%. >> sometimes this is a sign of a bull market. >> right, but it's not -- it's not like their wages are going up, the stock grants are going up because stock prices are going up. ceos are increasingly compensated not based on is this a good place to work or sustainable business, but compensated does their share price go up. that's a real long-term issue in the united states. it was not true 100 years ago. there are a lot of captains of industry, andrew melon, they weren't thinking purely in terms of stock prices. >> shouldn't it be as stock prices surge it sub reshould be redrkted to workers more. >> that would have been traditionally. there's a real confusion. all of these companies are doing very well and traditionally the economy picks up and wages go up. we live in a world where you can
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produce something somewhere else for cheaper, whether that's china or mexico, and you can use technology, robotic software to make it unnecessary to hire actual bodies to do things. a lot of the power that people had, including unions has absolutely disappeared, whereas the power a lot of companies have which is to generate profits and sell things -- i'm saying that relatively neutrally has increased. that explains a lot of gaps. >> in some sense they have less and less power. we're almost out of time but i did want to ask, are companies die verging, costco has capped it aggressively. >> when companies underperform, executive compensation gets cut by boards. if companies are doing well, there's almost no pressure and very little incentive to do that. i think i would love to give you hopeful news about this trend reversing but i don't currently see that. >> a lot of people looking to the corporate sector for leadership. we may come back to you on this.
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thank you. up next on the program, the united nations is sounding an alarm about a new crisis of people that will starve without intervention. my exclusive interview with the woman who helped feed the world direct from that country up next. i'm nathan and i quit smoking with chantix. when my son was born, i remember, you know, picking him up and holding him against me. it wasn't just about me anymore. i had to quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. chantix didn't have nicotine in it, and that was important to me. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some could be life threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history
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hmm. it's so huge, it's being broadcast on mars. heroes...bad guys... asteroids. available only on mars. there's watching. then there's watchathoning. ♪ welcome back, everybody, we turn now to some truly disturbing international news today as afghanistan braces for a pivot alley leks, an afghan policeman open fire on journalists. associate the press photographer an ja niedringhaus was killed
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and injured was gannon. richard engel brings us this story from kabul. >> reporter: the two women from the associated press were sitting in the back of their vehicles and in this long convoy of vehicles protected supposedly by the afghan security forces, delivering ballots to a local district center in eastern afghanistan, not far from the border with pakistan. as the women, cathy gannon and niedringhaus were in the back of their car, the afghan police officer, a second lieutenant lowered his rifle and shouted and open fire into the back of the car, into the door and into the rear windows, smashing out those windows, killing anja and woundi wounding cathy. she was first treated at a local hospital then transferred to the
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bagram air base not far from here. she is supposed by reportedly in stable condition after being shot twice, anja niedringhaus was killed instantly. it raises questions about the loyalty of afghan security forces. these are men who are supposedly being trained and who are being mentored by u.s. troops. there's still about 33,000 u.s. troops in their country. and the main mission of the american forces is to make sure that the afghan partners as they call them, are well equipped and well armed and reliable. but there have been a lot of insider attacks where afghan security forces have turned their guns on american troops or in this case today, on several foreign reporters. ronan? >> thank you, richard engel for that report. we're keeping our thought with richard and all reporters who are all too vulnerable in the
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field. the associated press was founded in the mid 1800s and since then 32 journalists have been killed while pursuing stories. during her own time with the ap anja niedringhaus used to cover the real and raw horrors of war and pakistan and syria and unexpected moments of beauty. she traveled the world for more than 20 years and she leaves behind a legacy seen through a lens. in other pieces of frightening news around the world we're seeing the united nations issue a stark warning about what they are calling one of the world's worst crises in the war torn african nation of south sudan, almost a third of the population is now facing starvation. relief workers there are in a race against time. nearly a quarter of a billion dollars of international aid is needed in the next 60 days.
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if it doesn't arrive, south sudan will face the worst since ethiopia where hundreds and thousands of people died. ongoing fighting has torn the nation apart since mid-december. joining us during a emergency trip to juba, south sudan. >> let me tell you, we are in a situation where this is the time of year that we traditionally preposition food because this -- the population here in the outskirts of the country always difficult to reach during the rainy season. this year we know we're going to need to reach 1.3 million people. and i can tell you how challenging that is because yesterday i was on a plane and we were forced to air drop food because of the conflict we can't
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drive into the areas that are most affected. now, what does that mean in real terms? today i saw a mother who was coming to a food distribution center and she had three small children with them. the youngest was on her shoulder. he was completely list also and chronically malnewourished. all of the noise around him, his eyes never opened. we were able to get him to a clinic for additional treatment. we're trying to avoid having more children in that condition. and we can avoid it if we can get food in before the rains come, if we can get food in through the conflict areas. and so we're doing the work, we're asking all leaders in this area, both the government and opposition, to ensure that we can access it. we're asking the international community to continue to support
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wfp and other international organization to meet all of these needs. >> you mentioned how huge the population you're trying to reach is. think more than a million stories like that one, you're talking about a lost generation, a starving generation, a disenfranchised generation and that is at the peril of everyone who cares about the stability of this important region. i want to ask about the challenges. workers face huge on at a xals trying to get to those in need in this remote area. we have dramatic footage of a food drop like the one you described. can you explain exactly why the drops are so difficult and how you anticipate them getting harder because i know the rainy season is started? >> in an ideal world, we don't want to do food drops. food drops say we failed, that we can't get access to people in any other way. because when we we are required to drop food like you saw on the footage, it means that it cost us three times more than driving it by truck.
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but when there's conflict, drivers won't transport the food into the areas where the people most need it. now, what's going to complicate it even more is because we can't drive in, it means that we're not prepositioning the food that is required because in about four weeks the field where i'm standing today talking to you will have at least a foot of water and across the south sudan, the country with the fewest miles of paved roads in the entire world, that means the only way will have the ability to get food to people is by air dropping. >> you've said you've only able to cover a fraction is your quote of those in need. which countries have given already and which ones do you think need to step up more? >> well, the traditional donors have been very generous. in the united states, we couldn't do what we're doing today without donors like the
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united states, canada, norway, the netherlands, who have been here with us and continue to support the work of wfp. but this is the type of challenge that requires the entire global community to support the work that we're performing and as well as the work that other u.n. agencies are performing to meet the needs of those who are victims of this crisis. >> having been in some of these hot spots, including in juba, which is as difficult to access as you say, i know firsthand how important this work is. i so admire what you and the world food program are doing. thank you for joining us. >> thanks so much. we ask that the world not prioritize one hungry child over another and let's not forget the children of south sudan. >> a powerful call to the world from the executive director of the united nations world food program. we'll see if people respond. yesterday president obama joined in the chorus and signed an executive order putting in place sanctions on anyone threatening the stability of south sudan,
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the white house statement said, the people of south sudan are calling for peace. there is no room for excuses or delay. all right, coming up, we promised we would report on your choice for the most underreported story this week. we'll bring it to you, kind of, next. [ male announcer ] the wright brothers started in a garage. mattel started in a garage. disney started in a garage. amazon started in a garage. ♪ the ramones started in a garage. my point? some of the most innovative things in the world come out of american garages. introducing the lighter, faster cadillac cts. 2014 motor trend car of the year. ain't garages great?
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people here know that our operations have an impact locally. we're using more natural gas vehicles than ever before. the trucks are reliable, that's good for business. but they also reduce emissions, and that's good for everyone. it makes me feel very good about the future of our company. ♪ remember, we've been telling you about today's big stories but we also want to take a moment every week to tell you what the underreported story you want covered most is. this week there were three candidates in the horse race, the oil spills in texas and elsewhere in the country and other dirty crimes that are increasingly common and the return of the ebola virus and the democrats feud with the koch
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brothers. here's how it all came out. the oil spill got 17% of the vote. the ebola virus was 34%. and finally the koch brothers won bit a landslide with 49% of the vote. so you asked why the koch brothers haven't received more coverage. they kind of have. >> if i'm one of the koch brothers and i spend a couple million dollars, say, out of my billions of dollars running tv ads and radio ads -- >> putting the same dishonest commercial on television for the 4,111th time. >> ebenezer scrooge or koch could dig into his big wallet. >> he who plays the piper, plays the tune. >> the koch brothers are trying to buy america. >> harry reid is lying about these people, calling them un-american. >> charles koch wants you to know that he likes liberty.
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>> are there no democrats that are backing off of this man? >> he's against collectivists and big government and -- >> why is harry reid doing this? because he has every single political incentive to do this. come on, guys, on the left, you have to pony up that kind of money to go after the koch brothers. >> we do feel the koch brothers are getting a fair amount of coverage, but when we get the choice, the influx of money into politics is a big issue on all sides of political spectrum so we always go with covering and that is therefore a story we'll stay with, democrats and republicans and big donors across the board. stay tuned next week because we are going to be look at your choices for the next underreported story. first ahead, on today's "rf daily", this week's call to action and your chance to learn what to do to keep our nation's students out of our nation's prisons. know what the experts
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welcome back, everybody, all week this week our call to action focused on a truly disturbing trend revealed by a new government report. public schools disproportiona disproportionately disciplining minority students who get kicked out and too often end up in the criminal justice system and what many are now calling the school to prison pipeline. we asked you to call your local schools and find out what programs, if any, they have for at risk youth. many of you responded. in fact, a lot with testimony about schools that do have programs. and some found positive experiences, including viewer molly, she writes, quote, he has a spring in his step and happy to go to school now and feels good about himself. stacey stakely reported, our local elementary school does
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have individual one on one programs for at-risk youth where the school counselor and principal or counselor principal plus outside agency get involved before they go off the tracks. one big advocate for exactly that kind of preventative mentorship, president barack obama. who recently unveiled a new initiative called my brother's keeper, it's designed to empower young men of color and it is certainly based on these new reports urgently needed. we're going to close out our call to action with a look at the president's personal commitment to this issue with one of his longest severing aides, josh dubois, of neighborhood partnerships office at the white house. thank you for joining us. >> it's wonderful to be with you. >> when the president announced this my brother's keeper initiative focusing on young men of color the "washington post" said he quote, faced repeated criticism from those who say he is failing to pay enough attention to blacks and other minorities. but i've got to say having grown up with a black brother, i've
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seen firsthand how powerful he is as a role model to black young men. do you think he's living up to people like that in the community? >> i think he has for years, dating back to his fatherhood mentoring initiative and bill he sponsored as a united states senator, he showed a consistent commitment in this and he is ramping things up with my brother's keeper. basically sending a call to action that says we've got to look at these young men and say they are all of our sons and brothers. when they fall behind, we all fall behind. if they can succeed, that will help our country succeed. >> well, let's talk about the initiative in specific terms. the president said it will quote, test which strategies are working for our kids and expand them in cities across the country. but what does that actually mean in terms of where the money is going? >> the president has called together a range of foundations and initial commitment and in
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addition to philanthropic communities to invest in early childhood education, third grade reading and school discipline and criminal justice system and pathways out of that school to prison pipeline you've been focusing on all week and jobs and workforce, to make sure young men can actually plug into a job after they've addressed other challenges they may be facing. it's investments in those five specific interventions that's going to be the focus of my brother's keeper. >> you say five specific intervention areas, a lot of people are saying these are too big or haven't been figured out enough yet. npr said incredibly vague when he launched the initiative. what do you say to that critique or is it too early? >> the president has said we're going to have a 90 day period where folks inside of government and outside of government will assess what are the specific types of programs that we want to invest in. we also know that there's some
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groups out there that work and they work well. they are going to serve as national models. center for urban families in baltimore has a job readiness program for men and boys and great fatherhood program as well. obviously the harlem children's zone which the president referenced a number of times and becoming a man program in chicago. there are concrete examples but before you make this type of investment, you want to spend time to study what works and that's the period that my brother's keeper is in right now. >> josh, you're the president's spiritual adviser and mentioned best practices and a lot of these programs rely on faith based initiatives. do you think faith should be a part of these kind of guidance in school or do you worry about the constitutionality in that? >> when you use federal funds, they can't go to political purposes but secular programs are great but there's powerful faith-based programs as well. the reality is, there are some
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problems that no policy or program intervention is going to fix. when there's a hole in someone's heart, when they are struggling with mental health challenges or struggling with depression and so forth, sometimes faith-based programs can speak into those issues that -- in a way that other programs may not be able to. i definitely think there's a significant role for faith-based organizations here. >> thank you for being such a strong voice on this issue and for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you to everyone who responded to our call to action. keep us posted on how at-risk programs in your community are doing. up next, an athlete takes a few days off to spend time with his newborn and the crowd goes wild. is he a hero or zero? our panel will weigh in up next. if i can impart one lesson to a
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new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. worst morning ever. [ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel!
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raging about paternity leave and for our panel i'll bring in two colleagues with recent firsthand experience on this front. craig melvin and new dad who just came back from paternity leave and melissa harris perry who just came back from maternity leave. it's a good thing because we're going to get your take on today's big paternity leave themed heroes and zeros. on monday the second baseman daniel murphy's wife gave birth to a baby boy and he missed the game to be by her side. very sweet. he also decided to remain with his family, understandable. the decision didn't sipt as well with some in new york states including boomer esiason. >> quite frankly, i would have -- >> go ahead. >> i would have said c-section
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before the season starts, i need to be at opening day. this is what makes our money. this is how we're going to-our life. this is going to give my child every opportunity to be a success in life. >> wow. all right, esiason said he was story. >> my flippant comment wasn't meant to insult anybody but obviously it did and for that i'm truly sorry. >> we appreciate the apology but maybe too little too late. let's say esiason and sports figures who agreed with him on todays zeros. on the other hand daniel murphy was back in the lineup for last night's game and afterwards asked about the controversy. >> the awesome part about being a parent you get that choice. my wife and i discussed it and we felt the best thing for our family was for me to try to stay for an extra day. i can only speak from my experience, but father seeing their wives, she was completely finished.
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she was done. she had gotten -- she had had surgery and she was wiped. so having me there i think helped a lot and vice-versa to take the load off. >> murphy made a big move from his batting stance to a social rights stance. for taking a stand for dads and his family, we'll make him today's heroes. this is a small personal story but a big serious issue for america and its role around the world. 62 countries where paternity leave is required by law, the u.s. is in a small, small minority. we're joining new guinea in those that do not allow of it any kind. >> russia, paid paternity leave, rwanda, paid paternity leave. there are dozens of countries around the world where this is the norm of the and we live in a
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country where less than 13% of american companies provide paid paternity leave. fortunately you have a number of companies that have started to say you know what, not only does this make sense and economic sense, it's the right thing to do. facebook for instance, offers 17 weeks of paid paternity leave. >> how many weeks did you get? >> our company provides two weeks, call it baby bonding time. i took the two times and added vacation time and personal time, i took almost three weeks. i wish i had taken more. i should have taken more. next time i will take more. >> aw. >> is that dell, i missed the video. >> why do you think america is in such a minority on this? >> i want to suggest that boomer esiason when he gives that apology is sincere and this is bigger than what mr. esiason himself said. the real issue here is in part when he made that framework about this is the job and the job is the thing that pays for
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the family so my role as father is to provide. and i respect the role of parents who provide economically for their children. but there's a way in which that altitude reduces fathers and reduces the value of fathering -- >> all i'm good for is a paycheck. >> what about the love and attachment and the time and funny -- my husband is doing a lot of playing of music with the baby. look, for me, although it was a maternity leave, it wasn't actually maternity leave. after i gave birth, we used a gestational carrier, i wasn't recovering from childbirth, because i'm a woman. i have our company's six-week maternity leave for the child. i think it's incredibly important that we say all parents, it's parental leave, fathers and mothers being in the role. >> did you face more skepticism about the fact you didn't have the physical recovery but you
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chose the time for the emotional recovery. >> not to your face. >> when i would walk around with my 4 day old and people would say, you look fabulous. >> you just take it. >> i was one of those folks. >> prenatal yoga, that's right. >> looks amazing. what's your secret? >> but, look, the point is that parents whether they are -- whether they are in same sex relationships or married, fathers and mothers bring more than just the pay economcheck t table. >> the research on this has been -- it's been resounding. the correlation between a child's success when the father spends time with that child in the first few weeks and the amount of time that the child -- the amount of time the father spends with the child later in light, the correlation between that and success is undeniable. there's a study entitled children's chances and looked at
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that and found that dads who spend not the first -- not first few months but even the first few weeks with the kid bonding, it goes a long way. >> my own insight as i grew up with a lot of adopted siblings and had no parental contact, abandoned and it does have profound development effects and changes their life forever. that time that you're taking will shape their lives forever. and speaking of which, we have a picture of melissa with her new -- >> look at that. >> so cute. >> baby nerd. >> i like that. >> it's a contentious issue but i love you're taking a stand on it. >> it's amazing the things you find yourself caring about when they directly affect you. and they directly affect you. >> we have something else that affects a lot of people in this country, a startling story of america exporting one of its most prasracially charged piece
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history. where castles were houses and valiant knights stood watch for the kingdom was vast and monsters lurked in the deep and the good queen showed the boy it could all be real avo: all of great britain, all in one place book on expedia before april 30th and save up to thirty percent. [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. this is the first power plant in the country
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all right, we are back now with our panel extraordinary today and we're going to look at the surprising american export. there's a town in brazil where the flag of the southern confederacy flies high. immediately following the civil war some southern americans fled to brazil, the last country in south america to outlaw slavery. the community there has grown and changed but it has maintained its confederate heritage. through our data mining collaboration we're going to introduce you. ♪ >> translator: my name is robert
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lee ferguson. my name comes from the great general of the confederate states during the war. we are very proud to descend from such brave people. in the u.s., if you put pictures like this on facebook, you would get a lot of people angry. in brazil, it's a common as football and samba, for the upcoming world cup and olympics, they found photos and fan pages that looked like they came from south of the mason dixon line, not south of the equator. two hours away, there's a small vanishing community that has a direct blood link with people in the south of the united states. they call themselves con fed rals. families with last names like thomas, strong or williamson are
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living proof of the american immigration to brazil that started with the civil war. this is the only moment in the this is the object moment in united states history that -- >> they have tried to start a new life here. >> reporter: at the time, brazilians weren't very knowledgeable in agriculture, like the americans were. they created a revolution, because the americans were great farmers. >> cotton, we know that was the key. brazil is a late holder nation. >> translator: our cemetery is the only one as far as we know outside the u.s. to be an
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exconfederate soldier cemetery. here is a portrait of my great grandfather, he was the fourth mayor of this town, first the c confederate flag. for me the flag means so much, it's the our confederate story here. >> the goal is not to offend anyone. >> translator: we bring people to celebrate the culture that has a lot to do with the origins of rock and roll. it has nothing to do with racism. >> i do not agree with any kind of slavery. >> we have no racist ideal connected with the flag. the flag is simply a symbol of
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the honor of how it was used in the past. and we would like to be a part of the current history of the united states. >> what? back with me here on set, greg melvin and melissa harris perry, questions, here in the u.s., you guys, okay we have some guests. stay tuned for that. but first, this is such a lightning rod in america. and growing up, you know, my sister is black, would have her friends bring in confederate flag manicure jobs and say this is offense to me. is it possible to communicate to them how electric the flag is? >> we see the flag, the flag is part of our life experience, right? you have to encounter it, you
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don't necessarily like it, but you also recognize the multiple meanings that it had. i was watching that entire segment with my jaw dropped in part because it is a reminder that just like race is a social construct, the changes across time and place, and depends on where you are, in the context of the u.s., if you fly a confederate flag over a government building, you are saying that states have the right to nullify laws, and those laws could be around human enslavement. >> one of my first assignments as a local news reporter many years ago with was to go down to the state house and cover the confederate flag being removed from atop the state house dome, it's still on the grounds. i have always felt that the flags should unite, the flags that we celebrate in this country, the flags that we raise, the flags that we honor,
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those are flags that -- >> if you could have seen the look on melissa's face, you would have known -- >> this is for a lot of folks. but not just folks that look like us. >> it's a flag of rebellion against the union. take race out of it. this is a group of states that suceded from and attempted to destroy the united states of america. i grew up watching general lee. "the dukes of hazard" and i had feelings about the confederate flag. >> there are folks who try to lump them together, part of the south is the confederate flag. >> its extends all the way to brazil. all right, well, we have had running around on the set someone who has been wreaking havoc for our cameramen and i want to explain who this is
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ronan pharaoh. he's a brooklyn dog. he is available for adoption through bad ass brooklyn animal rescue. we rescue sweet, adoptable dogs from high kill shelters in the south. >> the dog is not going to comment on the confederate flag. but it raises an important issue, there are a lot of dogs that need homes. they said ronan pharaoh is always excited to meet new friends, he's a little bit chunky right now, but he still fits in a bag. >> ronan is about four years old. and he's a wonderful dog. and we rescue from pounds that have over 90% kill rates and if anyone would like to learn more about rescue and what we do at
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our rescue and the other resc rescues. >> is ronan pharaoh on drugs right now? >> just water. >> the staff is very excited to say sit, ronan pharaoh. >> that was melissa harris perry and craig melvin. you can catch melissa harris-perry on saturday afternoons. and you can check out craig at 2:00 on saturday. thanks so much for joining me, you can catch this show at 1:00 p.m. eastern time right here on msnbc. for now, stay tuned for the reid report, with my colleague joy reid, it's excellent, you won't want to mis-hit.
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happy friday reiders, this is the reid report, i'm joy reid and we start today with the shoots at ft. hood which continues to raise questions about mental health and a subject nobody's talking about anymore. guns. we'll talk with the former chief of staff of congresswoman gabby giffords about whether anything, even a mass shooting can break our national silence on gun control. first the latest on the shooting that killed three and injured 16. moments ago, texas governor rick perry spoke about the shooting, calling it a senseless act and thanking the first responders. >> thank you and how much we appreciate the first responders, and the professional way that they took care of business. we had a number of our active duty military who were the first responders and their thanks to the texas
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