"now" with alex wagner starts now. who wants to be a republican ring master? one guess. itis friday, may 16th. this is "now." >> benghazi, benghazi, benghazi. >> benghazi. >> benghazi is going to be the thing they talk about. >> the house committee moving forward, a group of republican senators are asking -- >> the senate to investigate bengha benghazi. >> nor lynn say graham saying the push is because of statements. >> this is five days after the attack. got the wrong date here. >> they talked about the inaccuracy. >> wrong date. >> most americans think this administration scandals are a big deal. >> benghazi, 52% say it's serious. >> benghazi. >> the reason secretary clinton is not on television is because she had -- what does that say about benghazi and about her

leadership abilities? >> what more is there that we are not aware of? >> dang if i know. we lost four brave americans. the last thing we need to do is lose anymore. >> subpoenas, select committees and slippery tactics. there are three rings in the benghazi circus. it is clear darrel issa is desperate to be in one of them. after being shut out by speaker boehner's -- darrel isoissued a new subpoena because nobt puts him in a corner. issa demanded secretary of state john kerry appear before his oversight committee on may 29th. before the state department had a chance to respond, issa fired off a characteristically bombastic tweet. with this state department's slippery tactics, it's no wonder

our friends in the world are losing faith in us and doubt our credibility. darrel issa called out somebody else's slippery tactics. it's the resistance to the subpoena for may 21st, a day when the secretary was scheduled to be in mexico, working. yesterday, secretary kerry happened to be in london. given this was the second time in two weeks he was issued a subpoena while traveling overseas doing the nation's diplomatic business, the folks at state struggled to stay measured to chairman issa. quote, this is not the way legitimate oversight is conducted around it is a departure from the days representative issa la meanted the secretary of state should not be distracted to testify at the barrel of a subpoena. the state department says they are working to offer witnesses, quote, better suited to answer issa's questions, like say, perhaps, someone who was actu

actually working at the state department when the benghazi attacks happened. this comes as more republicans look to get a piece of the benghazi action. a letter signed by 37 republican senators is calling for a benghazi select committee of their own. darrel issa is flaunting his subpoena power. the upper chamber has their own posse. what happened to speaker boehner's promise made last week. >> this is about getting to the truth. there's not going to be a side show. this is a serious thing. >> kate, give me the view here on capitol hill because i was sort of flabbergasted that darrel issa was issuing subpoenas after speaker boehner said not fewer than several times, i don't know the exact

count, but he was very clear that the whole point of this house select committee was to consolidate the investigation. what gives? >> that was my understanding, too. from what we kind of see right now is that this appears to be a way for issa to continue on the investigation in his own committee. he never wanted to let go of the investigation to begin with. there was a story in the daily beast earlier this week that issa was opposed to the formation of the select committee. he wanted his committee to continue their oversight. yesterday, in florida, he was at a -- he was actually at a fund-raiser defending this saying that both things could happen at the same time. i haven't heard from leadership what they think of this latest subpoena. >> dana, one can safely assume leadership cann't be psyched he can't quit benghazi. he didn't want the house select

committee to be established. if they actually do find anything, among other things, it makes issa look like a colossal time and resource waster. >> yeah, what we have is a serious case of subpoena envy on darrel issa's point. >> please write a column about that. it's too good. >> the poor guy has been emasculated. the whole reason they set up this select committee is a rebuke of his handling of this because he has made such a circus of it and because he has been so ineffective in bringing out what they think the truths are in this. this is a rebuke and he's coming back saying no, no, no, i can still do this, too. it is a circus, as you are describing. the problem is, the circus, at the moment, has only clowns in it. everybody is tooting their own horn and trying to draw attention to themselves and polls are indicating that's the wrong tactic for republicans to be taking. >> what is the deal with the

senate here, kate? you know, 37 republican senators signing a letter saying they want their own senate select committee on benghazi. there's been 25,000 pages of documents handed over, 13 hearings. is this an excuse for graham to stand at the top at the podium with a blow up of text relating to benghazi and asking leading questions that are not based in reality? >> they wanted a select committee. lindsey graham wanted to do this since, you know, 2012. they all want a piece of the action. it's not going to happen. there's absolutely no way harry reid is going to allow that to happen. so, graham and ayacht and mr. mccain can continue to have their press conferences. this is a way for lindsey graham to draw attention to himself. he has a primary coming up. this is a popular subject for him. it's something he continues to

talk about. i don't think he's going to let it go anytime soon. >> dana, what's amazing to me is the polling on this. you suggest this is not a great strategy. fox news asked a poll question, if you are talking leading questions, here is the textbook example. i'll read it. the poll asked, in the aftermath of the benghazi terrorist attacks, the administration incorrectly claimed it was a spontaneous result to a video even though the administration had intelligence reports the attacks were connected to terrorist groups connected to al qaeda. do you think the administration lied to help the president during the ongoing re-election campaign or not? even with that phrasing, with that leading verbiage, the respondents say 30% of republicans are looking to get to the truth. 63 say republicans are motivated only for political gain. it is stunning how badly this polls for them. >> yeah.

this is, i think, meets the definition of a push poll, which is shocking. usually fox news plays it straight -- >> on benghazi. >> on the benghazi issue. they have all along so far. yeah, i think that is surprising. when you say, hey, poll taker, the administration lied do you think the administration lied, you are going to get people to say yeah, i guess they lied because you told me that. this is interesting. it shows the danger of overkill when people are saying by better than 2-1 this is politically motivated. how do you demonstrate it's politically motivated? you have lindsey graham with his own committee and issa doing this. democrats need to engage in this select committee, point out the facts, answer the serious questions and be able to point out when the republicans are over playing their hand politically, which they are about to do. >> kate, what is going on on that front, the democrats?

nancy pelosi has been inconclusive or not issued a conclusion, statement or decision on whether they are going to participate. what way do you think the winds are blowing in terms of that question? >> as far as i can tell, the majority of the caucus would like to participate. they want to be there and be able to be in the room to combat any republican accusations, defend witnesses. i think that's where the majority of the caucus is going. i don't think we'll have a clear answer from democratic leadership until the caucus meets after next week. pelosi clearly wants to boycott. leadership wants to boycott. they think republicans will overplay it. she's very good at listening to her members. not only is she good at listening, sometimes she's able to convince them to go her way. we'll see after they meet next week exactly what they are going to do. >> unlike speaker boehner, she is able to control her caucus.

kate, and dana, thank you both for your time. >> thank you. after the break, massive wildfires scorch southern california. blazes caused by draught. if you want to know what end times looks like, probably like this. a nasa scientist will give us the facts, next on "now." (meow mix jingle) right on cue. it's more than just a meal, it's meow mix mealtime. with wholesome ingredients and irresistible taste, it's the only one cats ask for by name. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises?

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23,000 people have been evacuated from their homes this week due to fires. nearly 30 school districts were closed. governor jerry brown declared a state of emergency. the scariest thing about this week's fires. it is not even fire season yet. already this year, california fire crews responded to 1400 wildfires, which is more than double the average. the fire season in that state now lasts roughly 75 days longer than it did ten years ago and more than half of the largest fires have taken place over the last decade. a big reason for this? draught. california is in the midst of three of the driest years in the state's history. right now, a full 100% of the state is in severe extreme or exceptional drought. joining me now is physical scientist at nasa's space flight center. doug, thanks for joining me. the images out of california are

dramatic and distressing. this seems to be fairly unprecedented. is it? >> this is an early start to a fire season that is forecast to be a severe one. the drought map you showed with snow back and rainfall all of that predisposed this to a longer and stronger fire season. we understand that all too well. the water supply you are counting on for farms as well as cities and the ecosystems that are prone to fire, all of that is pre-conditions for the kinds of wildfires we have seen in recent years. >> how much is attributed to climate change. half the u.s. is feeling this. half of this country is facing droughts. >> the conditions we see right now across the western u.s. and across the plains states are entirely consistent with the kinds of climate change reductions and precipitations and drought conditions.

the same conditions that are the core components of fire weather. if we look back with nasa data over the last 30 years, we see a strong, steady increase in the amount of burning. the conditions are directly tied with the drought and temperatures we expect to continue under our projections of climate change with the latest climate change models. >> doug, this has been, there's obvious will the catastrophe in california that is focused on the changing climate and the changing norms in terms of dryness, precipitation and wildfire season. but, beyond that, there have been two really big reports that would seem to tie us back to climate change. one of them is the news that the west antarctic ice sheet is rising that could rise sea levels. the other is a climate assessment the white house was aggressive in pushing awareness on. what of these most recent pieces of news is most distressing to

you? what should we be focused on? >> the climate picture and the variety of information and the climate assessment that has a specific focus in on ecosystems and human societies across the u.s. and our existing vulnerability to climate change and the way we understand how our actions fit into the global earth's system. that's all important. i think one of the hallmarks of the science we do at nasa is to link the pieces together to understand how a changing climate leads to loss of arctic sea ice, changes in the conditions and stresses on our natural systems, those systems in and around our communities as well as those human systems, agricultural production, drought and variability in precipitation plays a role in how we understand each and every component of the human system. >> that was very judiciously phrased.

that doesn't sound like good news. doug morton from nasa's goddard flight station. thank you. >> thank you. it may be the biggest election in human history. chances are, you may not have heard anything about it. why the vote in india really matters. next. those hot dogs look good. oh yeah, hebrew national. their all-beef like yours but they're also kosher. is that a big deal? i think so. because not just any beef goes into it. only certain cuts of kosher beef. i guess they're pretty choosy. oh, honey! oh! here, have some of ours. oh! when your hot dog's kosher, that's a hot dog you can trust hebrew national.

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democracy elected a new prime minister. eligible voters cast ballots sweeping the opposition leader to victory over a 43-year-old. the pro-business campaigned on the success of his home province in attracting foreign investment. the hindu national his leader who happened to be a tea seller is promising to build bullet trains to hydroelectric power plants to revive india's stalled economy and challenge china. he's embracing tech which was evident in his campaign when he appeared via hologram. people weary of a clinton/bush showdown. his opponent is a member of the

gandhi clan. the family has led a party that's been in power for all but ten years of the post colonial history and seen by many as out of touch and corrupt. when it comes to scandal, he has plenty of it. before he was party leader, he was chief minister. in 2002, 2,000 muslim citizens were killed under his watch. in fact, it is the reason the u.s. government denied him a u.s. visa. whether or not he played a role, he says he didn't handle the media well enough. in the new republic, he's described by those who know him well, secretive, vindictive. he ricochets between aggression and self-pity and incapable of sounding broad minded. he's known for close ties to unsavory right wing hindu

fanatics. some think he will moderate once in office. if he doesn't, investors seem happy. india stock market soared to a railroad high. for everyone who had no idea the biggest election in the world was happening this week, his dramatic win is a testment that india is making it. coming up, an e-mail. the name of the roman farmer who defended the city and relinquished his power. edward snowden. i will ask about that e-mail and the rest of them when he joins me live in stud owe, ahead. ameriprise asked people a simple question: in retirement, will you outlive your money?

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glen greenwald was the first journalist edward snowden contacted. it begins with snowden's failed approach to contact him in 2012. it led to ten surreal days in hong kong that could have been taken from the pages of the born trilogy. greenwald and snowden's meeting took place in hong kong. snowden walked toward him carrying a rubic's cube. decades younger than expected. was this fraud? did i waste my time flying across the world? how could he be so talented? over the next ten days, they spent hours in snowden's hotel

room pain stakingly combing through every aspect of his story and vetting the documents he hoped to reveal. despite the cash of secret that is could change the course of history. he couldn't help but think of the man himself. durn himself into a felon and breach the commands of loyalty that was drummed into his head for years. a game plan was deviced. three days later, the revelations began. the first on june 6. a court order that offered proof that the nsa spied on americans cal data. the next day, the prison program detailing unauthorized access of the servers of apple, facebook, google and microsoft. june 9th, part of the plan all along, edward snowden's introduction to the world. >> my name is ed snowden, i'm 29 years old. it's a thing of these people are

against the country, against the government, but i'm not. i'm no different from anybody else. i don't have special skills. i'm just another guy. this is the truth thch. this is what's happening. you should decide if we need to be doing it. >> joining me now is glenn greenwald. great to have you here. in the flesh. let's, first of all, for people, we are saying this before the break, even if, no matter what your opinion is offedward snowden, this is a riveting story. we mentioned the born identity because of the insane -- there are old school spy tactics you detail. cell phones in refrigerators to intercept calls. the idea snowden entered his

password with a hood or blanket over his head. when this odyssey began, or as it began and you were looped into this world, what were your thoughts? were owe freaked out about it? did it change the way you behaved at home? >> everything from the choice of city, which was hong kong, it was mystifying as to why anybody would be in that place of all places. hong kong itself was a character in the story itself. itis the perfect setting for this intrigue and mystique because it's a very difficult city to apprehend especially when you haven't been there before and hovering over everything is the fact i knew we were meeting a source and i knew had given us many, many thousands of top secret documents from the world's most secretive agency and most powerful government. all the precautions and uncertainties that constantly

hovered. not just an entertaining story. i wanted to tell it because so much shaped the reporting we ended up doing that cleared up a lot of misconceptions. >> initially he tried to contact you in 2012. he wanted you to sort of follow encryption protocol. >> i get inundated with people every day that have huge, huge breaking story that is turn out to be nothing. the lesson of that story and the reason i proudly told it is two-fold. one is that here is somebody who in retro spect would you describe afraid to talk to me. he knew, unlike me, the vast reach of the surveillance

system. he would not talk to me until i installed encryption. how do you have a free press when the government is monitoring people's communications and collecting lists with everyone whom we are communicating and underscore the difficulty of doing journalism. >> snowden chose you specifically to go to. i wonder, as you got to know each other more personally, in the hotel room together, room service, et cetera. i don't mean that to sound suggestive. it was a very intimate kind of trio, the three of you. the decision, which i think set snowden apart from any other whistleblower was to reveal himself before the u.s. government or outside intelligence agencies had a chance to define him. tell me a little more about how that decision was made and the

advice you gave him as you figured out what that video message was going to be like. >> the first conversation i had with him after he told me what he had and what he intended to give me and the reasons why, he was adamant to the point it was unnegotiable and he was going to identify himself publicly as the source and account what it is and why he did it. if you are going to do something that affects this many people not to hide and allow people to be accused, but stand-up and take responsibility for it. he was proud of the choice and didn't want to hide and wasn't ashamed of it. once i was able to determine this choice was not impe-- he embraced it with a full understanding of the consequence and full autonomy, it wasn't my role to be a pa ternistic figure

and give him advice about whether he should do it. he was determined to do it. he had very solid reasons for doing it. it was a very cogent understanding of doing it. what role would i play as journalist. >> i want to get into that consideration and thought. we have to take a quick break. i will ask about the failures and successes of the fourth state as well. that's next. [ male announcer ] people all over the world know us, but they don't yet know we're a family. we're right where you need us. at the next job, next adventure or at the next exit helping you explore super destinations and do everything under the sun. 12 brands. more hotels than anyone else in the world. so wherever you want to be, whatever you want to do, chances are we're already there. save up to 25% and earn bonus points

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snowden. in politico magazine, there's an article that asserts snowden is the kind of guy the agency would have looked for. he's a narcissistic delusional writer. this is a man who is far from narcissistic or underachiever. his knowledge of history, of judicial precedent, of american laws and the justice system and where, exactly, he saw this going was incredibly sophisticated and nuanced. >> it's the reason i thought he was going to be in his 60s or 70s. in part because of the access to the documents and how sophisticated he was into the issues we discussed. in hong kong, i mentioned it remind me of a doctor who diagnosed terri schiavo watching

her on a screen. people are put on this amateur psychiatrist hat that someone they don't know can be diagnosed as a narcissist, which is a term that people don't understand. >> only narcissists call other people that. >> it takes one to know one. you are right. despite not having a high school degree, a highly trained operative in offensive and defensive operations. they recognized him. in spite of being a narcissist, every day, after we revealed him, i got called from every leading figure on television pleading with me to put on prime time. every day, he refused because he wanted to remain out of the spotlight so the focus not remain on him, but the substance. it's the opposite of fame seeking and nars similar and the

other phrases thrown at him. >> before he took to the video tape, he would soon be under attack and caged as a criminal. he's not caged. he's almost zen like in serenity and comfort. >> are you surprised the way it turned out? >> i'm surprised he didn't end up in an american prison. that was the assumption he would. that's what made his decision so brave. itis bizarre when media figures said he must be visible, he's in russia. as all people in russia are miserable. the reality is, of all the people i know in my life,edward noden is the most tranquil, at peace and happiest. he puts his head on the pillow every night with the knowledge he took action in defense of principals. few people can say that. >> that is true.

glenn greenwald, "no place to hide." riveting stuff. thank you for joining me. coming up, 60 years after brown versus board of education, separate but equal may no longer be the law. in some school districts, it looks like it is the practice. film macker alexander pelosi shows us where, just ahead. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas. this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪ ...i got lots of advice, but i needed information i could trust. unitedhealthcare's innovative, simple program

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despite what some conservatives tell you, we are not living in a post racial society. if you need more proof, check out the resegregation of america's public schools. columbia university and pelosi join me next. here is a look at stocks. on monday, the dow gained 44 points. s&p was higher by seven and the

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weeds killed. lawn restored. justice served. weed b gon max with the one-touch wand. get order. get ortho®. you lose a child growing up in new york city. i understood, as i learned about the decision, its impact was truly ground breaking bringing the law in line with the truth of the equality of our humanity. >> that was attorneygeneral erik holder. >> by striking down the separate but equal clause, the court began of process of integrating the public school system. the justices shown a spotlight on barrier that is faced african-americans particularly in the south that galvanized citizens, freedom rights and

voter registration drives. effort that is brought about legislation in the next decade. integration worked. black students who spend five years in de-segregated schools are healthier and less likely to go to jail. in the early 1980s, lack of enforcement by the government and a series of court rulings unwound the progress made. today, america's public schools are more segregated than 1968 or anytime since. nowhere is this more evident than in tuscaloosa, alabama. george wallace stood in the doorway to stop four black students from enters the school. alexander pelosi went down to see the resegregation firsthand. >> the center of freedom

fighting. this is freedom fighting country. we are a couple hundred yards from it. now, 2014, the resegregation of public schools. that's what's happened now. the schools are more racially segregated than in 1968. >> the street here, that side of the street goes to central. this side of the street goes to the school across town. >> how come the african-american kids that live over there go to yur school and the kids over there go to a better school. >> i wouldn't say better. >> go to a different school. >> why do they attend a different high school? >> the zoning lines were drawn very specifically to make sure centrals -- the neighborhood zoned for central are virtually all african-american. yeah, that's terrible.

>> is tuscaloosa re-segregated? >> if you look at it from our side, you could say that. we are in a rut. we lost the momentum that we established and we are slowly going back to the mind set that we had before brown. >> the 60th anniversary of brown versus board of education. do you think it worked? >> no. not for this city. tuscaloosa is still segregated. i think about it and i'm like why aren't there other white students here? what's wrong with our school? >> it's not fair. they don't have to books, the teachers and courses the other schools have. it's hard to be on top. >> they sent the good teachers to other schools to set us up for failure. they want us to fail. >> kick back, teacher. they gave all the good teachers to other schools. >> i found it uncomfortable to

teach brown versus board of education in a school which 99.5% of the student body is african-american and i'm teaching that segregation ended in 1954. i always have to pause and say, okay, how do we explain what we see with our own eyes here? that's a very difficult conversation to have. especially as a white teacher. the question is, how is it that the country is moving back in a direction of increased segregation? the story unfolding in tuscaloosa is not just about tuscaloosa. it's happening nationally. we like to make the southeast where it's happening. it's all of us everywhere in this nation. we are going backwards as a nation where issues of racial segregation is concerned. there's no question about it. >> joining me now is film maker alexander pelosi, associate

professor at columbia university and dorian warren. it's distressing to say i don't know ho to teach brown versus board of ed when talking to a class that's been segregated. how did it happen? there's a calculated effort to keep white students in one place and blacks in another. >> i don't want to bore you with the politics there. >> it's happening here. >> it's here in my kids school downtown. man hatten is more segregated than most in america. i think the most important thing we need to talk about is how it happened in the whole country. >> yeah. part of that -- it's a story about economics and opportunity and mobility. it's conservative ideology that,

as john roberts said, if you want to stop discriminating, stop discriminating. >> wait. it's most important they cherry pick out the middle class kids. it isn't just a race thing. it's easy to thai look, they are all black. >> i think we have seen different stages of this. in the '60s, white flight in the cities so they didn't have to comply with mandatory bussing in some places and desegregation. by the time they get to the '80s and '90s and 2007 the court puts the hammer and coffin on voluntary desegregation, a case called parents involved based out of seattle. a northern city, white parents not wanting to send their kid to a school that was integrated because they didn't like the voluntary efforts of desegregation in seattle. the roberts court using a color blind ideology says no, strict scrutiny on these efforts took away that tool at integration.

>> alexandra, some people say you have a 99% black school if it's not dictated to be so by law, what is so bad about only having black students in one school. they have done great reporting on this. they know it is harder for black children in all black schools to get ahead. their education, their exposure to other sort of socioeconomic brackets is worse than the 1960s. at least in the 1960s, i don't want to say at least in the 1960s, seriously, but they were middle class blacks and affluent they were just segregated in the same places. now, it's poor, minorities under one roof. >> what's sad is the school across town, they say is not all white, they have some middle class african-american kids. the problem with that is that these white schools have a sense of entitlement. a sense of, this is a hard conversation to have because you

can step in it and get the race wars. trying to be politically correct here. there's a situation where the white kids feel really entitled and they have all the better teachers and they get the books. these kids complain they don't have books because the money follows the white kids. the community, when you drive to the other school, the integrated school, they have corporate sponsorships from everywhere in town along the field. you can see mcdonald's sponsored this field. they don't have that at sentra high. you know where the community wants to be and where they want to put their support. they end up paying attention to only the, you know, one kind of kid and one kind -- they only care about the kids they think are going to be, you know, there. >> i guess the question is, like, what can be done to combat this? on the federal level and state level, even the local level, you tell parents, okay, we are going to change the way your kids

school system. there's a, not in my backyard. this is my kid. whether my kid is white or black, i'm going to make the decisions on where he or she goes to school. >> it's hard to untangle school separation and poverty and residential segregation. housing is tied to school segregation tied to poverty and low wage work and all sorts of broader problems in society. you are right, in terms of the federal government's role, the tools of the federal government have been so slashed and cut away by the supreme court that it's hard for the federal government, the obama administration, they are hands are tied. as you said, at the local and state level, unless we find a way to say fund it or other bolder ideas, we are going to have this problem with segregation and unequal opportunity for a lot of kids.

>> alexander, what was the mood at the schools? >> what's sad is the kids get on a bus to go to a baseball game, the kids from central high and they drive to the other school and they see -- they are both public schools, the same school system. how come they have -- it's like they have lost the game before they got there. they feel like, hey, wait a second, all the good stuff is over on this side. it's really -- it's more than just the fact that they bus them. tuscaloosa gets back to the point, you can look across the street and see houses, see kids z going to the "good" school. then you drive ten minutes and those kids are going. see, that's a little -- it's hard to defend. >> especially for young people to feel that kind of, you know, the deck is stacked against you in junior high school and high school. it has to be damming in terms of how that affects you later in life and adult life and where you go and how far you climb up the ladder. >> the saddest thing is, the

kids all said they want us to fail. that's the thing that we have to remember. >> that's a failure. >> we have failed. >> alexander pelosi and dorian warren, thank you for joining me on this important day. that is all for "now." see you back here monday at 4:00. "the ed show" is up next. good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" live from detroit lakes, minnesota. i'm ready to go! let's get to work. ♪ 50,000 gallons of crude gush from a broken aboveground section of an oil line. >> crews on the scene of an ail spill near los angeles. >> keystone would carry 800,000 barrels of dangerous oil every day. >> this is very dirty oil. >> oil shooting 30 feet into the air. >> affected several businesses in the area. >> two people transported to the local hospital. >> the cleanest barrel of oil