a blowback building in congress. you may see him pressured into cancelling his speech after all. >> joe, great to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your conversation. thanks so much. that is "the ed show." "politics nation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. tomorrow night i'm going to show you exactly how to cook that deer sausage for the super bowl. rev, you've got it. \s. thank you, ed. thanks to you for tuning in. we start tonight with breaking news. any minute now, president obama will arrive in philadelphia on board air force one, where he'll address house democrats tonight at their three-day retreat. the big theme -- fighting income inequality head-on. this morning the president published a preview of his remarks, writing, quote, in order to get wages and incomes rising faster we need to take the next step.

and promising to reveal a new budget next week aimed at quote, bringing middle-class economics into the 21st century. the budget will fully roll back those devastating cuts to domestic programs forced by the gop congress in to 13 while closing tax loop holes for the top 1%. this is a president in fighting mode. today the republican senate passed a bill to approve the controversial keystone pipeline but the president has already said, if it gets to his desk he'll vite on it. he's not going to let them controlling the agenda. anyway, what is their agenda? here's speaker john boehner from last night -- >> this is the president violating the constitution violating his oath of office. it's about the constitution. it's about the rule of law. we have 47 new members of

congress on the republican side who have never had the chance to cast their vote to repeal obama care. the economy is a little better. i'm not going to deny that but he shouldn't be takings credit for. >> lawsuits repeal votes and petty attacks. it's not an agenda. it's the tea party's greatest hits. i wonder why. >> listen i was the tea party before there was a tea party. i understand their concerns. i understand their frustrations. >> i guess if the speaker thinks if you can't beat them join them but tonight the president will lay out a vision that goes right around them. joining mess know are jason johnson and msnbc's abby huntsman. thank you both for being here. >> thanks rev. >> good evening, rev. jason, does the country want a focus on jobs and fairness or lawsuits and repealing obamacare? >> my guess is people probably care a bit more about jobs.

the republicans should have learned last fall that impeachment, lawsuits against the president, none of these things are exciting. the president has realized, look i'm riding high. he has the best approval in years. he actually has higher approval today than reagan had at this point in his second term. so it's clear that the public is in favor of what the president wants. maybe congress will eventually listen. >> abby speaker boehner said he can't take the plan to roll back the budget cuts known as sequestration seriously, but gop senator john mccain said quote -- i think it's unanimous. the view that sequestration is a meat ax. i'm willing to do a number of things in order to prevent sequestration from moving -- >> it's a tough word. >> i always twist it probably

because i don't want it in the discussion. [ laughter ] >> anyway -- from moving forward. some republicans appear tore opening from hearing the president. why is speaker boehner dismissing it? >> i'm trying to figure out what he meant by saying i was a tea party before there was a tea party. i'm not sure what that means, but you have john mccain who speak foss a number of republicans who realize they have to get it right. the senate is going to have to be the adults in the room. the president has put forward its plans. republicans are not going to sign off on that as you said but now they're in a position where they have to put forward their ideas. what are they going to do? i think that's the big question. if they are talking about being the vote for the middle class, we've heard a lot of them say that but the middle classes still struggling. what are they putting forward that lets people believe they are actually speaking for them. >> aside from the differences,

what about him saying boehner, saying that he was a tea party before the tea party? i mean as a republican how do you -- i mean, what do you make of that? >> i think what he's trying to say is i've always been a conservative and i'm for these can you see, but the tea party was different from what we see today. it was originated to be fiscally conservative. i spoke to a number of folks who were part of that movement and they say they want no part of it today. clearly i don't think he's in step with a lot of mother republicans and not thinking about 2016. what are you doing today that would impact 2016? >> jason, here's what gop congressman bill shuster said about the president's plan for free community colleges. listen. >> the free community college education for folks, i mean, where is that coming from? >> well look the president believes that the federal government has the answer foss

everything. it's the nanny state. >> i mean how can house republicans, i mean be credible on income equality jason, if they make comments like that? >> you can even step back further. i was amazed when the president said we should have equal pay and sick leave, and there were republicans who didn't stand up. you can't rebrand muirself as the middle-class party if you're against basic things like paid sick leave. how are you going to pay for two free years for community college? the president has a plan but i think on that particular policy uh them people who -- >> but you now, abby last night in a if speech in mississippi, mitt romney said he's focused on income inequality.

we need to lift people out of the poverty. almost every week during my campaign, i let folks who have fallen into poverty. did he meet those people on the campaign trail before or after he talked about the 47%, abby? >> first of all, i still can't wrap my head around the fact he's running again. to me that's still so crazy. it's interesting, because republicans -- >> you do think he's running? >> i do. he thinks he's the only one who can beat jeb bush. >> do you think he can beat jeb bush? >> no i don't. i think it will be interesting, but they're very different. time will tell. a lot depends on where the money goes, but like that 47% comment, he's already introduced himself to the country two times now. it's interesting, you have all the candidates trying to own this inequality message. ted cruz sis the 47% will hurt

him the most. that's ted chris, so i do give credit for reps that acknowledging it. they jumped off the cliff. they just don't have a place to land yet. >> they came kicking and screaming. they were 8 ones acting like we were being divisive polarizing the country, now they're adopting a theme and redo it like it's theirs. >> like you have kentucky fried chicken, and no we're kitchen fresh chicken. we're healthy now. no one will believe that. i will never forget mitt romney saying he was speaking in michigan, yeah i know a lot about nascar, i have friends who own nascar teams. that's now not how you connect. >> and a friendly $10,000 bet wasn't exactly 47%. >> not at all. i want to switch quickly to the house gop's decision to invite the israeli prime minister to address congress.

"new york times" writes it's backfiring, and that's had the unintended effect of helping the president rally democrats as his administration negotiates a delicate nuclear deal with iran. we already knew that house republicans broke protocol. did they also hurt themselves politically? >> yeah, i think it's a bad situation. i don't know who is winning out of this. i can't imagine speaker boehner is saying a job well done. folks back in israel are really upset about this. as you want -- >> it's and it's a tight race. >> imagine if this were the president of china that we did this too. it's important stuff, and i think it sets a bad precedent how we do diplomacy here in the united states the rest of the world is watching. >> jason, abby thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. watch abby on "the cycle"

weekdays at 3:00 eastern right here on msnbc. coming up a former nfl superstar goes on trial for murder. dramatic video shown inside the courtroom. is he holding a gun? or a remote cele? control? plus the amazing story of what this photo inspires strangers to do for his school. i never want you to feel like there's a cap on how far you go. so the entire school we're all goods to harvard. is that excite snug. a big debate about whether this "news week" cover is sexist. what do you think? will we see a letterman/leno reunion before dave says good-bye? it's all ahead a "politics nation."

social media has been on fire about a picture posted on the popular photo blog humans of new york. this is vidal. he's from brownsville brooklyn. he told the story of how his principal has inspired his middle school. now a social media fund for the school has raised more than $1 million to pay for college trips and tuitions. tara wrote -- great story. we need more educators like her. age la said -- this is good but if we put more into education than prisons, we wouldn't need fund-raising for trips. bonnie posted -- i love reading

all the stories and seeing photos of people living their lives. bonnie, i do too. we'll talk about this later in the show but keep this conversation going on our facebook page or tweet us between the between the. an see all the bacteria that still exists. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher brighter denture everyday. your mom's got your back. your friends have your back. your dog's definitely got your back. but who's got your back when you need legal help? we do. we're legalzoom, and over the last 10 years, we've helped millions of people protect their families and run their businesses. we have the right people on-hand to answer your questions backed by a trusted network of attorneys. so visit us today for legal help you can count on. legalzoom. legal help is here.

good job! still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. there were two kinds of winces today at the confirmation hearing for loretta lynch to be attorney general. the ones who actually knew mids lynch and said things like this -- >> i wholeheartedly endorse her confirmation from the vantage

point of someone who worked closely alongside loretta. >> she was clearly tough, but also fair and gracious. >> it has been my privilege to witness the development and emergence of the best of who we are as a nation in the person of loretta. >> talk about glowing recommendations, but republicans also called another kind of witness. these witnesses didn't know much about ms. lynch, but they were chock-full of opinions about president obama and our current attorney general eric holder. >> i want to spend some time critiquing outgoing attorney general holder's tenure. >> if you want to cross this with perfectly ac -- you will be attacked and punished. >> trickle-down tyranny endorsed by the current administration and rigorously enforced by the department of justice. >> the enkrendary rhetoric created a pathway for a false narrative that became the

rallying cry for cop haters across america. >> we get it they're not fans of the obama administration but this hearing was about loretta lynch. check out what happened when they were asked if she could be confirmed as attorney general? >> those who oppose her, abattorney general, please raise their hand. let the record show no hands were raised. >> yep, none of them oppose her. so why were they called in to testify? one democratic senator had a pretty good idea. >> i regret that this hearing and this solemn occasion has been co-opted to that extent and turned into what happens to be a sound bite factory for fox news and conspiracy theorists everywhere. >> it was supposed to be a serious hearing. instead republicans turned it

into a farce. joining me now is that senator you just heard, sheldon whitehouse of rhode island. senator, thank you for being here. >> good to be with you, reverend. >> you called the hearing a sound bite factory for fox new. why would your republican colleagues instead those witnesses to testify? >> well i think they probably scoured high and scoured low, and couldn't find anybody who was win to say a bad thing about the nominee. she had done such a good job before that there wasn't a glove laid on her. what were they left with? just airing grievances that they have with the obama administration, going so far as to have one of that you are witnesses be a litigant who sat there at the table with her lawyer right at her side.

and not a work to say about loretta lynch. >> ted cruz says she has dangerous views will not concern any executive or oinchts unless and until the president resins the executive action. and another republican senator said this last night -- >> do you think there's any chance that ms. lynch will not be confirmed? >> i think there's some chance yes. we've got to think this through. congress has a right to defend itself and its legitimate powers. >> what's your reaction senator? >> i think she's got smooth sailing ahead. she showed herself very well in front of the american people senator cruz is obviously

working his presidential candidacy with the farthest right tea party members, but i don't think he reflects the views of the -- even the republican caucus. i think that folks like senator hatch and senator grassley senator graham and others who are very conservative but also very fair and very sensible are going to vote in support of her. she did a great job. >> how do you think she'll do as attorney general? >> i think she'll be terrific. i was a united states attorney so i have a bias in favor of people who were united states attorneys. i think that field sxerges is very important to bring to the department of justice. it gives you both a familiarity with the department of justice but still that outsider's perspective where main justice is not always your best friend and clearly in the way she conducted herself in the hearing, this is a woman who has immense intelligence, immense

grace and immense poise under pressure. >> senator shelleding whitehouse, thank you for your time tonight. of course reverend. still ahead, a murder trial for a former nfl superstar. why his defense team says aaron hernandez was being targeted by police. but first, scott walker lands back in an old familiar place -- tonight's gotcha. vo: introducing the starbucks flat white. crafted with two ristretto shots for bolder caramel-ly espresso. whole milk... steamed to a sweet velvety microfoam delicately poured, so the espresso rises to the top. the perfect union of bold and sweet. simplicity is its own artistry.

next. ♪♪ expected wait time: 55 minutes. your call is important to us. thank you for your patience. waiter! vo: in the nation, we know how it feels when you aren't treated like a priority. we do things differently. we'll take care of it. vo: we put members first... join the nation. thank you. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ sunday dinners at my house... it's a full day for me, and i love it. but when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. i don't like asking for help. i took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. so my daughter brought over some aleve. it's just two pills, all day! and now, i'm back! aleve. two pills. all day strong, all day long. and now introducing aleve pm for a better am. push your enterprise and you can move

the world. ♪ ♪ but to get from the old way to the new you'll need the right it infrastructure. from a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. and stay ready for everything that is still to come.

wisconsin governor scott walker is considers a run for president. he's wasting no time crossing items off his to-do list. appeal to the tea party, check. he went right to iowa last weekend, kissing up to steve king with other potential candidates. next -- win the rush limbaugh

caucus, check. >> ladies and gentlemen, the republican party has a genuine star. a demonstrated potential star in his ranks, the governor of wisconsin. his name is scott walker. >> high praise from the head of the gop. next on the list former a pac, check. he's very patriotic-sounding. our american revival pac was just rolled out with this video. >> announcer: america stands on the brink, as a time and place in our history where failed leaders preside over a nation adrift. with family incomes in steady decline. dreams stifled. >> in america we celebrate our independence for the government

now our dependence on it. >> there's just one slight problem with this. they used foreign stock images to make it. yes, foreign images for the american revival pac. this man staring off into the distance comes from an italian company according to buzzfeed. this woman paying the bills is from a polish photographer. here's a tip -- if you're calling it american revival, maybe, oh, i don't know put more americans to work making the ad? it looks like scott walker just checked another item off his list -- starring in one of my gosh -- gotchas.

you park your car. as you walk away crunch! a garbage truck backs into it. so,you call your insurance company, looking for a little support. what you get is a game of a thousand questions. was it raining? were your flashers on? was there a dog with you? by the time you hang up you're convinced the accident was your fault. then you remember; you weren't even in the car. at liberty mutual we make filing a claim as stress-free as possible. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance [ narrator ] mama sherman and the legion of super fans. wow! [ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbell's chunky soup. it's new chunky beer-n-cheese with beef and bacon soup. i love it. and mama

loves you. ♪ ♪ ♪ nineteen years ago, we thought "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our angie's list app. visit angieslist.com today. ♪

for most people, earning cash back ends here, at the purchase. but there's a new card in town. introducing the citi® double cash card. it lets you earn cash back when you buy and again as you pay. that's cash back twice. it's cash back with a side of cash back. the citi double cash card. the only card that lets you earn cash back twice on every purchase with 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay . with two ways to earn, it makes a lot of other cards seem one-sided. good job! still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. the spotlight is on the new england patriots as they get

ready for the super bowl but a different spotlight is on one of the their former stars. aaron hernandez, whose murder trial started today. he's charged in the killing of semipro football player oden lloyd about a year and a half ago. prosecutors say hernandez and two other men shot lloyd and left his body near his home. today prosecutors tried to convince the jury that hernandez planned the murder and a cover-up. it was understandably tough for the lloyd family to hear. they find a joint. that joint is later

. at one point his mother was so upset she left the courtroom. the defense says hernandez was targeted because of his fame. >> the please and the prosecutors targeted aaron from the very beginning. as soon as they found out that aaron hernandez, the celebrity football player the new england troy was a friend of odin lloyd's, aaron never had a chance. >> he had a long-term professional football contract, a beautiful home he had just settled into. a girlfriend with whom they had started talking about wedding plans. he was the father to a 7-month-old baby girl.

>> joining me now, former prosecutor and host of judge faith, faith jenkins, and trial attorney carmen st. george. >> thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> for the first time we are finally hearing the defense strategy. what's your take on it? >> i thought the defense did a pretty good job in their opening statements today, because they're really bringing one big question before this injure. that is why? here you are aaron hernandez as the defense attorney said multimillion contract new fiancee, newborn child, odin lloyd is his friend. several times during opening statements the defense attorney said odin lloyd is his friend. the fact is aaron hernandez' fiancee is also the sister of odin lloyd's girlfriend. so there's this family connection. why would aaron hernandez murder odin lloyd? you don't have to prove motive,

but in a case like this jurors will be asking why. >> carmen all you need is reasonable doubt with one juror and you have a hung trial. >> you do but if you were to take the prosecution's per peck tiff here you're talking about all the circumstantial evidence en masse, the confirming dna, the confirming footprint. you're going to talk about the images that are on the video going into the home. the timing of ten minutes that had lapsed between the time that they had left the home and at the scene of the crime and when they one. i do think the defense has a stronger case with the whole theory of tunnel vision and honing into this all-star player, this well-known nba athlete. they're going to have to jump hula hoops to convince these jurors that this person committed the crime. >> faith, it seems like one image is going to play a central part of this trial, it's all about what's in aaron hernandez'

hand here. listen to both sides. >> you'll hear from a representative that will tell you that appearance is unique. that, ladies and gentlemen, is a glock. >> what's in aaron hernandez' hand? whether it's an ipod or iphone or ipad or bleak berry or tv remotes? or a gun or something else. >> how big a deal is this image going to be? this is a case where the murder weapon was never found. he was shot six times. the murder weapon was never recovered. and aaron hernandez has charged with murder. so at some point they want to be able to connect them with a murder weapon. the only evidence they have is one, there was a shell casing found in the rental care that aaron hernandez was driving and

then there's this photo. obviously prosecutors will go after this and say listen he was holding the type of gun that was used to kill oy did not lloyd, but the defense attorney will be say use your own eyes? are you sure? or is there reasonable doubt in your mind as to what he's holding. >> do you think that's a glock? >> there's no way you can see that. even with the

what kind of impact -- you talk about the impact of his celebrity, but what kind of impact is the mother testifying? what kind of potential impact could that have? >> they always tell at the jurors emotion plays no role and simply plays no role, but everyone -- they watch everything going on in the courtroom. they look at aaron hernandez odin lloyd's family. someone is dead here. so there is going to be an emotional impact in this case but at the end of the day i've always found when they know the importance, they are instructed to base the case based on the evidence that they hear and make a determination based on that. obvious times jurors, they really do take that job seriously, and they look at the evidence and they want to make the right decision at the end of

the day. >> carmen, you know i noted that hernandez is charged with murder first-degree murder but it doesn't mean prosecutors have to prove he pulled the trigger. listen to what the judge the jury. >> first, the commonwealth must prove the devils knowingly participated in the commission of that crime, and the defendant did do with the intent to commit the crime. >> but there's no murder weapon. how hard. will they be able to show there's three men at a crime scene and he specifically nose reply participated? and this famous nfl start, 40$40 million person who you are

talking about in a state that's idolizing and revering the group, the sport he is after waited with it will be hard to convince these jurors he had a mind-set to kill. somebody. lawyers -- in a separate double murder, and text messages he wrote to his sister quote, you see who i'm with? and quote, nfl just so you know. lloyd's sister says nfl was her brother's nickname for hernandez. is it the right call to exclude this? how important is this evidence? >> i think the judge made the right call to exclude both of those pieces of evidence. first of all he is indicted on a separate case involving two murders from 2012. that can't come before this

jury. it would be too prejudicial to come before this jury. what you hone is they haven't heard that he's been indicted. that's been big news in that area and nationally. you hope they haven't heard that. the text message, that's hearsay. if it doesn't fall under an exception to the hearsay rule he didn't send that as a dying declaration, so it doesn't come in. >> carmen, right call? >> i think it's the right call but it could also mean he's bragging, he >> we'll be following this trial. faith, carmen, thank you both for your time tonight. >> sure. coming up. a big debate about this "news week" cover. is it sexist? and a school's usual plan. and buzz about a possible -ebujjz appearance on letterman

in dave's final days. conversation nation is next. i've been called a control freak... i like to think of myself as more of a control... enthusiast. mmm, a perfect 177-degrees. and that's why this road warrior rents from national. i can bypass the counter and go straight to my car. and i don't have to talk to any humans, unless i want to. and i don't. and national lets me choose any car in the aisle. control. it's so, what's the word?... sexy. go national. go like a pro. [ narrator ] mama sherman and the legion of super fans. wow! [ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbell's chunky soup. it's new chunky beer-n-cheese with beef and bacon soup. i love it. and mama loves you. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] knows her way around a miniskirt. can run in high heels. must be a supermodel,

right? you don't know "aarp." because aarp is making finding the career you love no matter what your age, a real possibility. go to aarp.org/possibilities to check out life reimagined for tools, support, and connections. if you don't think "i've still got it" when you think aarp, then you don't know "aarp." find more surprising possibilities and get to know us at aarp.org/possibilities.

it's time now for "conversation nation" joins mer is cyr lina and -- t

yiismtrossi. we start with a college banning booze. in response to student misconduct dartmouth is banning hard liquor on campus. the ivy league school is one of 50 elite schools the department of education is investigating for its sexual assault policies. dartmouth's president didn't directly link drinking to sexual assault, but instead pointed out it let to the most emergenciry room visits. zerlina? >> i think this is an overreaction. alcohol does not cause sexual assault rapists cause it. there's so many people who have been assaulted while they've been sober or while they were seven and not drinking. i think we need to talk to men

about consent and intervention strategies, instead of just saying don't ever drink and you'll be safe. that's notj j actually true. >> caroline, i think it sos the colleges don't have a grasp of how to combat the problem of sexualr; assault and sexual violence on campus. you can't just ban something. it's the same vein as saying don't wear short skirts, ladies. don't wear high heels, because you must be able to run away from your assailant. it shows they do not have a grasp on how to tackle this problem. >> mark? >> rev look this is already demonstrate, it has been dangerous. >> that's part of it. it's been in the press in the media all over the place.

is this a viable first step? or is this trying to put it over here and hoping it will take some of the sting out? >> it's a misstep, it's not even a first step. i just don't think they're getting the point. they have to be listening to women that have been victims of sexual assault on campus. i think that would be a great first step, when you listen to victims, a lot of information can be gleaned. also, you need to be talking andwh[$ educating men because if more men -- and there are a lot of them out there that say, i will not tolerate this against my fellow female college mates, they will make a stand, and they will put a stop to it. let's go to a provocative picture. here it is, on the cover of "news week" what silicon valley thinks of women.a the article focuses on a sexist culture in the tech industry but some on social media say the

cover itself is sexist? let's go to you. >> i definitely think that's a sexist cover. i think that's what "news week" thinks about women. if you're going to have an article that's talking about the serious issue about sexism and tech, which is a real issue. there are people losing their jobs, getting death threats, and docked on a regular basis, but if you're going to depict that use an actual woman. i know at least 20 that are in tech that have actually been threatened with death and rape, that you could use their face. >> mark i see you bobbling like you're not sure? >> i half agree. look, i think it's an important article that was written -- >> is there a problem with women in silicon -- >> absolutely. there are people working to try to remedy that problem. rachel scholar is in charge of an advocacy group.

i think there is some institutional sexism. >> there absolutely is. >> okay. final, you are more assertive in that than me. >> there's a lot of exclusion in the tech industry. >> absolutely. the cover i think might be -- the cover is designed to sell magazines, so it's provocative. i wouldn't have gone with that cover, but it's an impressive story, and i'm glad that they're tackling this issue. >> but caroline is it good or bad they're tackling an important issue, but the cover raises another issue that might in some way erase some of the impact of the article? >> i'm in that camp of not in fan of the cover, but a big fan of the article. i in the it brought up some fantastic points. 80% of women who have to stump up the women -- they do not get vc funding. i think it raises some fantastic issue. would i have gone with a differ

cover? probably, but i don't think that should stop us from actually reading the story. everyone stay with me. when we come back a super bowl public service announcement getting an attention. is an epic late-newt rye union coming to a tv near you? ee all the bacteria that still exists on the denture and that bacteria multiplies very rapidly. that's why dentists recommend cleaning with polident everyday. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher brighter denture everyday.

we're back with our panel. now to a super bowl ad the nfl

will run a domestic violence public service announcement from nomore.org during this year's game. [ phone ringing ] >> 911 operator, where's the >> um, you know you called 911. this issage some emergency line. >> do you know how long it will be? do you have an emergency or not? >> yes. >> you're unable to talk because -- >> right, right. >> is one in the room with you? >> just say yes or no. >> yes. okay. it looks like i have an officer about a mile from your location. are there any weapons in your house? can i stay on the phone with me?

>> no. thank you. caroline after all the nfl's issues of domestic violence this year, what do you make of this ad? >> i mean what a powerful ad. it says so much and says so little. i think it's absolutely fantastic. it's a great step in the right direction to actually keep this conversation in the spotlight. there was a lot of coverage in 2014 about domestic violence, particularly as it pertains to nfl, to football, and i think we need to keep the conversation going in 2015. we need to keep pushing it forward. it's breathtaking quite frankly. >> mark, the nfl is partnering in this ad so they are beginning to make strides in this area. after a very high-profile year of those that are the nfl that have abused in this fashion. >> absolutely. there will be critics that say this is just pr or they're trying to paper over this endemic problem that exists but

this is -- the nfl had to do something to address this problem. they didn't have to do this. a minute of airtime during the nfl? that goes for millions of dollars, and they're connecting with their community, they're connecting with their audience which is the -- is frankly gigantic during the super bowl, so they've got like -- like caroline said, they have an incredibly powerful message here. >> and i understand zmt erlina that various women's groups, i talked with melanie campbell today, others who have met with goodell, had advised this, and they were surprised they got it done. >> well, i think it's a powerful ad, because it's a real 911 call. it's actually someone calling and trying to hide the fact they're calling for help by saying they're ordering pizza, bought volatile situation they're experiencing. i think that's one of the most powerful things.

no more is an incredible organization, and they're continuing to do great work. this is a great first step. we were talking about missed steps before this is a great first step. they need to continue. >> don't make it the last step. >> right. changing gears here, is an epic late-night truce come snug longtime rivals david letterman and jay leno might be reunited. reports say letterman wants leno as a guest on his show before he retires in may. the pair were famously close friends before leno was picked over letterman to take over "the tonight show" for johnny carson. mark, could this be a reunion for the ages? >> i certainly hope so. this is how people identify 24e78selves these guys don't share an audience. they have been on primetime in the network spots and have been sparring for decades.

so this would be sort of a -- sort of a great finale for both of them i think. >> this seems like a lot of fun. >> were you leno or were you. >> growing up in london, i have to say i was really neither but out of two e.o. don't make me decide. >> i'm more jimmy fallon. eastern when i was growing up i was more arsenio hall than either of them. i think it would get great ratings. joan rivers is the only thing that's missing from that epic. >> thank you for your time. when we come back the viral photo changing lives. next. ears we've helped one million business owners get started. visit legalzoom today for the legal help you need to start and run your business. legalzoom. legal help is here.

good job! still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. if you're running a business legalzoom has your back. over the last 10 years we've helped one million business owners get started. visit legalzoom today for the legal help you need to start and run your business. legalzoom. legal help is here. fwloo timely tonight, a story of how one picture can start changing lives. it all started with this photo, taken by the blog humans of new york. of a middle school student named

vigal vidal. he's from my old neighborhood, where kids have to deal with crime and positive every day. he asked who influenced you most in life? he said his paren pal. quote, when we get in trouble she doesn't suspend us she calls us to the office and explains how society was built down around us and she tells us that each time somebody fails out of school, a new jail cell gets built. and one time she made every student stand up one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter. the picture has gotten over a million likes on facebook. people were so touched by that story that they have donated over a million dollars in just the past week. the money will be used to send the brownsville middle schoolers to visit heart shard, hold

summer camps and eventually send them to college. at msnbc digit at crew caught the moment when ms. lopez maid the big announcement. >> i didn't know that each and every one of you as much as you feel like ms. lopez keeps talking, i thinker so dope and dynamic and exceptional. so the entire school we're all going to harvard. is that exciting? i need you to know that as scholars you are inspiring an entire world. >> inspiring an entire world. i require when i was a little kid in brownsville. a brownsville even then that had crime and violence. but i remember those that told me i mattered and the first responsibility of all of us is to make people know they matter. the other part is what i had to learn -- you have to believe them. if you can make kids believe

they matter you can change the world, because life is not about where you start it's where you end up and where you end up starts with where you believe you can go. thanks for watching, i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. \s . attack on fort hillary. let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i'm cris matthews in washington. all of a sudden it's open season on hillary clinton. the attacks on her are becoming more common. no wonder she's decided to put off her campaign start as the republicans sharpen their assault, she's decided to take more time to sharpen her weapons. last night mitt romney spoke