Skip to main content

tv   NOW With Alex Wagner  MSNBC  April 21, 2015 1:00pm-2:01pm PDT

1:00 pm
finally get a confirmation vote. and the u.n. believes 850 migrants lost their lives when their bet capsized near libya. but first, the death penalty hearing for dzhokhar tsarnaev just wrapped up day one. one way or another, dzhokhar tsarnaev will die in prison, but will it be at the hands of the state? the jury convened to decide his sentence. a life without parole or death by lethal injection. syria tsarnaev's conviction. prosecutors are pushing for death. today calling tsarnaev's crimes unbearable, indescribable, inexcusable, and senseless. the prosecution ended its opening statements with a previously unseen photo of
1:01 pm
tsarnaev. some viewers may find this image offensive. the photo shows tsarnaev in a holding room three months after the bombing giving the middle finger to the camera in the courthouse jail. tsarnaev's defense team is arguing that mitigating circumstances should spare him from execution. only 19 years old at the time of the bombing, they argue he acted under the influence of his older brother tamerlan. complicating all of this are the views of the bombing survivors and victims' families who have mixed views on what punishment tsarnaev should face. >> i want the death penalty. he saw so many people, he could have walked away. >> i do believe he should be held accountable. i believe the true judgment comes after he dies anyways. >> just days ago, the parents of martin richard, the 8-year-old boy, asked the government to take the death penalty off the table, saying that endless
1:02 pm
appeals would only prolong their anguish and deprive them of closure. none of these arguments have made their way to the jurors however. they've been ordered to avoid all media coverage of the case. jurors must reach a unanimous vote for the death penalty, or tsarnaev's life will be spared. joining me by phone is heather abbott, who lost a limb in the marathon attack. let's start with your feelings as we embark on perhaps the most emotional part of this trial. how are you feeling? >> hi alex. i'm feeling pretty good. i'm just anxious for the whole thing to be over with and put it in the past and be able to continue to look forward. >> is there an outcome here that would provide some sort of closure for you? >> no i really don't think there is. i don't think there's a satisfaction in any ending to
1:03 pm
this circumstance. i don't think whether life in prison or the death penalty is the decision i don't think either one will provide closure. >> among survivors, victims' families, all the people affected has there been discussion and debate about what's going on in this trial, about what you guys think of the proceedings? >> to be honest, there hasn't been much discussion about it. >> and as we think about the lessons learned here as we've gone through the process, how would you say this has changed you? >> well, i think it's changed my life a lot. not just in a physical way. i think that i have a resilience and strength that i never knew i had before. and really a new appreciation
1:04 pm
for people who dedicate their careers to helping others. since i have had help from so many of the doctors and nurses, physical therapist, etc. and also have realized also that when a tragedy occurs fellow americans are willing to help. >> boston marathon bombing survivor heather abbott. thanks for taking the time to talk with me today. >> thank you. joining me now is host of msnbc's "the last word" lawrence o'donnell and host of "all in" chris hayes. thank you for joining me. lawrence, you are a son of boston. there's going to be a lot of analysis regardless of the sentence. what's interesting to me is the city of boston has found a ten-point gain in support for sparing dzhokhar tsarnaev's life. there hasn't been an execution in boston in almost 70 years. it's been -- there hasn't been an execution since 1947. what do you think it accounts
1:05 pm
for the gain in support to spare his life? >> it's not clear to me. but i'm sure that bill and denise richards' op-ed column saying they'd rather spare his life has to be a big factor. and in the horrible scorecard of cornage we have for that day, no family suffered more than the richard family. dead son. daughter lost her leg. mother had severe eye injuries, multiple surgeries. father also injured. and so they are probably the clearest voice that everyone will hear from victims. but as you just showed the victims are not in any way unanimous about this. they go back and forth on it. boston polls, just as a theoretical question against the death penalty. interestingly, the suburbs polled more in favor of the death penalty, and for federal juries in boston they are drawn primarily from the suburbs. most of them are not from inside
1:06 pm
the city. >> and as a prerequisite, this jury had to say they did not have a constitutional objection, a personal objection to the use of the death penalty. it opens the door. >> and this is what the harvard law professor, who lived through this, said this is an unconstitutional way to collect a jury. this is not a jury of your peers, if in your peer group, there's a 60% opposition to the death penalty. in order to get on my jury, you must be in favor of it. >> in many ways, chris, the first phase of this trial, the guilt phase, is an open-and-shut part. tsarnaev as a 19-year-old. >> and the polling that you cited, i think lawrence is absolutely right about that the op-ed. but i also think the gambit of the defense was that the process of the trial phase would be cathartic, right? that there's a sense in which you go through the emotional
1:07 pm
journey of accounting for the horror of the event, for the evil that was done and for your rage at the person one of the two people responsible for it. and through that process, right, come to a different place emotionally. >> i do want to talk about the photo they showed of dzhokhar tsarnaev giving the middle finger to the court camera. it's really interesting to me that that was not brought up in the first phase of the trial. that was brought up now to show that he's remorseless, that there has not been a full accounting spiritually for him on this. >> yeah and it's enraging. we have a sketch of a photo. it's an enraging sketch of a photo. but it also doesn't feel to me as someone who's just following it not actually in the jury room, like anything new. this is not someone who we have some huge accounting of the remorse he feels. my assumption sort of priced into the whole thing that he's
1:08 pm
not actually that remorseful for what he did. the note is remorse for not being martyred as opposed to the people he killed. >> and i wonder about his desire for martyrdom. the desire for martyrdom wants a jury want to deny him that outcome. >> and the interesting thing is will the prosecutor address that somehow. and that's tricky. the defense surely will not address that. and the technical representation being made for him is that he does not want to die. his attorneys are fighting the death penalty on his behalf. so that's his official position in court. >> i wonder when we talk about being in prison for 24 hours a day. there are some people say that amounts to torture. >> i think it's very difficult
1:09 pm
to justify the super max facility and what we have in super max on sort of civilizational grounds. that's my own sort of personal belief. to the idea that there is rehabilitation redemption even for the most heinous types of murder. there are a lot of people that view it as something akin to torture. everything i've read on makes it seem unfathomably bleak. >> all of this is going to focus on tsarnaev. no one from his family has been present throughout any of this. his sisters live in the new york area. his parents are in dagestan. there is some thinking that a foreign witness is maybe called to the stan. neither the prosecution nor the
1:10 pm
witness. i wonder a young man who obviously has a lot of issues is a very dark personality, has done some horrific things. the fact that nobody from his immediate circle is there, does that play better, to your mind to the prosecution side or to the defense's side? >> very often in certain situations, the defense wants that. it's a defense calculation. if they're in control of that it's a defense calculation of is this a sympathetic picture? and if they don't think these family members can create a sympathetic picture, whether it's because of prejudice or any other factor the defense is happy to not have family there. >> i feel like there's so many levels of emotional gut wrenching quality to all of this. >> normally that's the mother character. the trouble is we know what the mother's doing. and she's off in another country and she's railing against the united states in the most
1:11 pm
intense possible way. so if you're the defense lawyer, even if the mother was available to you in cambridge, you might say i'm a little nervous about having her in the room. >> and i think part of it comes down to both the way the jury parts this. like, to what extent will we ever get some satisfying explanation for the horror that was done? and the answer is, there isn't one. at some deep fundamental level. the same way i keep thinking about the pilot who took the plane down. i want there to be some rose bud. like this is the moment where you turn from normal kid to murderer. this is the moment this horrible thing happened. in most cases, we don't get that. the question is can the jury -- is the lack of that going to affect the way the jury thinks punishment should be dolled out? >> and i think our inability to grasp that talisman that answer is perhaps maybe the most distressing part of all of this. lawrence o'donnell chris hayes, thank you guys for your time and thoughts. be sure to catch chris tonight
1:12 pm
on "all in" at 8:00 p.m. and at 10:00 p.m. eastern, watch "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." after the break, after five months in congressional limbo, attorney general nominee loretta lynch may finally be confirmed. more on that just ahead. >>who... is this?! >>hi, i am heinz new mustard. hi na na na na >>she's just jealous because you have better taste. whatever. >>hey. keep your chin up. for years, heinz ketchup has been with the wrong mustard. well, not anymore. introducing heinz new better tasting yellow mustard. mmm! woman: it's been a journey to get where i am. and i didn't get here
1:13 pm
alone. there were people who listened along the way. people who gave me options. kept me on track. and through it all my retirement never got left behind. so today, i'm prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. every someday needs a plan. let's talk about your old 401(k) today. bring us your aching and sleep deprived. bring us those who want to feel well rested. aleve pm. the only one to combine a sleep aid... plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. be a morning person again, with aleve pm.
1:14 pm
[♪] there is an ancient rhythm... [♪] that flows through all things... [♪] through rocky spires... [♪] and ocean's swell... [♪] the endless... stillness of green... [♪] [♪] and in the restless depths of human hearts... [♪] the voice of the wild within.
1:15 pm
[♪] officials now believe it to be the deadliest episode ever recorded in the mediterranean. the death toll in the fatal ship wreck off the coast of libya, a ship full of migrants, is now believed to be over 800 people. only 28 survivors have been found. according to the u.n. the boat was carrying migrants from all across africa and the middle east.
1:16 pm
hundreds of migrants searching for a better life, only to drown tragically in the middle of the mediterranean sea. the captain of the boat was arrested today on suspicion of multiple homicide. prosecutors in italy say he slammed the boat into a portuguese merchant ship that had come to its rescue. so far, more than 1,600 refugees and migrants have died en route to europe. that is 30 times higher than the same period last year. last month, as part of its series europe or die, vice news profiled the gruesome task of libyan search and rescue operations in the mediterranean.
1:17 pm
>> joining me now is one of the producers of that series the spokesperson for the u.n. high commissioner on refugees in washington, ryan hansford. since you have a firsthand understanding of what happens here, these have been called death voyages. are the migrants aware of the risk and what are the conditions like for them as they make these treacherous crossings? >> i mean, they're aware that there's a risk but as you can see with the people leaving to get a better life, they're already risking their lives
1:18 pm
staying. so, for example, a syrian family in turkey, a dad with his small children saying if we could, we would take the death boat to europe. they called it the death boat. because at least in europe, we have a chance for a better life. if we stay here we die slowly every day. people are looking for opportunities. people are looking to have a life. >> brian, i believe it's eu officials from 28 countries are holding emergency meetings on thursday to talk about this. how much of this is a complete failure of europeans to adequately address a crisis on the shore? >> well i think as the film showed, what we're seeing here is desperate people resorting to desperate measures. what you mentioned at the beginning, you mentioned refugees from syria. that's the longest running crisis that we're dealing with at the moment. a mega crisis. we're talking almost four million refugees in the region. and as the film producer said it's a question of desperate
1:19 pm
people doing desperate i think thes. do they stay in syria and risk death? or do they try and survive by crossing the mediterranean? it's been a tragic tragic week in the mediterranean. as you mentioned, we've had the largest, the deadliest incident with over 800 people drowning. april has been the cruellest month. and we've now had almost 1,800 people drowning so far this year. so what we are calling for is a robust operation in the mediterranean, the priority being to save people's lives. and that's the eu meeting yesterday. it's a step in the right direction. it's only a step. it's the beginning of the process. the priority must be on saving people's lives. >> who are these smugglers? to what degree are they known? can they be cracked down upon to stop these illegal deadly
1:20 pm
voyages? >> the smugglers are different depending on where you go. in libya, for example, it's a lawless state. you have islamists, criminal gangs, and you have no form of "law & order" to prevent this. and it's hugely profitable. i think that you know you can stop smugglers, but we travel -- whenever you travel across the borders of europe and you meet people desperate to go in they'll always find a way. wherever europe is making a measure to prevent migration, it usually deters people to deadlier roots. >> the europeans have not wanted -- they took a different experimental tack recently to just kind of try and close the border and not deal with the problem. that seems to have raised the stakes in term of mortality for these desperate to find a new tomorrow. i guess i wonder how do you deal with that? there's certainly the root cause
1:21 pm
of chaos in syria. that problem looks fairly complicated. as far as the europeans go how does the policy they've been pursuing recently been the wrong one? >> as you said the root cause of the problem, this is a symptom. desperate people resort to desperate means. we are basically a bandaid to a gaping wound. what we are calling for, as i mentioned, a robust search and rescue operation in the mediterranean. but also more legal ways to resettle. we're talking humanitarian visas, family reunification. what we need here -- this is an international responsibility. this is a particular european responsibility as well. certain states have stepped up. germany, sweden for example. but this needs to be a euro-wide issue that is dealt with on a
1:22 pm
european basis. what we've also got to remember of course is only a political solution can sort out the problems in south syria or anywhere else. >> i'll let you get in there. >> also there's a really big need for search and rescue mission now. the fact that europe is finally talking about possibly boothing powers to the european mission. there was a search and rescue mission in the waters in italy going all the way to libya. they ended last year in november because italy couldn't continue to fund it alone and the eu refused to fund it. my question is why were these meetings not ended then? why was the search and rescue mission ended when record numbers were taking this dangerous route? why do 1,800 people have to die? women, children people fleeing
1:23 pm
horrible situations. why do they have to die on a boat on their way to safety in europe when europe knows full well that people are beginning to die. why is europe just watching as people are drowning? >> indeed it is the deadliest episode ever recorded on the mediterranean sea. perhaps if there is anything positive to come out of it, it will be a change in policy. thank you guys both for your time. >> thank you. coming up the department of justice launches a civil rights investigation into the death of freddie gray the baltimore man who fell into a coma and died after he was arrested by police. more on that coming up next. do you suffer from . . . the debilitating condition of jetlag? ♪ ♪ not in this room you don't. ♪ you got it booking right. booking.com booking.yeah. people ship all kinds of things. but what if that thing is a few hundred thousand doses of flu vaccine. that need to be kept at 41 degrees. while being shipped to a country where it's 90 degrees.
1:24 pm
in the shade. sound hard? yeah. does that mean people in laos shouldn't get their vaccine? we didn't think so. from figuring it out to getting it done, we're here to help. i came up with so many reasons to put off losing weight... but then i joined weight watchers, got the starter kit and i was like, hey, i can do this. now there's nothing holding me back, i can feel it. once you get started nothing can stop you. join for free at weightwatchers.com, and get a free starter kit when you sign up before april 27th. when a moment spontaneously turns romantic why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom?
1:25 pm
with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision or any symptoms of an allergic reaction stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. why pause the moment? ask your doctor about cialis for daily use. for a free 30-tablet trial go to cialis.com ♪ building aircraft,
1:26 pm
the likes of which the world has never seen. this is what we do. ♪ that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. we have breaking news. the justice department has announced it will open an investigation into the death of baltimore resident freddie gray. he was arrested by police on april 12th and suffered a severe spinal cord injury that led to his death seven days later. police say they did not use
1:27 pm
force when arresting gray and can find no evidence from either cell phone or city surveillance videos that officers brutalized him. six police officers involved in the incident have been suspended pending an investigation. in a statement, the department of justice says it is "gathering information to determine whether any prosecutable civil rights violation occurred." we'll have more after the break. that's why i'm so excited about these milk-bone brushing chews. whoa i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat but they clean like a toothbrush. nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. [ barks ] 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.
1:28 pm
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 for a good night's rest, try aleve pm for a better am.
1:29 pm
1:30 pm
and now, on to the political stories of this not quite super tuesday. conservative scholars have published their latest and most specious argument yet against same-sex marriage. it will cause more abortions. maureen dowd secures hillary clinton for running "a granny campaign" and bill clinton channels his inner wendy davis, sartorially speaking. but first, is governor scott walker the chosen one. it was reportsed that two people overheard david koch saying
1:31 pm
walker should be the republican nominee. asserting the brothers are open to supporting any of the candidates in the primary, including jeb bush. for the brothers this would be a first. they declined to get involved in the 2012 primary only to be stuck with mitt romney. said one koch aide do you want to be faced with that choice again? the brothers are likely to weigh in after it's down to a few plausible candidates. and then the support of the koch brothers' labyrinth of 17 political groups which spent an eye-popping $407 million in the 2012 race, and will spend $900 million in 2016. joining me now is msnbc's national correspondent joy reid blake zeth and david corn. david, let me start with you. is scott walker the guy that you think the cokes will eventually
1:32 pm
go for? >> i don't know but how would you like to audition for a billion dollars? this is better than "the voice." do they make him sing? do a little soft shoe? and compare notes with him. maybe they should have a face-off with him and scott walker. i mean i do know they obviously want to get what they call roi, return on investment. scott walker is very much in their wheelhouse. they've never been that keen on jeb bush. so i think they're still kicking the tires on their billion-dollar corvette. >> i'm just -- i mean, are the koch brothers -- 900 million dollars. not all of us can go to one
1:33 pm
candidate. but we're looking at an election where feasibly the koch brothers could -- whatever you do when you name someone king and decide who their nominee is going to be. >> having the candidate of their choosing would then be the president that they own or lease. and the thing is with scott walker, one of the reasons i think he's so attractive to the koch brothers they've been very much involved in crafting the kind of wisconsin they want the kind of legislation they want. and scott walker, a guy who's basically a moderate, when he got in, he did pretty much what the koch brothers said. not only them but you also have the bradley foundation also in wisconsin that could spend $300 million that are also very much walker people. because they want something very specific. they want deregulation for their extracted industries. they want very low taxes. they want the end of the estate tax. this is a quid pro quo in the cleanest or dirtiest sense of the word. >> i just cannot believe we are at a point, blake, where it has
1:34 pm
become acceptable to publicly talk about the fact that we're going to kick the tires, and then we'll decide -- i mean this is not what a democracy looks like. and yet the conversation about money in politics has gone the way of the dodo bird. >> they're being explicit about what the bribe is. like what the agenda is. they want to play lower taxes. it's not some philosophical thing. they're not going to give it to scott walker so easily right away, right? they want to extract promises. they're not stupid. >> but that is insane! go ahead, david. >> i just can't wait for the essay test. >> right, exactly! will there be an oral exam. >> the talent portion. >> the reality is american democracy used to be like this.
1:35 pm
the rockefellers and the great men of finance did stand in a back room and say we prefer this president over that one. teddy roosevelt came in and said you know what that has to end and this motion of the republican party as always having been down with this has changed over time. but they want it bad. the coke brothers want back no unions, no protection for workers. low cost of doing business and huge profits. >> speak loudly and carry a big stick of money. that's upending. you like how i did that? maureen dowd is being accused of absurd, impossibly demanding gender criticism after her column this sunday lambasting hillary clinton for going "granny." dowd argues clinton got it wrong in 2008 by campaigning like a man, only to lose to a "
1:36 pm
"feminized barack obama." now she is presenting herself as a sweet docile granny in a scooby van basking in estrogen. joy, the case can be made that this kind -- the expectations are so disproportionate and so impossible to meet that this throws a light on the ways in which we judge women. again, impossible standards. >> i actually agree with you on that. i think the more the absurdity of the hillary clinton critique the more insane that it gets the more crazy it gets i think that more women, especially her contemporaries who vote in huge numbers, women in their let's say 50s to late 60s, are going to look at that and say you know what? enough. we want to give her the benefit of the doubt. and any other attacks on her will be less resonant. she keeps changing what that is.
1:37 pm
it's like, you know what, maureen dowd? just go to the party and let hillary clinton run. >> i also -- jess mcintosh from emily's list brought this up. like try to imagine that maureen dowd column with a male byline. i feel like here is the thing where women -- this is something that i think women need to unpack. we judge each other in a way that is brutal sometimes. >> well you guys do. i mean i don't want to be running the risk here. >> you can get pushed off that chair. >> i can. i would say imagine not just changing the byline, but the general genre. if there was some candidate talking about being better at being jewish. it's like what the heck would that mean? this isn't what it means to be a woman, this isn't what it means to be a woman. seems to me that's an odd thing to do. >> you're being kind of polite here alex because she ended
1:38 pm
the column with a word that we're not supposed to say on air. >> it begins with the letter b. >> rhymes with witch. we all know what it is. she advocated that hillary take on that role in this campaign. and i tell you, my teenage girls chastise me any time i come close to using that word. they believe it's mysogynist icic. here she is saying if you do this, you'll win the maureen dowd primary. >> which is a tough primary. speaking of changing maybe expectations around gender sartorial choices as they pertain to gender. maybe. bill clinton fashionista? the former president was spotted yesterday modelling these on-trend pink kicks on a stroll near his washington, d.c. home. those are really really bright.
1:39 pm
like weirdly bright. >> when i saw that picture, i thought to myself the hillary clinton campaign staff wants to make it so they can always find bill. like we're going to know where you're at. >> i know you have plenty of pink shoes. but are any that fluorescent pink? >> they're not. we often criticize the political press for the way they criticize these elections. hillary's only been running for about a week and a half and already they've uncovered the fact that she eats food sometimes a burrito, and that bill clinton sometimes takes a walk and maybe even wears shoes. >> where is he going in those shoes, david corn? where is bill clinton going? >> almost i read maureen dowd's next column i won't know what this means. >> that's all you need to say, my friend. thank you guys all for your time. coming up, another reason why you should think actor olivia
1:40 pm
wilde is an awesome human being. she joins me coming up next. there's some facts about seaworld we'd like you to know. we don't collect killer whales from the wild. and haven't for 35 years. with the hightest standard of animal care in the world, our whales are healthy. they're thriving. i wouldn't work here if they weren't. and government research shows they live just as long as whales in the wild. caring for these whales, we have a great responsibility to get that right. and we take it very seriously. because we love them. and we know you love them too. jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen. ♪ building aircraft,
1:41 pm
the likes of which the world has never seen. this is what we do. ♪ that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. good. very good. you see something moving off the shelves and your first thought is to investigate the company. you are type e*. yes, investment opportunities can be anywhere... or not. but you know the difference. e*trade's bar code scanner. shorten the distance between intuition and action. e*trade opportunity is everywhere. guys, it's just the two of you. the setting is just right. but here's the thing,
1:42 pm
about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. and you only take it when you need it. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor about viagra.
1:43 pm
the long delayed confirmation vote for the next attorney general of the united states may at last be on the way. senators struck a deal to confirm nominee loretta limpkynch. mitch mcconnell linked her confirmation vote to passage of a come ploetpletely unrelated trafficking bill. senators today seem to have found a middle ground at least as far as which funds are used for which services and if today's compromise trafficking
1:44 pm
bill passes, senator mcconnell says lynch's confirmation vote should come to the floor this week. almost six months after loretta lynch was first nominated. it marks the longest delay ever for an attorney general nominee. now here is hampton pearson with the cnbc market wrap. >> let's take a look at markets heading into tomorrow. a mixed day. today, the dow dropping 85 points. the s&p shedding three. the nasdaq actually adding 19 points. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide.
1:45 pm
ortho home defense gives you year long control of all these household bugs - roaches, ants, and spiders. spectracide gives you year long control... of just roaches. their label says so. got more than roaches moving in? get home defense. the label tells the story. ortho bug b gon gives you season-long control of all these types of bugs. spectracide gives you season-long control... of just ants. their label says so. bugged by more than ants? get ortho bug b gon. the label tells the story. here at friskies, cats are in charge of approving every new recipe. because it's cats who know best what cats like to eat. up today, new friskies 7. we're trying seven cat-favorite flavors all in one dish. now for the moment of truth. yep, looks like it's time to share what our cats love with your cats. new friskies 7. for cats. by cats.
1:46 pm
my name is tony sartorio. i'm a lineman for pg&e out of the concord service center. i have lived here pretty much my whole life. i have been married for twelve years. i have 3 kids. i love living here and i love working in my hometown. at pg&e we are always working to upgrade reliability to meet the demands of the customers. i'm there to do the safest job possible - not only for them, but everybody, myself included that lives in the community. i'm very proud to do the work that i do and say that i am a lineman for pg&e because it's my hometown. it's a rewarding feeling.
1:47 pm
just yesterday, "the new york times" won two prestigious pulitzer prizes for its coverage of the ebola crisis in west africa. while chilling images of body bags and hazmat suits may seem like a thing of the past the need in countries like liberia, guinea and sierra leone, it certainly isn't. the economies of those countries lost billions of dollars from
1:48 pm
tourism and agriculture. liberia alone has over 2,000 organs whose parents were taken from them by the deadly disease. on sunday body film 12 appeared at tribeca in new york. >> we are working. picking up dead bodies. on the streets. at homes. in other places. it's not easy. they want to bury their loved ones. >> earlier today, i sat down with olivia wilde, the film's executive producer, and david dard, the film's director and co-founder of riot.org. olivia, let me start with you, since you're the executive producer in this.
1:49 pm
in terms of your interest in ebola and what was happening to parts of west africa how did it first cross your radar screen? how did you get involved in the project? >> i've been really interested in the work of kmupcommunity health workers for a long time. it's always on my radar in terms of what's happening around the world and in terms of health crises. of course, once ebola popped up and it was clear the outbreak was going to spread i was watching to see what organizations were really on top of it and what was going to happen subsequently. because of course in the wake of a crisis like this there's going to be so many people affected beyond the dead. and so when david made this film, it was not only an important film because it discussed ebola and the incredibly heroic workers who were taking care of the bodies which of course, a very important part of containing the outbreak. but also introducing us to the new crisis of orphans. ebola orphans. and so i really wanted to be a part of a film that was not only
1:50 pm
informative, but proactive in terms of bringing awareness and funds to this new project to support these orphans. so it was something that i thought was the perfect way to approach this issue and to bring it back into the public conversation and to remind people that although it's a very difficult subject to talk about, it's unpleasant for obvious reasons, it's so important. >> we talked a lot about contagion contagion, and you were actually there at ground zero. what was that experience like? >> i was there at the height of the outbreak. it was intense, as you can imagine. you see all these people wearing goggles and hazmat suits. and the body team workers that i was meeting with so incredibly brave. i wanted to tell the story of the people underneath the suits. >> what were they've their coping mechanisms? did they talk about it amongst themselves with outside people who weren't involved? >> they talked about it amongst themselves, but sadly, they were ostracized by their own
1:51 pm
communities, many of the ebola workers. as soon as they know it's like don't come near me you know? and their children couldn't come play with other kids. they were really ostracized by the communities and were experiencing horrific things every day. plus, they were met with resistance from the families because they didn't want them to take away their loved ones. they wanted a proper burial. so yeah it was extremely mentally -- it took a huge mental toll on these guys. and i experienced a glimmer of that. i mean i was there with them as they extract a lot of these bodies. and i got scared myself. >> i imagine. >> i was very close the dead ebola victims. so you start to wonder you get a headache and you start to freak out. it took a huge mental toll on me, too. it was a very dangerous film to make. >> but you bring up the point that, you know there is an aftermath. not just in terms of the dead but the children. there are 2,000 ebola orphans,
1:52 pm
just in liberia. and that's the sort of epilogue to the story that we tell. >> exactly. >> what's happening with these kids and what are the efforts that you guys are undertaking to assist them? >> well, the focus of the film, the head of the body team 12 has now left the liberian red cross. and she's taking in now 300 ebola orphans and is taking care of them and making sure they get education and food and health care. so she went from being this incredible hero and an important part of that stage of the ebola crisis crisis, to moving to the next stage. so what we're doing is supporting her efforts and trying to raise money to fund her efforts. and i really applaud her, of course, and everyone who wants to support that. because it's not a sexy issue. and she's just an unbelievably strong person. >> i guess i wonder what your feelings are in terms of the attention we give to issues that happen. crises that happen beyond our
1:53 pm
borders. and our american appetite for them. are we getting better? is technology helping? because in some ways it feels like we get information and we get it faster, but our attention span is that much shorter. >> yeah, that's definitely true. but i'm optimistic about the way social networking and social media has really afforded people the power to become involved very quickly. and david and his partner, also a producer on this film founded this incredible news site called ryot.org. it allows readers to not only read the important news of the day, but to become immediately involved. to participate by signing a petition or giving money or signing up to volunteer. and i think that's the beautiful thing that's come out of technology recently. in my opinion, if i can help direct people to those opportunities to become involved, i'm really happy to do that. but of course, you're right, it's horribly disproportionate in terms of the attention we give to the bs of everyday life
1:54 pm
within our own borders and what's really important with what's happening out there. i think it will be a marker of this generation. i think they'll be defined by changing the world through participation, volunteering, small donations. i think it's a big part of who they are. >> the kids. we're going to rely on the kids. >> we'll leave it to them. >> but really it is an awesome project on whole, and then specific a great piece of film. thank you so much for doing it. >> to find out how you can get involved, you can go to ebola/orphan project. president obama has a new message for democrats trying to block his free trade deal. the msnbc exclusive is coming up next. [ male announcer ] we know they're out there. you can't always see
1:55 pm
them. but it's our job to find them. the answers. the solutions. the innovations. all waiting to help us build something better. something more amazing. a safer, cleaner brighter future. at boeing, that's what building something better is all about. ♪ ♪ woman: it's been a journey to get where i am. and i didn't get here
1:56 pm
alone. there were people who listened along the way. people who gave me options. kept me on track. and through it all my retirement never got left behind. so today, i'm prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. every someday needs a plan. let's talk about your old 401(k) today. jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen. ♪ ♪ ♪ you're only young once.
1:57 pm
unless you have a subaru. (announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. >>who... is this?! >>hi, i am heinz new mustard. hi na na na na >>she's just jealous because you have better taste. whatever. >>hey. keep your chin up. for years, heinz ketchup has been with the wrong mustard. well, not anymore. introducing heinz new better tasting yellow mustard. mmm! hello! this little beauty here is top-of-the-line. see, you just pull like this to go left. and like so to go right. where are the brakes? uh, just grab ahold of both and pull straight back. and the "whoa!" is optional. you wouldn't buy a motorcycle without handlebars. no thanks. and you shouldn't ride a motorcycle without geico insurance. roadside assistance, 24 hour service, great rates. geico motorcycle. see how much you could save.
1:58 pm
since the transpacific partnership trade deal was announced last week there's been a lot of debate about the agreement's impact on american workers and a lot of criticisms from the left. it's criticism president obama was asked about earlier today by our very own chris matthews. >> mr. president, obviously the hot question u.s. senator elizabeth warren is out there saying things like this about the trade agreement we're beginning to talk about today. it's going to help the rich get richer and leave everyone else behind. she also says it challenges u.s. sovereignty. they're throwing the kitchen sink at this trade agreement. which will involve 11 nations and ourselves and the pacific rim. why are they saying these things? >> i guess they don't want it to happen. i love elizabeth. but she's wrong on this. think about it. i spent the last six and a half years yanking this economy out of the worst recession since the
1:59 pm
great depression. every single thing i've done from the affordable care act, to pushing to raise the minimum wage to making sure children can get good job training to what we're pushing now in terms of sick pay leave. everything i do has been focused on how do we make sure the middle class is getting a fair deal. now, i would not be doing this trade deal if i did not think it was good for the middle class. and when you hear folks make a lot of suggestions about how bad this trade deal is when you dig into the facts, they are wrong. >> don't miss chris's exclusive interview with president obama tonight on "hardball" on msnbc. "the ed show" is coming up next. good evening americans, and welcome to "the ed show." live from washington, d.c. let's get to work! >> tonight --
2:00 pm
>> this is absolutely good. not just american businesses but for american workers. plus -- >> they want a new fresh face to take on hillary clinton. later -- >> american warships including an aircraft carrier sailing off the coast of yemen. and -- >> ground zero of the oil spill. >> the nation the world didn't understand how bad this oil spill was. >> good to have you with us tonight. we're coming down to the wire on the transpacific partnership. but of course it is the tpa. the transpromotional authority. this is the lunch pinynch pin of it all. earlier today, president obama spoke down with chris matthews and spoke about it in general. you can watch the full interview at 7:00 p.m. eastern on "hardball" tonight here on