good morning. my question, should we care that hillary clinton is a woman? plus, supermodel beverly johnson live in nerd land. and, i don't care what happened yesterday. serena is still the greatest of all time. but first, the class of '16 tries to laugh its way to the white house. good morning, i'm melissa harris-perry. this week the presidential

candidates spent considerable time with decidedly provocative public figures. while these may seem surprising, if you look carefully you will see that big-name politicians have been doing it for a long time. john f. kennedy did it with jack parr five months before he was elected president. >> his responsibility, his experience, his vigor really decide whether we're going to live in peace,security, but our nation will be with the communists, whether our relationship with the people around the world. >> richard nixon did it two months before the presidential election. >> sock it to me? ♪ and, of course, we all know bill clinton did it. bill clinton did did bigger,

badder and sexier than any had done it before when he did it with arsenio hall june 3, 1992. ♪ and presidential hopefuls aren't the only ones to do it. in 2003 arnold schwarzenegger did it with jay leno, and he was just doing it to announce his intentions. >> he is failing them terribly and this is why he needs to be recalled. and this is why i'm going to run for governor of the state of california. >> candidates with comedians. george w. bush, john mccain, howard dean, john edwards, barack obama -- they all did it and it is one thing to do it as a candidate and another thing altogether to do it as president. in 2009 a few months after his inauguration president obama made history by becoming the

first sitting president to ever appear on a late night talk show as a guest on "the tonight show" with jay leno. >> i ran for president because i thought we needed big changes. i do think in washington it's a little bit like "american idol" except everybody is simon cowell. >> wow. wow. that's rough. that's rough. >> now don't think of president obama, though, as just a one-night talk show stand-up. as president he has pushed the boundaries of conventional vanilla media and pursued an aggressively unconventional relationship with new media forums. one might argue that no one has ever done it quite like this before. >> i have no know, what is it like to be the last black president? >> seriously? what's it like for this to be the last time you ever talk to a president? >> in a fractured media universe, to be heard candidates must go beyond the news shows and press conferences and embrace the comedian. last night donald trump did it

with nbc's jimmy fallon. >> next question, how are you going to create jobs in this country? >> i'm just going to do it. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> right. right. but how? >> by doing it. it just happens. just by doing it. >> genius! >> and on tuesday jeb bush did it with stephen colbert. >> your campaign poster is just jeb! with a j-e-b and exclamation point. why jeb? >> i've been using jeb since 1994. >> yes. >> it connotes excitement. it connotes --

[ laughter [ jeb! how many of us when we got excited about things went jeb! >> most of them either out of happiness or deep anger. >> hillary clinton did it with ellen showing the talk show forum allows candidates to clear the air. >> let's talk about the e-mails. >> okay. >> okay. what? >> well, i want people to understand this, so i'm glad you asked. i used a personal e-mail account. it was allowed by the state department. but i should have used two different accounts. i made a mistake, and i'm sorry for all the confusion that has ensued. i take responsibility for that. >> now vice president joe biden, who is not yet officially running for president, did it, too, with colbert on thursday, and answered the question so many americans have on their minds. >> i want to talk about the elephant in the room which, in this case, is a donkey.

do you have anything you'd like to tell us right now about your plans? >> yes. [ applause ] i think you should run for president again and i'll be your vice president. >> but perhaps the more memorable moment had nothing to do with politics nor was there anything at all comedic about it. rather, it was the vice president talking about his son beau who died of brain cancer in may. >> a couple months before he died i was at his house and he said, dad, sit down. i want to talk to you. his wife, an incredible kid, and he said, dad, i know how much you love me. you have to promise me something. promise me you're going to be all right. because no matter what happens, dad, i'm going to be all right. promise me. >> which just may go to show that the true value of these appearances is not so much about

the campaign win. it may not even be about being funny. as the vice president displayed with raw emotion, it's that sometimes the late-night hot seat is about something else entirely. being human. joining me now is someone who knows a thing or two about the intersection of politics and comedy shows, the co-creator of "the daily show" writer, comedienne and author of "live free or die essays." and former attorney. i want to play what i think was my favorite moment of all the conversations this week, and it is -- well, okay. maybe we'll wait on that for a second. talk to me in general. what do you think were the big wins of this week, liz? >> as far as -- well, i'm not sure -- it was funny because people are like, jeb held his own. first of all, you can't put the exclamation point after your name. >> hello. >> other people do that.

it's like saying i'm edgy. let others decide. so -- but i think joe biden wins and i think what i liked about joe biden i'm personally getting a little weary of the word authentic because what's happened to authentic is it used to be about reality. now people are using it with trump . well, he's just being authentic, saying what people think. well, he's not saying what i think. and, also, you can be it to a certain degree but if you want to hold higher office, does your whole authentic self get to -- will your whole authentic self get elected? >> i heard back from our control room. we now do have my favorite moment of the week. i'm dying to know what you think about this. i'm going to play it for just a moment. this is -- oh, well, no, we don't have it. don't have it. okay. so talk to me -- i will tell you what my favorite moment of the week is and hopefully we will have it. >> amen. >> but it is hillary clinton

doing the nene on "ellen." it just was quite a moment. and i'm wondering if you think that moment was a win. >> someone relaxing into them self is a wonderful thing. i have to say when president bill clinton played the saxophone, the sister wanted to get up and say, amen, hallelujah, somebody. >> hillary clinton doing the nae nae, african-american and youth audiences will be critical for them to be elected. to the authenticity point, i thought it was funny, hillary clinton -- but it didn't feel like she was performing herself. she was performing this cultural moment. of course we know eventual president clinton was just performing. man, people loved it. >> i think you train to play the

sax. you probably know about jazz, you know about a lot of things. it's a cultural context that's authentic. a bunch of staffers, how can we appeal to black youth. >> there it is. i feel you, know. i feel like her authentic -- what is your authentic self and then show that. the other thing i feel like, are we substituting this entirely knowing how somebody is going to make my life better? i often think trump had a bit of a win. he reminded me of the sarah palin moments on "snl." you just play yourself but because it's this bigger than

life thing it works. so what? he was genuinely good, genuinely funny. that doesn't mean i think he ought to be the president. >> we need these moments because they are touching people in places who don't necessarily watch regular news. we need this. professor, your whole they're all doing it made me think of cool j's they're doing it. but we do need to see the other side of folks, even if it's just a snapshot. even if it's just a window. imagine if they did govern that way. >> but i also wonder if that little window can be the danger zone. there was this moment on that same jay leno -- at this point the president, president obama, has been elected but he makes a slip-up. i wonder if we have that sound. okay. so he makes a slip-up and he's talking about bowling and he's saying he's not a good bowler, and he says, oh, i bowl like i'm in the special olympics. and so, again, at this point he's already elected. it's this moment and you

realize, oh, in that being relaxed you say something that is clearly kind of offensive and troublesome. he got in trouble. had to kind of go back and manage it and it seems that's always the danger that's in that space. >> i think that that's what makes it interesting because who doesn't and hasn't had a slip. all of us are those people who are our authentic selves all the time. >> we're human. >> and so the question is, how does society define you, though? by your slip? are you able to come out of it. they are important. >> supermodel beverly johnson says bill cosby drugged her. now says she'll forgive him. she will join me live in studio.

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here is a look at some of the other stories in the headlines this morning. in phoenix police are questioning a man connected in a string of highway shooting and is being held on charges of possessing marijuana. at least 11 vehicles have been hit by bullets and other projectiles while. a rapidly expanding wildfire has people preparing to evacuate their homes. southeast of sacramento. the governor of california has declared a state of emergency for the area. rick perry announced he is ending his campaign. he has less than a percent support and last month stopped paying some staffers.

while announcing the end of his campaign perry took a parting shot at gop front-runner donald trump. >> the conservative movement has always been about principles, not about personalities. our nominee should embody those principles. he or she must make the case for the cause of conservatism more than the cause of their own celebrity. >> his bid comes days for the next gop debates. up next hillary clinton's hammered home one part of her political strategy this week though it's the one thing we already knew. it really made the difference between a morning around the house and getting a little exercise. and i tried a baking class. one weekend can make all the difference.

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candidate. this time she has a decidedly different strategy. she frequently reminds voters that if elected she would be the first woman president in our country's history. >> well, i may not be the youngest candidate in this race, but i will be the youngest woman president in the history of the united states. >> and this week the clinton campaign has had gender front and center as hillary appeared at women for hillary events across the country. last saturday she was endorsed by senator jean shaheen who was new hampshire's first elected woman governor and senator. at an event where there was a solidarity appeal to women voters. >> if we women stand together and fight together, we can make our country stronger, we can make our country fairer. we women are not afraid of hard

work. and that's good because we've got some hard work to do. >> and on thursday she took a swipe at donald trump over his comments about women. >> and there is one particular candidate who just seems to delight for women every chance he gets. i have to say if he emerges i would love to debate him. >> and another one of her favorite lines. >> if calling for equal pay for equal work it playing the gender card, deal me in. i am ready to play. >> so clearly clinton is looking to drum up excitement by arguing that a victory for her would be a victory for all women which is a really interesting question. would american women find hillary clinton's presidency empowering? now the answer might seem obvious. no other candidate in either party can boast a professional

record as focused on gender equality as clinton's. clinton is not exclusively making a claim about her substance. she's also implying there is symbolic power in the possibility of a woman as president. the symbolic power of president obama, the raw displays of emotion at the first inauguration were only partly about obama himself, much of the exuberance wasn't seeing a black man assume the presidency and seeing the american state embodied in a black body when so many had been broken, marginalized and shunned by that very state since its founding. history will decide the substantive impact and the lives of african-americans but the symbolic meaning is already written. our question for 2016, with the election of hillary clinton have a similarly deep, effective s symbolic meaning? maybe. maybe not. despite the historic and continuing reality of women's equality, gender has never held

the same kind of political meaning as racial identity in american politics. in other words, are gender doesn't predict the way you vote nearly as much as your race does. from 1920 all the way until 1980 there was no gender gap. women voted for democrats and republicans at the same rate as men did. in 1980 women started breaking for the democratic candidates but that so-called gender gap, that's also really about race. you see, in 2012 a majority of white women voted for mitt romney. it was only the overwhelming support of black women and latinos that delivered to the democrats and black women voters chose senator obama over senator clinton by huge margins during the 2008 primaries. was it because they did not experience senator lyclinton's candidacy as meaningfully historic? answering that question is crucial to the clinton campaign because these are the women who hold the keys to the democratic party's edge in the general election. joining the table now is the found earp of gender avenger,

dedicated to ensuring women's participation in the public arena and is also the former campaign manager for bill bradley's 2000 presidential run. gina, does hillary clinton connect on this gender piece when she is talking about the history of it with the actual women that are democratic voters, mostly african-american women, latinas, and young women? i think she does. she runs as a woman because she is a woman. she is judged as a candidate because she is a woman. i think that you can't be it unless you can see it. that was clearly part of what the motivation was around voters with barack obama and will be with hillary clinton. young women might have the experience of seeing a woman president. i think that's a motivating factor in voting. and older women, like me, we want to see one before we die.

>> so i hear you on that, and i don't know that i agree with the idea that you can't see it -- you can't be it unless you see it. i think part of the genius of the black american experience is being able to imagine ourselves as free and equal even when there was no freedom or inequality around us. i guess my other part of the concern is for me whether or not seeing hillary clinton empowered feels empowering to so many women and not because -- not just for for womanhood but her connection to -- i mean, she comes through being first lady. there are ways that may not necessarily feel like it's opening the system. it may feel like it's closing it. >> no, you hit the nail on the head, professor. i don't think it is that same raw emotion, and this has nothing to do with the secretary herself. >> exactly. >> because we are being socialized in a society that is very much still male dominated, but i don't believe that this country embraces the whole notion of having a woman as president in the same spiritual way that the african-american

community embraced the election of the first african-american president. and dare i say even in the other segment where the comedian asked president obama how does it feel to be the last, african-americans are already thinking about that. if you look at the democratic ticket right now, if i can just go there, there is not an african-american running for the presidency, and i believe african-americans need to run every single election cycle along with my latino brothers and sisters and asians, all the people, the rainbow coalition. >> this feels really important actually on the question of whether or not hillary clinton then feels empoweringless. the reason we don't have a broad amount of people -- they may not want to be president but i presume it's because we have this inevitability narrative that emerged around hillary clinton's candidacy which, again, and this is not necessarily about the secretary herself, but is bad for the health of a party if you think

that you're about to enter a coronation. and so that doesn't feel empowering. it feels stifling. >> especially at coronation of a woman. right? to say there's a woman now, nobody get in her way, messaging can be will somebody challenge her and make her not seem the most competent? it's still not saying this is the great woman. it's interesting when we have this whole conversation when i looked at my own life and when i was -- somebody asked me in college, you should go into stand-up comedy. the stand-up comedy women that i knew that were very successful were joan rivers and toni fields and phyllis diller. it's not just about seeing a woman so you can be it, can a woman do it -- can i do that because i'm not like them? >> gina, i do want to point out, though, because we are talking

about symbolic, that substantively as a cant dadidat she will be talking about gender issues. i want to talk about the '95 beijing speech as first lady. let's play a moment of that. >> it is time to break the silence. it is time for us to say here this beijing and for the world to hear that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights. >> this is 20 years ago when she makes that statement, the breakout. i guess honestly i'm a little surprised that in '08 she didn't run more on the historic nature of a woman president because this had been her breakout moment. >> that's true but we as women running for office, we're repeatedly told you'd better look strong. you'd better look more male like in your ability to do the job. that being a woman was not an

attribute that was going to take you into the presidency. i think that's changed in the last eight years. i don't think it's -- >> well, sarah palin was part of the change. not because -- again, this is that substance versus symbol piece. it's not like i am generally supportive of sarah palin's policies, but in terms of just being like, well, i'm going to run this real differently in my high heels -- >> she owned -- >> she really did. >> she owned herself. >> she responded to that, well, that looks -- >> authentic. >> even -- >> it was. >> we're going to dig into this a little bit more. up next i will ask my panel, could a woman do what joe biden did this week? read text. (siri voice) adam, i'm sorry. i shouldn't have said that about your hair. it's not stupid. (ding) find hair salon. wow. yeah, that's right. (siri voice) ok, jack's boutique is nearby. alright, i've got another friend and his name is bryan adams. ok. this isn't going to work again. ♪"please forgive me, i know not what i do..."♪

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vice president joe biden gave a heartwrenching interview on "the late show with stephen colbert." he spoke about whether he has the energy to run for president while grieving the death of his son beau. >> and i'd be lying if i said

that i knew i was there. >> biden is often contrasted with hillary clinton when it comes to authenticity. but as michelle goldberg argues in "the nation" his emotional vulnerability would not work for a woman candidate. >> no woman could say on national television that she might be too emotional to run for president. you were making this argument how media reads hillary clinton's attempts at authenticity or actual authentic moments. >> she became a grandmother, a new feature. as a grandmother, i can tell you the most remarkable feature of any grandparent's life and she talks about it. and what does the media write? what does she tell the public? they tell the public that her campaign told her to be softer and talk about her grandchild.

that's not why she does it. and so i think there's a different standard that's being set for her authenticity. >> sure. that said, i do -- so i agree that it is in part about gender. we saw this even with first lady obama when she would make any choices. now the media is doing this or telling her to be this way. on the other hand hillary clinton is not an up known brand-new candidate. we have seen and watched her for a long time. we went back and watched, i mean, this was like a moment. i watched the 1992 "60 minutes" moment. so if you weren't watching politics at the time, let's watch this. >> i'm not sitting here some little woman standing by my man like tammy wynette. i'm sitting here because i love him and i respect him and i honor what he's been through and what we've been through together. and, you know, if that's not enough for people then, heck, don't vote for him.

>> her responding to the allegations about the gennifer flowers affair. but, i don't know. i think in part because we've seen that moment and this one -- >> that's the moment we want to see. she should embrace and own who she is. she's not a touchy kind of feely kind of woman. and that should be okay. she needs to own it and the contrast that you gave about governor palin owning who she was. and shirley chism when she said in her speech, i am african-american. i am black and proud but i am not running as that. i am a woman and i'm equally proud of that as well. i am running to lift the people. i'm paraphrasing her. you have to bring that out. and the secretary and all women stand on the shoulders of the great congresswoman shirley chism who dared when everybody was against her, even people in the african-american community. >> listen to me when i hear you say i stand on the shoulders of

shirley chism, that makes me feel taller. when i hear a woman of privilege and wealth who came through as being first lady say i'm standing on the shoulders of shirley chism, not that she said that, but if she did -- i believe the resonance would be different. get off her shoulders. stop that. stop standing on the black woman. historically what it means to stand on someone when there's class and racial differences. >> she can stand around her. >> she owns this moment in the same way president obama or any woman who dares to dream to hold that office. we have a gender or race problem in this country. who knew? 44 other presidents, we only have one african-american. we may or may not have a woman in 2016. this country has a lot of catching up to do. >> let me ask the joe biden question. so if biden runs, and i am undignified in my answer because

i think we need to have a more w robust democratic primary for the good of all politics. that said, does he immediately get framed by a whole portion of the party as once again another guy coming to stand in hillary clinton's way? >> no, because he's not just a guy coming in. he's been in the administration eight years, has been a senator, was chairman of the foreign relations committee. he has had a lot of guy experience. having said that, the thing that i find myself getting rageful for women is that society refuses to accept complexity in women. and men, it's a given. and for us to not be able to say sometimes i have to check myself where i'm at emotionally because things happen. but women are forever and have since the history of time had to balance and function with many juggling emotional things happening at once and we have

done it. >> you want to talk about the complexity of women, we'll talk about carly fiorina and beverly johnson is live in studio. first, we will talk about who donald trump is insulting now. . copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva respimat does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva respimat. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain or problems passing urine, stop taking spiriva respimat and call your doctor right away. side effects include sore throat, cough, dry mouth and sinus infection. nothing can reverse copd.

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now if hillary clinton isn't the only woman running for president. former hewlett-packard ceo carly fiorina is doing relatively well clocking in at number six out of 16 candidates according to the real clear recent polls. donald trump is being donald trump. in a "rolling stone" profile he is described as reacting to seeing fiorina on tv. and saying, look at that face, he cries. would anyone vote for that? can you imagine that, the face of our next president? i mean, she's a woman, and i'm not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. are we serious?

are we? fiorina had this response when asked about the republican front-runner's comments. >> i'm not going to spend a single cycle wondering what donald trump means but maybe, just maybe, i'm getting under his skin a little bit because i am climbing in the polls. >> lizz? >> so there's nothing that makes me more angry than those kind of attacks, and when i'm on twitter i will defend anybody who disagrees theologically. it's expected from donald trump, but i would like to remind everybody that carly fiorina was caught in the makeup chair talking about barbara boxer when she was running for senate saying, oh, her hair. it's so '80s. it's so last year. it's so tired. so, you want to know what? everyone stop it and check yourself, also, carly fiorina. i have to say that. it was upsetting. i hate hearing it and i don't like it when anyone does it.

>> so it's an interesting point and, gina, i guess it's part of what is my challenge as i try to think through this. we look at some of the pacts and organizations that have come up with the goal of increasing the scriptive representation of women in elective office. the goal is to have more women and that is a worthy goal even if i ideologically disagree with some of these women or where they're coming from. it matters to have your leadership look like your country, but i also wonder if we then get stuck in the only thing that matters is a woman as opposed to the policies that a woman candidate has relative to other women. >> it speaks to -- i'm going to go back to the coverage. if all we're talking about is what donald trump says about carly fiorina's face, is men strugs for five, six days, we're not talking about policies. all we're talking about hillary

clinton is why she isn't sounding more authentic. we're not talking about every single one of her policies which she has come out with very directly. so, you know, what is it that causes us to measure based on some kind of profile that's expected rather than the policies? >> the first time hillary clinton was able to break through the news cycle and have it not be about e-mails, she repeats an interesting war on women narrative. let's take a listen. >> now extreme views about women, we expect that from some of the terrorist groups. we expect that from people who don't want to live in the modern world. it's a little hard to take coming from republicans who want to be the president of the united states. >> nina? >> it's really the substance of what the candidate has to say be

a we have to remember we are socialized we have to deconstruct our destruction on a regular basis that we hold women, no matter how much substaps to a different standard in the media. that being said first lady of arkansas, senator of new york, secretary of state and now running for the presidency of the united states of america. all women can and madam ceo is handling her business, too. fierce women shake the world. we should not just vote for women because of their dna. we should vote because of the substance. it's not just women, it's the whole african-american, latina. i had a consultant say to me, now senator, you're black but don't bring attention to that. like, hello. when i walk into a room. you're always challenged about how people want you to be. do you, baby.

do you. >> lizz and nina will be back the next hour. i want to say thank you to gina. check out her website genderavenger.com. up next, i will ask beverly johnson why she's prepared to forgive bill cosby. wasnthat big steve... hey! come back here, steven stay strong! what's that? you want me to eat you? honey, he didn't say that! he did, very quietly... you can't hear from back there! don't fight your instincts. with each 150 calories or less, try our chocolatey brownies, tangy lemon bars and new creamy cheesecakes. fiber one. go on, have one! how much prot18%?does your dog food have? 20? nutrient-dense purina one true instinct with real salmon and tuna has 30% protein. support your active dog's whole body health with purina one. feel like this.

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welcome to the moment no one's been waiting for. the fastest internet and the best tv experience is already here with x1. only from xfinity. in 1974 beverly johnson became the first black model to grace the cover of "vogue" and would take the fashion industry by storm paving the way for black supermodels to come. last year johnson made headlines again when she alleged she was drugged with the intent of sexual assault by bill cosby. her story in "vanity fair" was published as accusations were growing exponentially. dozens of women had come forward alleging they were sexually assaulted by the television superstar. cosby has not been charged with a crime and has denied the allegations. this week appearing on abc's "good morning america" johnson had this to say about cosby.

>> what would you say to him now? >> i forgive you. >> now beverly johnson is telling her full story from her childhood as a self-described nerd to her unlikely rise in the fashion industry to her personal struggles and triumphs that followed. the face that changed it all. thank you for being here. i'm go to ask the follow-up question on cosby in a minute. i want to walk through your book before we get there. so one of my favorite lines in the book is very early on page 16 when you're talking about being a kid and talking about your sisters on both sides. i was simply an african-american nerd. >> yes. >> well, we like black nerds around here. tell me what you mean by that? >> my older sister was this really beautiful, tall, statue-esque with the good hair. my sister was the yellow house,

brick body of a sister and then me, very tall, thin, flat chested. >> nose in a book. >> nose in a book all the time, was a competitive swimmer. i really loved school. and i was quiet, an introvert. i was really different from my sisters but also my other two brothers. >> when you write about your family, the dominating figure, the person who over and over again shows up to help you, to bring you out of your shell, is your mother. >> yes. >> and you write about her i think the way many southern black girls who use first and last name, gloria johnson, what it means to be her daughter. she's struggling now with alzheimer's. what is that experience for you. >> well, it's very traumatic for our family. we've accepted it and what's wonderful about it really gives you the appreciation of the moment, and i have this closeness with my mother, which

i've always had, but it's different because i'm -- we giggle together. we look at photographs together. she came to this big launch event that i had at a museum in the city of new york. i'm getting a little emotional. and she was there on the red carpet with me, and so there are some times when she's very lucid when she says, oh, they told to us turn this way. they told us to turn that way. and although she doesn't know me or know my name, she knows that, you know, we love each other. in a way it's really a shame a mother went on to get her bachelor's degree at 70-something years old, but we're handling it. >> so i wonder, and i could be wrong here, but i wonder -- as i was trying to puzzle through your response to the question what would you say to mr. cosby and the fact that your response

was i would tell him that i forgive you, i've been puzzling through that. that was hard for me to hear. i wonder if it's at all connected to the experience you're having with your mother in the moment, this idea of being in the moment, watching what it means to come to our life's end. you tell me, why would you forgive mr. cosby? >> well, it does have something to do with my mother and how we were raised. we were raised not to harbor anger and bitterness and i believe she also taught me to move on. in order to move on, you have to forgive, and that's what i'm doing. the overall message of this conversation we're having about violence on women is so needed because cosby is just a lightning rod for this conversation because we all know as women this goes on in every

aspect of life regarding women. >> in fact, i think people who read the book should know -- i'm a survivor and i did not realize how prominent sexual assault was in your story from adolescence, 12 years old, all the way tlou through to the cosby story. because of that, i was somewhat surprised when i get to the end of the text and you're talking about your friend, mike tyson. >> yes. >> and tyson, who goes -- who is convicted in part of a sexual assault against desiree washington. and as you write about it, even though i love mike to pieces, i wasn't in the room that night with the two of them. i have no clue what happened. the hospital report said the girl's physical condition was consistent of someone who had been raped and i had to respect that finding for what it was. it's respectful, it's clear, but it also -- you had so many experiences of being betrayed by men in this way, i guess i was

surprised you didn't just presume that desiree washington was telling the absolute truth. and i wonder how that fits for all of us who are survivors. >> i really did know she was telling the truth. i really did feel that the justice system worked. and although it was unfortunate because of tyson and who he was and how he grew up, poor judgment, bad decision, and he paid for it. i have not spoken to him since that time but i most certainly agreed with the justice decision on that. >> so, as i said when you sat down, my favorite part of the book are the photographs. maybe that makes sense in a book about a model but it's actually not the high glamour. it's not the extraordinary "vogue" cover as extraordinary as it was, it's these pictures of you and your family from a previous time. it's a lovely and intimate --

>> thank you. thank you so much. i really wanted it to be about me and my family and who i am because people naturally assume they know who i am because i've been out there since i was 18 years old but in the book you will realize you really don't know who i am and so i like to share this book. as african-americans we really don't pass stories down because of our painful past and i really wanted to be part of the cycle of really leaving my story there for people to read. >> you do not shy away from the difficult stories, thank you for your book. >> thank you very much. >> and thank you, beverly johnson. the book is "the face that changed it all." it could become the largest city in america where women have no access to abortion and why serena is still the goat around here in nerd land. greatest of all time. cosmetics . cosmetics . the orders were rushing in. i could feel our deadlines racing towards us. we didn't need a loan. we needed short-term funding fast.

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a law that may shut down the planned parenthood clinic in cincinnati could make that the largest metropolitan area without women's access to surgical abortion. the law passed in june by ohio's republican controlled legislature gives abortion clinics 60 days to obtain an exception known as a variance. providers have a patient transfer agreement with a private hospital. the requirement, another of the legislators restrictions because of private hospitals makes them unwilling to enter into agreements with abortion clinics. the ohio department of public health allows clinics to remain open without an agreement in place and must be renewed every year. the planned parenthood clinic is awaiting renewal as is women's med, another in dayton. the clock on both clinics starts ticking down on september 29th, the day the law goes into effect.

the planned parenthood facility in cincinnati waited more than a year to receive its latest exception and waited for two years for its variance. if the ohio health department doesn't move much faster than it has in the past and approve the exemption within 60 days of the 29th, both clinics will lose their licenses effectively wiping out abortion access in southwestern ohio. the loss would mean women in the region who are seeking an abortion will have to travel 220 miles roundtrip to columbus or 500 roundtrip to cleveland for women more than 16 weeks pregnant. last week planned parenthood and women's med pushed back with a lawsuit asking a federal court to declare the new law unconstitutional and stop it from taking effect. the man who has been leading the

charge against those rights has remained silent about his pivotal role. restricted abortion in ohio since 201 1 under whose tenure those offering abortions has been reduced 16-8 and counting. namely ohio governor and gop candidate john kasich. kasich's record against reproductive rights is so strong, quote, there is no candidate running for president who has done more for the pro-life movement than john kasich. it would be a ringing endorsement for republican candidates positioning himself as the choice du jour of the far right which is precisely why you won't hear mention on the campaign trail because it's a glaring red flag if you're trying to convince moderate republicans that you're their best bet which is precisely what kasich is trying to do. you see kasich entered the campaign tracking away from the

right and positioning himself as a centrist alternative, an electable option for the gop establishment. the stump speech version paints him as a common sense centrist, the guy who was down with obamacare's medicaid expansion, believes in climate change and is open to immigration reform. who gave the sympathetic answer to the same-sex marriage question during the gop debates and who managed to get re-elected by a whopping 31-point margin? ohio. what 538 describes as the swingiest of the swing states. it's a strategy that made kasich a serious contender among the crowded field of republicans. he's managed to pick up a string of big name endorsements in the latest nbc news/marist poll in the crucial primary state of new hampshire. and kasich has so far been able to sidestep accountability for his record on reproductive rights in the election. before his campaign announcement john kasich wasn't a familiar name to most americans outside

of ohio and many of the anti-abortion restrictions he approved were tucked away inside budget bills where they drew little notice beyond the state. that all may be about to change. the next abortion item up on the legislature's agenda. the new bill would make it illegal for a doctor to perform an abortion for a woman who wants to end her pregnancy because of a fetal diagnosis of down's syndrome. and although the bill follows those that came before it in an ongoing erosion of incremental abortion rights, it is likely to attract attention because of what sets it apart. as noted by "the economist" where the 17th new restriction on abortion like the others it might join the roster without much fuss but it is different in kind because it targets the motives of women -- excuse me, mothers seeking abortion. the bill is expected to arrive on kasich's desk where he's expected to sign it around thanksgiving. more than two months shy which could leave kasich with a lot of

explaining to do. a centrist choice find him at least on this issue the furthest of the far right. joining me now is lizz winston, co-founder. nina turner, former ohio state senator and national reporter for msnbc. nina, what in the world is the matter with ohio? crazy. it goes back to voting. this is my thing. we sat out in mid-term elections and democrats advocated their responsibility to secure state legislatures. if we had a state legislature that was more dominated by democrats or at least folks that believe women should have pure choice we would not have to endure this. memo and message to the democrats, don't sleep out on midterm elections. >> this point, in 2008 we had just gotten aca through, a

democratic house and senate and yet we have seen this incredible emerging in ohio and around the country. has roe v. wade been overturned through an access tool? >> we're moving through your rights depend on the states you live in. if you live in a state that has been taking over the legislature, there are a series of restrictions meant to put roadblocks in the way of women. this is coming as the supreme court has been asked here, these clinic regulations. it's important to see them in context. they've been the most effective abortion restrictions. just you having to explain it, i bet folks' eyes glazed over because they involved zoning and

regulation. >> it's not sexy. >> the impact is. closing the doors of clinics and what has proven the most effecti effective, making it impossible to access it. at the same time all these are functioning to make it seem abortion clipnics are unsafe butchers. it's much safer than carrying pregnancy to term. >> one of the things -- the dirty little secrets about these laws in place, some states, the if i ziphysicians are having a time getting privileges. you have to show that you will bring a clientele to the hospital. because it is so safe, many say i can't show you that because i don't have that problem.

you have this crazy opposite thing and i feel like with oregon being the only state it's not just ohio. john kasich is a monster on this issue. >> it's the master plan and if we don't wake up, think about this, it doesn't feel like that anymore because they are just chipping away. if an emergency were to happen at a clinic that provides reproductive health care for women, that woman would be transferred to a hospital. >> true if you're getting lasik surgery, if you're having a dent al -- if there is an emergency during a medical procedure then you are transferred to a hospital.

and admitting privileges are not related to that. >> that's right. >> one has been to segregate abortion care. the services have been boycotted for providing abortions. laws passed that you can't provide abortions. you can't use medicaid in many states. first these are being segregated for people who are committed to serving women with this service are opening their doors and then it makes it easier to be targeted by protesters and laws. >> this piece, the new piece about down's syndrome, feels different than the laws you were talking about. families who are making extremely difficult choices. will that be the kind of threat that will unravel?

>> there's no asterisks that says unless we don't like the reason the woman is having the abortion. the real genius from an ant anti-abortion perspective it draws a wedge and that's the intent to say, well, imply there's a eugenics happening here or lack of support. >> the other thing is the potential in mississippi where the personhood was turned back which is often those choices with more access to resources often using other reproductive spa spaces and they may not be so much about abortion but do want to have that available to them. up next, we'll stay on this

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federal funding is for planned parenthood's many critical health services. surely we in the congress have better things to do than spend our time helping to undermine an organization that provides such vital health services. >> that was congressman john conyers speaking wednesday at a congressional hearing on planned parenthood's tissue donation program. the hearing titled, quote, planned parenthood exposed, the largest abortion provider was triggered by videos from the anti-abortion group center for medical progress.

it has disputed what is shown on the recordings calling them deceptively edited. as a group of house conservatives announced this week, their intention to block any spending bill that includes funding for planned parenthood. so we are back to shutting it all down. is this good politics? >> those folks got elected, professor, this is the thing here that we need to understand. any elected official that cavalier about the entire united states of america, the last time was a $26 billion loss to the u.s. economy. give me a break. it shows willful ignorance to believe such blatantly edited things, a lack of knowing about pathology, a lack of saying, wow what an interesting, brave

person that would say i need to terminate a pregnancy and want to make sure when i do that my fetal remains will go to lifesaving measures. >> i hear you. but those videos are hard to watch. what i want to point out the strategy being used by those interested in reproducing rights access is a good and effective strategy. you can't just keep saying you're not seeing what you're seeing. there has to be some other -- some other things and strategies. >> almost five hours, the hearing this week. i watched all of it. >> i'm sorry. talking about fetal donation. they weren't talk iing about whe

the money for planned parenthood actually goes to which has nothing to do and, in fact, nothing to do with abortion, has to do with contraceptive women's health access. that's the status quo whether you like it or not. what they were talking about was abortion and the strategy here is to make people uncomfortable, try to make people think about the difficult issues around what is a difficult medical procedure for many people, people bring different feelings to it but, again, focusing on the nitty-gritty of the procedure to try to back pro-choice activists into a corner, and it was really interesting because the witnesses even were the familiar people. they were the same people who were involved in a quote/unquote partial birth abortion ban. that was a debate, again, that made pro-choice people run scared. and by focusing on later abortions, which are rare and people have all kinds of reasons for having them, it backs people away and makes them be afraid to stand up for the larger question. >> it's also, too, the name of

the hearing was and i feel like the interesting thing for me in watching all of this unfold in my twitter feed activists and people watching these videos, and this is very telling to me because i don't believe that pregnancy is a baby and that fetal development dictates that, not whatever, for people to watch those videos that were hard to watch and making jokes about it at me calling me a hypocrite putting memes up showing that, says to me you don't believe what you are saying because for those who looked at those videos and wanted to believe it and felt emotionally distraught about it, i would no more make a joke about what's going on in syria right now, sudanese, the holocauwho will holocaust, this is not about those videos. none was about fatal tissue

research at all, all this other stuff that went around planned parenthood. >> this emotional fervor that you are getting at, if your hair is on fire, act like your hair is on fire. this is a full frontal assault against women's access to reproductive health care and the belittling of women that we need legislative daddies to tell what's to do, we are grown women and know what to do and we need women to fight back and to fight back hard about that in this country. they're taking us back. >> i think that's part of it. we push back against the highly emotional, effective, you know, sort of tools with our data. there is, in fact, an sti epidemic in the city of new orleans, for example. there is a syphilis epidemic in the city which is being treated in large part through the affordable health care planned parenthood. these are the kinds of real numbers, but it doesn't move people quite the same. >> they're pro-birth, not pro-life f. you're pro-life,

representative conyers hit the nail on the head, you have better things to do. we have children who need to be educated. we have infrastructure in this nature that needs to be repaired. why don't you invest that kind of money in that. to say you're going to shut down the entire government of the united states of america is criminal. >> what's interesting, too, all of these new laws and the planned parenthood videos as well are being couched as protecting women. so you use this phrase legislative daddies. so they're trying to co-opt feminist rhetoric, say that had is about protecting women. i listened to the hearing for a long time. i did not hear very much about the actual realities that women face themselves. >> and the very difficult choices with later term pregnancy as you've written about. >> planned parenthood. >> i want to say thank you to you. after serena's upset yesterday, is she still the greatest of all time?

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we're getting to the dramatic video highlights of the u.s. open. first, we have to talk about another tennis superstar and another dramatic video we've been waiting to see. this week while about to make his way to the u.s. open, james blake, the harvard educated, retired tennis star, was tackled and arrested outside a hoe it tell in midtown manhattan in a case of mistaken identity. the facts were shocking enough, and then yesterday the new york police department released the video. and as you can see blake is standing against the wall when suddenly out of nowhere a man in a white shirt comes and wrestles him to the ground and handcuffs him. now notice that the man is in street clothes, not in a police uniform. notice that as blake explained to "the new york times," he wasn't running. he wasn't putting up resistance, the police received a tip from a witness who misidentified blake as a suspect in a fraudulent

credit card ring. but blake says the arresting officer never identified himself or explained why he was detaining blake. and people watching probably didn't even know what was going on. i mean, i really can't even get over the people just walking past, walking past, looking. even new york police commissioner bill bratton had to admit this arrest was suspect. >> the concerns we have was the force used appropriate and initially we believe that it may not have been. i don't believe at all that race was a factor. a white police officer, mr. blake is african-american, this rush to put a race tag on it, i'm sorry, was not involved in this incident at all. >> now blake may not agree with that sentiment. he told "the new york daily news" that there was probably a race factor involved and in the interview on abc he called for the police to be held accountable. >> i'd like an apology.

i'd like an explanation for thousahow they conducted themselves. we all need to be held accountable and police as well. they're out there doing a difficult job and i said that. i do think most cops are doing a great job in keeping us safe, but when you police with reckless abandon you need to be held accountable. >> now blake did get personal apologies from the nosew york police commissioner and new york mayor bill de blasio and the arresting officer has been placed on desk duty pending the skro outcome of an investigation. extending courtesy to a public figure mistreated by the police is not enough. as i told the commissioner, i'm determined to use my voice to turn this unfortunate incident into a catalyst for change in the relationship between the police and the public they serve. game, set, match, mr. blake. up next, the other tennis superstar in the news this week. why serena williams is still the greatest of all time. no matter what happened yesterday.

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serena williams ranked number one in women's singles and has been for more than 250 weeks, winning 21 grand slam titles, as many as all active women players combined and at the u.s. open specifically serena has been crowned channmpn six times. the woman some called the most dominant athlete of a generation has won 33 consecutive matches in grand slam events. the last time she lost a major championship was at wimbledon in 2014 and until yesterday when serena williams lost to italian player roberta vinci. fans reacted with disappointment and anger. vinci even apologized for her win at the new york stadium. >> the american people for serena, the grand slam, and everything, but today is my day.

sorry, guys. >> i appreciated that. look, the narrative, she disr t disrupted what everyone wanted to hear, serena williams will enter the finals, to win a grand slam since 1988. of course we know that's not how the story goes this year. but does that make her qualifications for greatest of all time any less powerful? other athletes we consider among the greatest and suffered great losses throughout their careers, take lebron jaime's nba finals loss, michael jordan, the basketball legend, often compared to faced defeat. >> i missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. i've lost almost 300 games. 26 times i've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.

i've failed over and over and over again in my life. and that is why i succeed. >> perhaps what makes a player the greatest is not the speed of her serve or the strength of her backhand. perhaps it's not the number of wins but the number of losses she can endure while continuing to move forward and that ability, that resilience, is a huge part of what makes serena williams such a role model to so many including young tennis players like those we met at the john mcenroe tennis academy ahead of the match. >> i'm actually a really big fan of her, and she's like a role model to me. >> i hope one day to be successful like her and be the number one player and be famous. >> and i wish i was like serena, too. and i seen her win the trophy every time. >> the way she plays and how she

wants to win, she doesn't want anything to stop her. she just wants to win it. she doesn't smile when she plays because she's focused on what she's doing. she doesn't stop being focused until the end of the match. she is a great competitor. she practices. >> she exercises. she gives, like, kids help and that's what is most important. one day i want to become serena and break her records. >> oh, those kids. still with me writer, comedienne, co-host of espn2's his and hers podcast and a sports journalist and author of "the monopolist." okay. i'm a little broken. i'm a little broken. i had to talk myself through to

get through that, so what do you make? i mean, yesterday was huge. again, i also love -- we do have to give credit where credit is due. an amazing effort there. but is she still the greatest of all time? >> i don't think for somebody to be the greatest of all time is not defined by -- it's not defined by ranks, in this case slams. she is still third all-time on the slams list. this is still how she has dominated this sport at this stage in her career is remarkable, something like they haven't seen before. and just where she's elevated the game, single-handedly carrying this sport, and that is a level of greatness i don't even think we fully appreciate. and she still has, again, the major slams record to chase, so while this narrative for a lot of us -- you know, my little black girl dreams were crushed, too. especially because i have tickets to the game. >> you're really crushed.

>> i'm really krushld. i think she still minimum tans a very strong piece in the conversation. for me she is but i understand the counter argument. it doesn't change how great she is. >> i had a little bit of a conversation then about whether or not it was happening in the press conference afterward was her being a good channmpion or not. oh, she actually gives credit where credit is due. she doesn't just say it's her having a bad day. she says her opponent had a good day. others were like, well, it was brief. it was not very friendly. what are your thoughts? >> we can't pretend to get into her head. when you think about athletes and the role they play, we forget they're human. i think that's part of what makes serena great and the press more than fans, she is human and part of being human is being l vulnerable and you are going to lose. i think that makes her relatable. i think we focus on her today and she's this titan in the sport, is a huge deal, but it takes a long road to get there. >> and we've seen her lose, too, walk that road.

when she comes to the public, she is like the little kids we were seeing, baby venus and serena. i couldn't believe when they were announcing they were in their 30s, oh, wait a minute. what is happening to the world? >> her career has lasted so, so long and she still is number one in the world. and the whole game and a lot of women's sports ages are ticking up. there's always next year. it will be really interesting to see what she does career wise after this. there just hasn't been somebody playing at that level that long in tennis. >> let's get back to the press conference -- >> let's play a little bit if folks haven't seen so you'll know what we're talking about. >> i don't want to talk about how disappointing for me. if you have any other questions, i'm open for that. she played literally out of her mind. >> well, she, of course, took a lot of criticism for how she handled that press conference, but this is the box that they put a lot of female athletes in. when men do that, it's being

ultra competitive and they're taking the game to heart. when women do that, especially a black woman, it fits them being angry and emotional and all those other kinds of stereotypes. >> marshawn lynch was like, i'm only here -- i do not get fined which is basically in the last one when she was there until 11:30 at night, look, i would like to go to bed. people had the feeling because she wasn't smiling. >> this is why i love her. when you line her up, she's not just the greatest woman female tennis player but is along the likes of michael jordan, kobe bryant. she has the killer mentality. how do they expect her to respond to losing. >> the most serious question, because we really want to hear -- >> it is really -- is this drake's fault? #blamedrake. where is that? i mean, the internet went all the way.

roxanne just tweeted -- she literally said drake is trash. >> i was like, whoa! you're wrong for that. i also really appreciate drake still stay off his tour. >> but for real i think listen to how just this table of people and how twitter reacted to this defeat. to then have to go to a press conference, i think whatever she wanted to say in that press conference was literally mitigating her emotions. it was the most professional thing she could have done. i'll talk to you about this. i'll do that. the last thing i will say, when you look at a great, she is a great for the game and a great in the game and, like, how can you even argue -- if anybody were even to put her anywhere less than where she is, she wins. >> let me ask, are we not talking about the woman who won

a major upset yesterday, by not saying, all right, we should have scrubbed the serena segment and talked about this woman who managed to beat serena. what about her due? >> well, she was just as surprised as everyone else because she talked about how she had a plane ticket to go home today. she didn't think she was going to win. >> in this tournament we see these women follow because serena is such an intimidating force in the sport. and so i think there's also a great flip to this point that there is a great underdog story here and part of what serena has done for tennis she's increased the entire level of the sport. the fact that you can be ranked -- a player ranked like that now versus ten years ago is bringing a different level of the game because of serena so there is this interesting thing she is almost a victim of having created such competition at that part of the rankings. >> she means playing out of her mind as a compliment, also the serena change. up next, we're going to stay on ladies in sports.

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many fabs and commentators have taken to calling serena williams the best, most dominating in the world. there's one other competitor who might give her the run for her money. she is known for incredible power, agility and the speed with which she can serve her opponent defeat on a silver platter. mma fighter ronda rousey, the athlete who became the first woman to fight in an ultimate fighting match in 2013. she won every ufc match she has ever fought, named best female athlete and best fighter at the july espy awards. the former judo olympian defeats challengers in 30 second. her record 14 seconds. also the ufc record. in may business insider named her the most dominant athlete alive topping a list of 50, including serena williams.

no athlete is the best in their sport by a wider margin than rousey, the business insider report wrote. rousey is known for her action outside the ufc octagon. most recently coined the now notorious turn dnb during a ufc video interview that aired ahead of her august 1st fight. rousey defined the term dnb and responded to people who have criticized her body for being too masculine. >> i call it a dnb all the time, the chick that just tries to be pretty and taken care of by somebody else. that's why i think people say that my body looks masculine or something like that, there's not a single muscle on my body that isn't for a purpose. >> those comments were most recently seen flashing across the screens ahead of beyonce's performance of "diva" at the made in america music festival last week. it has inspired criticism with

some arguing it is shaming language but love or hate her words it's hard to argue with the reality of her athletic dominance. she brings us to this question of the greatest of all time. she made a set of comments about transgender athletes in her sport. so specifically saying that transwomen who want to compete in the sport are basically still -- very transphobic comments i don't want to say. but she is athletically dominant. is greatest of all time the big designation of the whole person who are is it just about the actual sport? >> i think it has to be about all of that, because she is given her position in her sport the ambassador so she has that responsibility. and part of that responsibility is to not spew i gnoranceignora. i like ronda rousey and i

understood her comments and i was there with beyonce. >> people were crazy. >> and i was just like, oh, man, what's happening right now. i understood what she is saying. so often women like her and serena williams have both been body shamed in various respects and she says i have another purpose other than to just be this kind of stereotypical woman that we all know and has been highlighted in our society. i get that part of it. her greatness in her sport, that does also carry a lot of responsibility, and she seems to be ready for it but she has to know when she is asked about social issues or transgender athletes that she has a responsibility to educate herself because what she said wasn't true. >> right. so this is interesting to me, this question of her in part as an a.mbassador for her support because that puts her in a different position than serena. serena is an interloper on her sport. tennis was the wealthy white girl club for much of its

history and venus and serena break into that sport from a different socioeconomic position, from a different neighborhood, from a race that we had not often seen represented on the court. with rousey, she is the person who is introducing this sport, right, to so many for the first time. >> absolutely. and if you think about tennis and particularly women, the u.s. open has equal prize money since 1973. if you look at the wealthiest female athletes in the world, a lot are tennis players. billie jean king, there's a history there. you can see this is really, really new. i'm curious to see -- and it's a rapidly growing sport that's just becoming hugely popular. i'm curious weather the women's side of the sport develops, if we'll see more rouseys, more athletes so she has more competition and i think when we go to this conversation being the greatest there's this question of being first. >> i find it a fascinating idea that in this moment when we're talking about head injuries over on the nfl side and de-escalating in certain ways that you have this aggressive,

intense, hand-to-hand sport. >> that's what's fascinating about ufc, it's growing and growing so fast and across the board. i've reported on small er matchs in rural communities. it remind me of boxing in the '30s or '40s and then you get into human anywnature and footb and especially with concussion, the nfl this week, the concussion discussion fans are way more attuned but they're still watching. i don't know and i don't know how the ufc will handle that going forward, particularly the safety of the sport. >> what does pay equity look like in the ufc? >> fascinating question. there are just so few women that it's hard -- >> something that's part of her that's so interesting about her and serena, too, their marketability and what makes a woman marketable and she has been very -- she had a cameo in "fast and furious 7" is getting endorsements. she's also first on that front and is attractive and this and that and the way people talk about her is interesting.

>> to the serena point she makes less in endorsements than some folks who are ranked far below her who are more sort of classically presumed. >> but that's a different consumer audience. that doesn't justify it but, in fact, it just highlights the racism and classism in it because if you look at maria sharapova's endorsements, bentley, all these high end products, people think they can't do that. >> thank you to liz winstead, liz has more to say, i'll make her say it on the break. we have an upcoming event on september 26 with her group lady parts justice. for more information check out la ladypartsjustice.com. up next, our very fashion forward foot soldier. (siri voice) adam, i'm sorry. i shouldn't have said that about your hair. it's not stupid. (ding) find hair salon. wow. yeah, that's right. (siri voice) ok, jack's boutique is nearby. alright, i've got another friend and his name is bryan adams. ok. this isn't going to work again. ♪"please forgive me, i know not what i do..."♪

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the big event. not our foot soldiers. our fashion forward foot soldier is back home in arizona going grade school. because this week's foot soldier, 10-year-old xavier elliot from phoenix. xavier has experienced some tough times during his life. his father is an iraq war veteran who struggles with ptsd. his mother has a rare brain disease that slows her down and his family has lived in six different shelters over the years. but recently things have settled for xavier and his family so he decided to find a way to help others who face their own difficult circumstances. xavier's mother stephanie began sewing as a way to relax and xavier would often keep her company by the machine. one day, the ten-year-old decided he, too, wanted to learn to sew and stephanie started by teaching him the basics, threading the needle, cutting from patterns, sewing pieces together. and she was really surprised that her son, who struggles with ad adhd, could sit still for such long periods as he learned to sew. to support his passion,

stephanie signed xavier up for design u fashion camp where youth learn to sketch and create their own garments and as his skills developed, xavier hatched a plan. he decided to use his allowance money to buy fabric so he could make clothes for less fortunate families. soon after, the mom and son duo teamed up to make clothes which they donated, stylish creation, hand stitched with love. stephanie created a facebook page, clothes for charity by the elliot family where they posted pictures of their creations and people from around the world took notice sending them fabric and even thread and even a brand new sew magazine for xavier. recently, xavier and his mom have been making clothes for a family in baltimore who lost everything in a fire. xavier's custom-tailored dress for the daughter, a big fan of teenaged mutant ninja turtles. xavier's current interest is making in halloween costumes for kids and color-me tote bags

designed to be colored with markers. his mom stephanie told us xavier's six-year-old brother also wants to learn to sew. his first project, sewing the sleeves to her favorite shirt shut. maybe xavier can give him a few tips for those giving those in need clothes made with care and inspiring love of all ages, to give back. xavier elliot is our foot soldier of the week. that's our show today. thanks at home for watching. i'll see you tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern. right now time for a preview with "weekends with alex witt." >> it was not lost on me that you were wearing fall's color talking about these shows. and xavier, what a great kid. thanks so much, melissa. a senior advisor to bernie sanders joins me to talk about the phenomenon of the campaign and how the senator went from a fringe candidate to beating hillary clinton in the polls. the new apple iphone is now available for pre-order. we'll talk about what is different this time around and whether you need to rush out and

get a new upgrade. plus football season under way. a look at online sports betting and whether all of it is legal. don't go anywhere, i'll be right back. hi my name is tom. i'm raph. my name is anne. i'm one of the real live attorneys you can talk to through legalzoom. don't let unanswered legal questions hold you up, because we're here, we're here, and we've got your back. legalzoom. legal help is here.

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