will face trial in the criminal sex assault case he was first charged with back in december. outside the court house today, a crowd of spectators and supporters gathered, some even applauding as the 78-year-old comedian entered the building surrounded by assistants and bodyguards. his wife, camille, was not seen with him. this was the first and only criminal case against cosby who faces dozens of accusations and allegations of sexual assault or misconduct, all of which cosby has denied. the charge in this case surrounds this woman, andrea constand. new just moments ago we learned a statement from constand was read inside court accusing bill cosby of sexual assault. he is accused of drugging and molesting the former templ university employee at his home back in 2004. in a civil suit related to the same allegation, cosby said in a deposition the encounter was consensual.

we're seeing the first sign of the cosby defense saying in court the accuser lied. janet shamlian joins us from the courthouse just outside of philadelphia. janet, what's the latest on what's happening right now? >> reporter: well, bill cosby's attorneys are objecting to the admittance of what's called hearsay evidence. as you described, that is her previous deposition and her statements to investigators at the time of or shortly after the alleged crime, that she was sexually assaulted by bill cosby in his home in 2004. cosby's attorney saying this is denying him due process, that the accuser should be here to make those statements so they can cross examine her. however, legal precedent has it that hearsay actually is involved in these cases. so the judge has a decision to make here, is there enough evidence to go forward with a trial. they are currently reading some of these statements that have been previously brought up, as you indicated, in the civil trial that was settled out of

court but late last year documents from that trial were made public and that is when these criminal charges were filed. again, they did take a ten-minute recess but the court trial -- or the preliminary hearing, rather, tamron, is continuing at this hour. >> janet, let's play this out how or what people should expect to happen today. will we hear a decision on this today from the judge? what's the process? >> reporter: so the judge can do a couple of things. she can decide that there is not enough evidence to go forward with the trial. that said, tamron, the bar is pretty low here. the prosecutors don't have to prove all that much. they lay out a skeleton of their case. or she can decide there is enough for a trial and go forward. there was also the option of bill cosby just waiving the hearing and having her immediately set a trial date. that did not happen. so they are actually going through the procedural discussions on each side of the case at this hour. >> and finally, again, just so people -- because we've talked so much about the statute of

limitations regarding some of these other allegations and other cases around the country, we do know that there has been at least one civil lawsuit filed, many others expected, but regarding this case and why or how it got to this point where bill cosby was arrested and potentially now could face trial in this case, explain again to our audience how this particular case may actually be the only one where he potentially faces a criminal charge here, a trial. >> reporter: simply put, while as many as 56 women have come forward with some type of allegations of misconduct against bill cosby, for the most part the statute of limitations has run out on all of them. this incident took place in 2004. this woman first went to authorities here, who decided there was not enough evidence to bring forward criminal charges. she then sued him civilly.

during the course of that civil suit, depositions were taken with this information that was presented. they then settled out of court. last year a judge made public those depositions, and last year the new prosecuting attorney here seeing the information contained within those depositions then decided to file criminal charges. >> all right, we'll see what happens as you will remain outside that courthouse and we'll bring our audience any new developments from there. let me now bring in msnbc chief legal correspondent ari melber. ari, janet did an excellent job breaking down how we got to this point with this case. what i want to discuss with you is some of the politics that people have noted in play here, particularly with the montgomery county d.a.'s office, and these are some of the things that bill cosby's team have banked on being reported that may potentially help him. not with this judge, but in the court of public opinion if this

goes to a jury. >> well, i mean there was, first of all, a big accusation made by cosby's attorneys that the d.a. basically campaigned on this and that was politics and how he got this job. they tried to move basically for his removal on that basis. a court rejected that. i think there's certainly wider public debate about bill cosby and what should happen to him and whether he has gotten a pass for too long or whether he is getting too much criticism based on what some of his defenders will still say and public opinion. i know we know a lot more than we did a half an hour ago because we have the first reports from tom winter inside this courtroom and we know that they have introduced that evidence of andrea constand's past statement. that is a strategic decision by the prosecutors to say here is what she is alleging and she talks in detail about being drugged against her will, about how it felt, dizziness and sexual unwanted contact that she says occurred and that's coming in through a written statement.

we also now know brand now how cosby's attorneys are approaching this. they have already used the word "lie" to characterize conversations with bill cosby. this is a preliminary hearing that is about prosecutorial evidence. that shows you exactly where they're coming out. some had candidate asked me earlier this morning are they going to be aggressive, how are they going to approach this. i would characterize this as very aggressive and trying to use this proceeding to question the credibility of the accuser, the key witness in this case. >> outside of this potential criminal trial he's facing or could face, you do have, of course, the civil complaints as well. but what's interesting to note last week, ari, camille cosby's depositions were unsealed. this is part of the defamation suit by seven women who claim

they were portrayed as liars, accusing the comedian of sexual assault. does this have any impact or could that deposition have any impact if he faces a trial regarding this case in pennsylvania? >> it could. as you note, tamron, that was another one of these developments here. there's so much litigation regarding bill cosby because there are so many accusations. now, i'll be the first to note that an accusation doesn't mean you did something wrong, but it's also fair to note that when you have 20, 30, 40 of them, that's a very bad sign for a defendant. so that deposition that you cite was unsealed. and it basically showed that camille cosby continues to stand by him, to exercise her rights, which every american has, to maintain a great deal of confidentiality around conversations that occur between spouses. there's good reasons for that because people feel that you shouldn't use the threat of jail basically, the threat of the punishments for perjury to try to force someone to, you know, i

want to say snitch on their partner. >> because in that deposition, to pick up on what you were explaining, she said that -- she was asked to read sections of her husband's 2005 deposition where he admitted that he had had sex and that he had dinners with two of the women in this claim. she was asked if her husband was being deceitful and camille said she had no opinion. she repeatedly refused to answer most questions about her husband's integrity and cited what ari just pointed out as marital privilege. this has nothing to do with the case that's happening in pennsylvania, that potential criminal trial he could face, but this is just another piece of the puzzle that ultimately may have some impact if he does go to trial and we'll see what happens there. ari, i know you'll stand by and continue to get the developments from inside that courtroom. let me bring in allison samuels. she's co-authored beverly johnson's memoir, the face that

changed it up. johnson is one of the women who has accused bill cosby of sexual misconduct. thank you for joining us. as you heard ari report as well as janet shamlian, the bar is low here so we could actually now see bill cosby in a courtroom facing criminal charges related to an accusation of sexual assault. what's your reaction to that? >> i think, you know, it's a sad day on some level because bill cosby we know had this heroic sort of label in hollywood and did so much for african-americans in terms of media and how we were sort of presented, so it's a sad day. but on the other hand, this is something that's been brewing for a while. and it's finally come to a head and now we'll get to see if he actually does face the music to what he's done. those rumors were out in hollywood for years, for decades actually. so it's interesting to actually watch it come to sort of fruition in terms of a court date. >> and going from what you said were rumors in hollywood for

decades to the description given by beverly johnson in her memoir where she said, which you co-authored, that she had gone to bill cosby's home, took a sip of a cappuccino, became disoriented according to her. he eventually shoved her out of the home when she fought back. the story that beverly johnson tells is very similar to, and let's pull it up, the "new york" magazine cover that showed a laundry list of women who had accused bill cosby, and we can put that up, of similar things here. now again this is the next level of this, allison, where he could stand trial now. >> right, right. and i think an interesting point to make is beverly really struggled to tell that story. she didn't want to tell it. she didn't know how it would turn out. so i think it's validation for so many women who are afraid to come out and face such a powerful man, to see him actually again face the music for these allegations. so many of those women not were

threatened but felt like they had too much to lose to make the accusation. so i think for many women, it is a victory on some level for it to have gotten this far. >> another magazine cover that got a lot of attention was the "ebony" magazine november 2005 where they showed the family issue and the shattered glass over the cosby cast there. when you hear camille cosby's deposition that was unsealed last week and in it she's reading sections of her husband's own words where he had admitted having sex and having dinners with other women, including this model, beth, who he says is lying regarding accusations that he sexually assaulted her, are we now past the conversation of what impact this has on bill cosby's legacy? are we past believing that somehow this man who criticized others for decisions that they have made, whether it's young black males or single mothers, are we past this perfect image

of bill cause beerks tkaucosby,d now to this man on trial now? >> i think we're absolutely past that. even the people who were not believers last year, i think they understand now where there's smoke, there's fire. when you have over 50 women making these claims and so many of them are so similar, i think it's very hard to put your head in the sand and say, oh, no, this is not happening, this is not true. his legacy is unfortunately forever stained, forever ruined in many ways. i don't think we go back from this point, no. >> well, unfortunate for him, but for the women who say if their allegations are true, it is justice depending on how some of this plays out both civilly and in the criminal court. but in the end when you hear bill cosby's attorneys today start to mount the defense of essentially everyone is lying, that this temple university former employee, that she is lying, that beverly johnson lied and the list goes on and on, what is your reaction, especially given your insight

into hollywood and some of these things that have been not spoken out in public until the flood gate opened? >> well, i mean i guess i'm not surprised that he would say that. i don't know what else he can say other than they're lying. but i guess what i'm always sort of concerned about and what i'm confused about is why no one stepped in decades ago, because where there's smoke there's fire, and there were rumors. i'm not sure why his people, people surrounding him didn't get to him then to say look, this has to stop. something has to happen or else we're going to face what we're facing now. what else can he say other than they're lying other than to admit it so i'm not surprised that he's doing that. but it is a victory for women that he's in that courtroom today. it's a victory for them that he's facing some kind of justice because i think there was a fear that he wouldn't face justice at all at 79 or 78 years old. >> allison samuels, thank you very much for your time. great pleasure having you on. coming up, donald trump's latest attacks on the clintons, revisiting decades-old widely

dismissed murder conspiracy among other things. this as the clinton campaign uses some of trump's own comments where he appears to root for the housing market to collapse so that he can make money. also ahead -- >> will the convention be messy? >> well, of course it will be, but everything -- that's what democracy is about. >> bernie sanders speaks exclusively to nbc news about his role in the democratic convention. he predicts some of it could be messy. what he meant by that. plus the tsa's head of security and screening is out of here. the latest on the efforts to ease those long lines that's caused tens of thousands of people to miss flights and be delayed at airports. we'll be right back. big hassle? not with safelite. this family needed their windshield replaced, but they're daughters heart was set on going to the zoo. so we said if you need safelite to come to the zoo we'll come to the zoo! only safelite can fix your windshield anywhere in the us. with our exclusive mobileglassshops. and our one of a kind trueseal technology, for a reliable bond.

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we are back with the latest nasty turn in the battle between donald trump and hillary

clinton. trump taking his attacks on the clintons to a new level, including now adding in a murder conspiracy. "the washington post" reports today that in a recent interview trump raised questions about the official version of the 1993 death of former clinton white house aide vincent foster, which was ruled a suicide. trump told the newspaper theories of possible foul play are, quote, very serious and the circumstances of foster's death are, quote, very fishy. this comes on top of the ad posted on instagram by trump where it splices a photo of bill clinton smoking a cigar over audio of women who accused him in the past of sexual assault, which the former president has repeatedly denied. the ad ends with audio of hillary clinton laughing. trump tweeted the instagram link with the comments is hillary really protecting women? trump is still defending this latest round of attacks. >> i'm only responding to what they do.

they have been nasty. she's been very nasty. i said i'd like it to be on policy. i don't like doing that, but i have no choice when she hits me on things, i just have no choice, so you have to do it. >> hillary clinton's campaign aides insist she will not take the bait. her spokesperson saying she can't be psyched out. meanwhile the clinton campaign released a new ad highlighting donald trump's comments from 2006 appearing to root for the housing market to collapse. >> i sort of hope that happens, because then people like me would go in and buy. if there is a bubble burst, as they call it, you know, you could make a lot of money. >> we begin our coverage this morning with nbc's hallie jackson in albuquerque, new mexico, where donald trump will hold a rally later today. hallie, what are you learning about this strategy here from trump. >> reporter: yeah, the strategy of basically going after hillary clinton and bill clinton now as hard as possible. that is what you're already seeing from donald trump.

you've been seeing it these last few weeks. all indications are there's no signs this will slow down. you talked about the clinton campaign refusing to take the bait. although you talk with some gop strategists and strategists on both sides of the aisle who wonder if that's going to be some of the most effective way of defending against some of these attacks by donald trump. some of these supporters for donald trump started showing up basically a half an hour ago. his rally doesn't begin until 7:00 local time tonight, that's 9:00 eastern, but people are already turning out for his first campaign swing really in a few weeks. he's headed to new mexico, in order and montana. i would expect you will hear him throw some red meat to his supporters if his past stump speeches, at least lately, have been any indication, he will likely go after the clintons, including bill clinton, who is also in new mexico tonight. >> that's incredible proximity.

let me ask you regarding this ad where the audio appears to show donald trump rooting for the housing bubble that affected a lot of people in the region where you are right now saying that he could make money. what are you hearing from the campaign as far as an explanation? >> reporter: right. listen, i think that this is what you are going to see from the clinton campaign moving forward. we have been reporting as far as nbc news that the clinton campaign does see potential vulnerabilities in looking at trump's business record. remember, trump runs on his business record. he runs as a businessman who's fought the system and been able to use the system to his advantage so in his view understands now how to help the american people since he's done it from the other side. the clinton camp, like some of donald trump's republican challengers early on, feel as though there is a way to go after him when it comes to his companies, when it comes to his business dealings. something you'll hear from clinton aides is talk about trump university and going after him on that. the idea being that they can try to sow some seeds of doubt in the minds of some of these swing

voters that could be key in a general election that donald trump really isn't the businessman he's cracked up to be. i wouldn't be surprised to hear donald trump responsible to that tonight here in albuquerque. >> this morning while hillary clinton looks ahead to november, bernie sanders is again saying don't count him out. in a new interview with nbc's kristen welker. he's also criticizing secretary clinton for her announcement late yesterday that she's turning down the debate he wanted to have in california before that state's june 7th primary. >> she is really insulting the people of the largest state in our country, who have a right to hear a vigorous debate on her views, so i am disappointed, although not surprised. >> and in a statement, clinton's communications director said in part we believe that hillary clinton's time is best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across california and preparing for a general election campaign that will ensure the white house remains in democratic hands. and in his interview with kristen welker, senator sanders

also weighed in on the report that he's predicting the democratic convention could be, quote, messy. >> the media often takes words out of context. the context of that was that democracy is messy. that peach el will have vigorous debate on the issues. >> will the convention be messy? >> well, of course it will be. but everything -- that's what democracy is about. >> msnbc's kasie hunt joins us live. so from the statement regarding the debate, it is clear, and from her remarks last week, that she is the nominee. hillary clinton is trying to minimize this two-front fight and focus in on donald trump. >> that's right, tamron. i was covering her campaign events out in detroit, michigan, yesterday. it was a similar message, one of confidence and clarity in saying that she is going to be the nominee. this is the end of the nominating process. now, she did applaud sanders in that for what she termed challenging her to push forward

on issues like campaign finance reform, for example. but then she turned and really focused on donald trump. now, of course the question for her is going to be -- and for sanders as well as we head into california, the question being how close can bernie sanders get to her in that california primary. in the event he were to pull out a win there, improbable at this point but still possible it seems according to my sources who are looking at internal polling data, that could potentially be a blow for her and you've heard sanders talk about that as well over the course of the last 24 hours. saying if he wins california and the other states that vote on june 7th that that would give him some momentum. but one thing to keep an eye on here, of course, is bernie sanders money. he's been burning through it much faster than hillary clinton. they really have left it all on the table from that perspective. they have never hesitated to brag when they're fund-raising is doing very well. and if history is any guide, they would be up on tv in

california with ads if they were in a position to do so. that's part of what's giving the clinton campaign confidence that they can move forward and wrap up this nomination quickly, tamron. coming up, our first read team asks if donald trump is, quote, a conspiracy theorist in chief. up next, the impact of these falsehoods in the general election. and just unearthed in the '90s, donald trump was defending bill clinton as seen in this 1998 interview with chris matthews. we'll play you donald trump in his own words regarding bill clinton's affairs, what he said then and now. >> paula jones is a loser, but the fact is that she may be responsible for bringing down a president indirectly. >> also following developing news out of pennsylvania where bill cosby is inside a courtroom waiting to hear if he will stand trial on accusations of sexual assault related to a case involving a former temple university employee. we'll be right back with the very latest.

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we're back with donald trump's escalating attacks on the clintons, taking aim at bill clinton's old sex scandals and affairs. for years trump praised the clintons. in 1998 he said i don't necessarily agree with his victims. his victims are terrible. he is real i a victim himself. joining me now live is jennifer ruben, opinion writer for the "washington post" and political analyst howard fineman. thanks for your time. we also have this interview with chris matthews back in the '90s with bill clinton. i don't know if we have it already, we don't have it yet. howard, people are working feverishly right now pulling up multiple interviews with donald trump either defending bill clinton or insulting his alleged victims. how does -- how is this a

valuable bullet in the chamber when his own words are quite the opposite? >> well, he's been a public figure for decades and he's been all over the lot on virtually every issue. this one i think could hurt him because if he's going to now stand as the defender of aggrieved women, i mean he's -- he's got a lot of explaining to do given what he said in the past. >> is it a defender of aggrieved women or his words about bill clinton now -- >> right. >> -- versus today proves he's willing to say anything? >> oddly enough, people already know he's willing to say anything. and in a bizarre way, and we've not seen anything like this in politics, his -- the fact that he said everything on every topic in a strange way both makes it all noncredible, but makes it believable to his supporters. i know it sounds nuts, but that's the way he's perceived. >> jennifer, you had, for example, on "morning joe" the

panel there discussing the fact that it's not his supporters at this point he needs. he's got these people who are standing in the line in new mexico to see him. it's suburban women. it's people who are concerned about his temperament. he referred to ted cruz as lyin' ted. what does he call himself when you can look at the the washington post in 1997. he was on cnn defending bill clinton at the time saying i think he's terrific. 1998, nine days after clinton admitted to an inappropriate relationship with lewinsky he appeared with chris matthews where he praised clinton's handling of the economy and said he got bad advice on how to deal with his accusers. >> i think we're going to see it all from him and we've just gotten a peek where we're going. if we're in the gutter now by the time it's over we're going to be in some subterranean suer because there's nothing he won't say. when you said he brought up the

vincent foster theory, i thought next thing you know he's going to be talking about the grassy knoll, but he already did. he's gone there, he's gone to every place and he will. i think an indication of how well this is going to go is how hillary clinton responds to it. i actually think he's going to be much benefited by having a vp and let that person directly engage with him. she gave a speech at the seiu, the service workers union yesterday, which was actually very good and she mocked donald trump. she basically asked how do you lose money at a casino. she explained how many republicans are concerned about donald trump. and i think that's a very good place for her to be, pitching to the mainstream of the electorate, pitching to disaffected republicans, pitching still to her own base on program things.

>> but i should remind you marco rubio used the casino line as well on a debate stage saying how do you go bankrupt at a casino? >> either there's going -- i don't know how -- i don't quite know how you hold donald trump to account other than what we're doing right here on this show. >> but how do you defend when someone says you've murdered someone and you did not? >> as jennifer said, they're going as deep into the gutter as they can, and it's very, very deep, and they are just beginning. the fact to me what's interesting here is that the instagram ad that we're talking about was not put out -- in the old days some secondary group would do it. this is the trump campaign itself. donald trump is proudly getting down in the gutter on this. that is his brand. and he thinks he's justified in doing it. the demographic reason in their minds, having spoken with the people in trump tower, they

think that somehow they're going to appeal to some white suburban women by portraying bill clinton as an ogre and hillary as a defender of bill. that's their logic on it, whether it works or not, who knows. >> let me play this montage of what donald trump said in the '90s about the clintons. let's play it. >> let's talk about another 52-year-old, bill clinton. what's he need to do? >> well, i don't know. it's so embarrassing. and you really have to say where does it stop. i would have done something certainly different than what they did. that all started at -- paula jones is a loser, but the fact is that she may be responsible for bringing down a president indirectly. you know, that statement was a bad statement to have made, to have been made and it's proven to be false. >> which statement was that, i'm sorry? >> paula jones in the deposition. i'm not sure he should have taken the fifth amend and said i don't get along with this man star, he's a republican, he's this, he's that and taken the fifth amendment. it's a terrible thing for the president to take the fifth

amendment but he probably should have done it. i don't think he could have done any worse than what's happened. it's such an embarrassment to him. i see him walking around, it's like a terrible embarrass sglaent did you ever have a flicker when you were taking a shower or making up in the morning where you said donald trump, why don't you run for governor, why don't you run for president? >> people wanting me to all the time. >> what about you? >> i don't like it. can you imagine how controversial i'd be? how about me with the women? the best thing he has going is the fact the economy is doing great. they talked about the '80s were good, the '90s are better. the '90s are much better. >> so that's one interview but there have been many others where he specifically praises bill clinton and says that the meade yaz out to get him and he should not have been impeached. >> all i can say is the short attention span of the american public plays to donald trump's benefit. and instagram plays to his benefit and they're going to target every piece of sleaze they can find on the clintons.

they have just begun. >> i've got to go to breaking news. jennifer, thank you for joining us. howard as well. breaking news out of pennsylvania. let's go to janet shamlian. we've seen some people now leave the courtroom. janet, what's the latest there? >> reporter: hi, tamron. they're on a short break. we just heard from nbc's tom winter who's been in the courtroom. he is talking about the next witness up, which is the chief of the police department that took -- that talked with bill cosby as these allegations from andrea constand were being investigated. i'm reading from some notes that have just come through. they have to do with when cosby talked to andrea constand's mother and he admitted giving her pills of some sort to relax her. and kind of what transpired. according to bill cosby during that time. again, this is the next witness up, and i'm just reading notes that have just come into us here.

but a lot of this has to do with the fact that bill cosby told andrea constand's mother that there was no sexual intercourse involved during the interaction at bill cosby's house in 2006, but that he did admit giving her some medication and that he talked to andrea constand's mother several times. and this is continuing preliminary hearing to decide whether we will go forward with the trial here, tamron. we'll get more information as it comes. >> thank you. let me bring in ari here. some of this information, a lot of what was just read by janet shamlian has been reported before, bill cosby claiming that andrea constand had a headache and that's why he gave her this pill. some of the details involving the conversation with her mother after her mother confronted bill cosby regarding her daughter's demeanor and some of the allegations. why is this now being reread

again in court today? >> this is significant legally, tamron, because you can say anything out of court. you can say anything in a charging document. what we are now seeing is the prosecution commit to a beginning of a theory of the case. i'm also reading from tom winter's notes who just got out of the courtroom. they read the statement when cosby was asked so you never had sexual intercourse? and he replied, quote, never asleep or awake. you see there what you and i were discussing moments ago, the use of cosby's past statements here to paint a picture. the picture the prosecution is painting to be clear is one of a person who when asked about intercourse refers to the prospect of intercourse while asleep, which is not something that is normal and certainly not something that is legal if a sleep or comatose situation was perpetrated by the initiator of the sex act. that is what is at issue when

you look at assault charges related to drugging someone. they have just read into evidence meaning the prosecution is committing to it. they read a statement from cosby asked did and rea, the accuser, ever say stop. cosby stated she did after the second visit and he did stop. so what we're starting to see is the outlines of the different theories of the case. the prosecution basically showing just now they intend to use bill cosby's past statements whenever they can to suggest that he was someone who was talking about and open to using drugs, who was talking about the idea of having, quote unquote, intercourse with someone who's asleep and that at one point this woman, who the cosby attorneys may seek to discredit, bill cosby having previously said that he did hear her say stop. that is significant in a debate about consent. >> and let me go back to janet shamlian, she has some more information for us.

janet, what can you tell us? >> reporter: tamron, so nbc's tom winter is reporting that this is going to be the end of the witnesses for the prosecution and that the reason they have gone now into a 10-minute recess is so that the judge can determine whether she is going to permit cosby's attorneys to call one witness, one of the detectives for cosby. so they are not on a lunch break, she's just considering whether they'll have one witness for cosby's side and presumably after that there will be a decision on whether they will go forward with a trial. back to you. coming up, facebook announces some major changes to its trending topics section after denying allegations that it was suppressing conservative news. what these changes mean for any of you on facebook. we'll be right back. e*trade is all about seizing opportunity. and i'd like to... cut. thank you, we'll call you. evening, film noir, smoke, atmosphere... bob...

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the world. it supports programs that make a difference in children's lives, including feeding america's food banks in all 50 states. we went to a food bank of new jersey to see how they are helping kids who don't have enough to eat. >> good afternoon, good afternoon, how are you doing? >> at the community food bank of new jersey, they call james the cheerleader. >> hi, everybody. >> today he cheers on volunteers with an essential mission, keeping children from going hungry. >> these are for kids who come to school. the only time they get to eat is when they have a lunch or breakfast at school. then when they go home they don't really have nothing so imagine when they go home on fridays. >> 21 million schoolchildren qualify for free or reduced meals. for many of them, those meals at school are it, and weekends at home mean hunger. >> give me a rice. >> the task for these volunteers is simple, but meaningful. fill backpacks with food.

each will leave a school on a friday for a child and go home for a family who might otherwise go without. >> it's heart breaking. it's really heart breaking. in such a rich country it's very sad to think that there are people that don't have milk to give their babies or food to put on the table. >> this project holds special meaning. >> this program in particular is giving food to a family that doesn't have it. when i child goes home from school over the weekend, you don't want to see them come back on monday hungry. how can they focus and learn that they are starving. >> there are backpack programs like this one at 160 food banks across the country, feeding 450,000 children each week. >> okay, guys, keep up the good work. you're doing a good job. >> this packing day comes to a close, but for this food bank's cheerleader. >> you found a way to get five in? >> yeah. >> it's the knowledge that need can hit anyone anywhere that keeps him going. >> what if it's one of your

cousins or nieces or nephews but they're not letting you know they're hungry. even though you can probably help them but they're ashamed to tell you. come on in and help out. there could be somebody that's close to you but are just ashamed to tell you. >> joining me the co-creator of red nose day, richard curtis. thank you so much for your time. >> you're very welcome. >> how does it feel to be this close to the big celebration on thursday when we all come together for this great cause? >> well, it's exciting. we've sold millions and millions of knonoses and i think we've ga very good tv show. it's very funny but also very moving stuff about where the money goes, like all the hunger issues. it's just amazing to me that if you give $1, which is the price of a red nose, it actually will buy -- set off a scheme which gives 11 meals to kids, just extraordinary. >> and it is also extraordinary how the red nose day and your

idea and concept went from the u.k. to here and how it is important for you and the organizations to show people the money at work. it's one thing to maybe read a flier or read an article, you show people how it's working. >> yeah, exactly. we've got a great film of ludakris in atlanta and there's a boy who says when he's hungry he has to push his stomach in because that makes the hunger less intense. when he was there, he heard when they talk about christmas in that school, many of the kids are worried about the fact they won't have any food at christmas, more than they won't get enough presents at christmas. so yeah, we love to just show people really passionate things about where the money goes and then just try to make them laugh. we've got amazing stuff from everyone from sar sah silvermano the cast of "the walking dead." >> has this exceeded your expectations and dreams here, year two of red nose day in the

u.s.? >> i didn't know how many red noses we were going to sell. i can't announce the total, but we've sold millions upon millions. we're getting lots of fund-raising stuff going through so lots of businesses doing car washes and people are paying to come in dressed in red and cookie sales. i would encourage all your viewers, any way, whether it's by buying a nose or watching a show or doing a little event at work to do something because i still believe this extraordinary thing that $1 really can help a child whose life is tougher than we can imagine. >> we believe in this program and we believe in the efforts to help every child as we pointed out with the new jersey food bank so that they can have a meal and a safe place. thank you so much and congratulations again on this effort. >> you're very welcome. don't miss the show. the big thing is you hear all these things about poverty, you think you can't do anything about it, but you can and that's

what red nose day is for. >> and for more information on the red nose day go to rednoseday.org or feedingamerica.org and be sure to watch nbc this thursday, 9:00 p.m. eastern time, for our red nose day special. coming up, look at the changes coming to facebook's trending section to counter the charge of political bias. that's coming up next, the changes you will see. it was all. the surface pro is very intuitive. i can draw lightly, just like i would with a real pencil. i've been a forensic artist for over 30 years. i do the composite sketches which are the bad guy sketches. you need good resolution, powerful processor because the computer has to start thinking as fast as my brain does. i do this because i want my artwork to help people. real is touching a ray. amazing is moving like one.

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facebook is making changes to its trending topic section. the tech giant made na announcement after a backlash from the conservative view. that report prompted a u.s. congressional demand for more transparency. facebook responded denying any

bias. joining me now to talk about the changes is russell brandon, we know several conservative leaders met with mark zuckerberg if facebook say there is not a similar problem, how can they change something that was not a problem. if i am wording it right for you? >> it is tricky. yeah, the overall take away is kind of humans algorithm. i don't know if we should feel better or worse. one of the things to judge the importance of a story they were looking at the top, sort of the front page of what was leading the news at ten different news sites. some people thought there were not enough conservative reviews. they are not going to do that

now, we are not sure how they are going to but it is going to involve a more complicated algorithm that we don't know about. >> does it involve someone d giving the opportunity for st n someone and bias and of the natural human nature. >> we have seen algorithm that can exist. facebook according to their survey, it was surfacing different ideologideology. for me, this makes the most sense of the political move. there were a lot of conservative and politicians who were really mad at them. it seems at least for senator shawn, modifies it. >> you have the headline saying we are making some changes and

in a sense the formula remains the same? >> yeah, i don't think facebook users are going to notice any difference in their trending topic box. i don't think anyone will notice and have a different facebook experience as a result of what they're changing now. i think it is basically, the big difference is there was a pending congressional in query and now that seems like much less of a topic. >> facebook fans' lives remain the same until maybe other allegation or not. >> thank you very much, we appreciate it. >> that does it for this hour. i am tamron hall. up next, andrea mitchell is talking live with secretary robert mcdonald.

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the long conspiracy from th the '90s. along with continuing attacks on both clintons from bill clinton's past affair >> it is unfair and the dirty players, they have been dirty players historically. >> we need a president who'll use the poll to stand up for working president. the last thing we need is a bul bully. >> this flasheed back to what trump was saying back in 1988. >> i don't like it. how about me with a woman? >> money trouble, the governor of virginia, being investigated about a campaign donor. his connection to a clinton's

foundation he responds today. >> this is nothing that had to do with the clinton's foundation. i didn't bring the donor in. i am not sure if i met the person to be honest. >> cro >> crossing the line, as thousands of veterans are still waiting for va care. wa it was compared to like waiting in lines at disney >> what's your satisfaction with these experiences. the va secretary will be joining us exclusively here. i am andrea mitchell in los angeles. donald trump doubling down on his strategy of trying to make the clinton's scandal in