care's success. their state exchange in the bluegrass state. how can kentucky get it so right? how can they be so far ahead of the curve? what did they do that other states haven't done? proof that it does work and beyond. that'll be on monday night here on "the ed show." i'm ed shultz. of course "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. >> good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, americans feel the ax. republicans turn their backs. today for the first time in history, every single american who receives food stamps are seeing their benefits reduced. because funding from a 2009 measure is running out. 47 million americans who get these benefits are feeling the pain today. it's happening all over the country. >> absolutely vital particularly for an area like ours and the

economic situation we're in. >> i don't look at it as a dollar amount i'm losing, i'm looking at it as two gallons of milk, couple loaves of bread. >> it helps a lot. like, tremendously. usually just about takes us through the month. >> we definitely need it. we definitely use it all. you know, we -- you know, we have to eat. we're not eating better. >> these are people from all walks of life. about 21 million children live in households that count on food stamps. 900,000 military veterans count on food stamps. that's a group republicans never tire of pretending they care about. >> can't we all come together in a bipartisan matter and say we support our veterans? >> they should be able to take action to support our veterans. >> protect and honor america's

brave men and women in uniform. >> protect and honor the brave. republicans can start by not turning back their backs on veterans. and that's exactly what they're doing. where are they today? gone. instead of trying to fix the problem, house republicans who set the legislative calendar are taking a break. they'll be off all next week. while 47 million americans suffer, they'll be on vacation. they'll focus on slashing $40 billion more from food stamps when back to work. think about those priorities. they want to take food away from children and give breaks to wall street. but this isn't just about food stamps. it's paul ryan back with his old plan to cut social security and medicare. it's republican senator tom

coburn praise the devastating budget cuts that hit head start and other vital programs. it's about a philosophy that says if you're down on your luck, then you're out of luck. in the greatest country in the world. and the richest country in the world for a political party to govern like this is a shame. joining me now is congresswoman karen bass and "washington post" e.j. dionne. good to see you. congresswoman, 47 million americans suffering today, and your republican colleagues want to slash 40 billion more. how do you fight this? >> well, you know what? i'm happy to say that there is going to be a committee of both the house and the senate that's going to be meeting while we're on break. and hopefully they will come to some resolution. it's worse than just protecting wall street. you remember, rev, that when this was voted on, some of the

same republican members of the house voted for themselves to have farm subsidies to the tune of billions of dollars. i think it is tragic that the house wants to cut $40 billion more. now, one thing i'm comforted by is i know that will never get through the senate. so during this conference committee, i hope they come to a resolution. in my opinion, they shouldn't be making cuts to food stamps at all. but $40 billion is ridiculous. >> you know, e.j., rush limbaugh the real head of the republican party, he really shows the mentality of so many on the right. here he is today on food stamps. listen to this. >> it's as though these people can't even provide an m & m for themselves. the idea without food stamps people are going to starve. people are going to go without 21 meals this month because they have a $36 cut in their food stamp allotment?

>> now, you know e.j., limbaugh can't imagine that $36 would cut 21 meals. but here's the reality. on average s.n.a.p. benefits pay for $1.40 per meal. that's it. so a $36 reduction would mean losing about 25 meals. do the math. so, yes, rush. $1.40 a meal, try living on that. why do so many on the right demonize people who are poor, e.j.? >> did you notice that term "these people." what does he mean by "these people"? these people include a whole lot of americans who work really hard for a living. if you want to cut food stamps, the best way to do it is raise the minimum wage so people would have more take-home pay in their pockets. the average household gets $281 a year in food stamps.

that's less than $3400 a year. the average individual gets $133 a year. that's less than $1600 a year. does limbaugh really think this is enormous amounts of money? he gets a lot more than that, i bet, if he has a mortgage deduction. this is not a very generous program. it's just helping people get by. >> you know, congresswoman, the issue is really bigger than just food stamps. look at the priorities of the republicans. they really haven't changed. they're fighting to cut social security and medicaid. they want more means testing for medicare. they love to keep the sequester cuts which hit things like head start and meals on wheels. and on the flip side, they want lower taxes for the rich, subsidies for all companies, and they want to gut wall street reform. these are some real weird priorities for people that claim

they love america and love the american people. >> and don't forget to add in that they don't want people to have health care. >> that's near the top of the list. >> exactly. i do think it's sad. but it really does reflect an underlying philosophy. and that is the survival of the fittest. and so we don't want to put a hand out to help folks. if you can't make it, then you're out of luck. but when we're talking about food stamps just like you showed at the beginning of the segment is there's a lot of veterans on food stamps. are they saying that they're just sitting around waiting to have a government handout? i think it's a real double standard. and it's a very sad way that the republican party has developed. you know, in addition to cutting, they also want to add on crazy restrictions like you have to have drug testing and you have to work ignoring the

fact that a huge percentage if not the majority of people who are on food stamp dos work. they just don't make enough of a living to feed themselves completely. >> and it is that attitude, e.j., it is the disdain for people that is really, really troubling to me. it's one thing to deal with policy, but it's a disdain for low income americans that come from all of the pundits and speakers for the right. listen to this. >> self reliance means if anyone shall not work, neither shall he eat. >> really poor children in poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who works. they have no habit of i do this and you give me cash. unless it's illegal. >> teach a man how to fish, he can feed himself for a life. don't simply feed fish. >> everybody out of work is eating. they've got big screen tv,

probably have a car, probably have a cell phone. >> my contention is that the obama administration is encouraging parasites to come out and, you know, take as much as they can with no remorse. >> now, we can debate economic policy. we can debate how you aid those low income americans. but the disdain, the almost demonizing and denigrating of people because of the economic status, that to me is inexcusable, e.j. >> i think so too. they're acting as if all these folks have mansions right next door to donald trump on public benefits. they act as if all these folks don't want to work. one of the insidious things in the house bill is that they say they have a work requirement. but that's not a real work requirement, because states can cut people even if they're unemployed, even if they're looking for work, even if they can't find jobs that they want to take. and the state is under no

obligation to help them. that's not a work requirement. that's just punishing people because the unemployment rate is high. and so it's crazy to talk this way about our fellow citizens and i agree with you. i think it's wrong. >> congresswoman, but there is some good news in all of this. because some republicans might be seeing reality. some are slamming this war against the poor. the president of a major conservative think tank says, quote, one of the things in my view that we get wrong is this war against the social safety net which is just insane. and earlier this week gop governor kasich said, quote, i'm concerned about the fact there seems to be a war on the poor. so there seems to be a little crack of light in the middle of this wall that seems inflexible against working class people. >> you know, i do think that that's a hopeful sign.

at the end of the day, we need the republicans to take their party back away from the extremis extremists. and it's also part of the reality. the sad thing is it's not like there's not poor people in their districts. because each one of the republicans that vote this way around food stamps that want to do these devastating cuts, they have tens of thousands of poor people in their district. now, it puts the -- >> many of whom work every day. many are working people. >> and they're also people we need to go out and register so we can correct this next november. >> congresswoman karen bass, i'm going to have to leave it there. e.j. dionne, thank you for your time tonight as well. both of you have a great weekend. >> you too, reverend. coming up, inside the republican plan to sabotage health care for 30 million americans. and developing news, ted cruz responds to his father's birther comments about president obama. plus, what is mitt romney

saying about chris christie's weight? and this atlanta city police beating caught on tape. now one officer is blowing the whistle. >> somebody that would do this shouldn't have a gun and a badge. cowards. >> stay with us. [ grunts softly ]

[ ding ] i sense you've overpacked, your stomach. try pepto to-go. it's pepto-bismol that fits in your pocket. relief can be yours, but your peanuts... are mine. ♪ but, dad, you've got... [ voice of dennis ] allstate. with accident forgiveness, they guarantee your rates won't go up just because of an accident. smart kid. [ voice of dennis ] indeed. are you in good hands?

have you joined the "politicsnation" conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. tonight everyone was talking about this graphic showing that the republicans have been saying the deficit has been sinking during president obama's leadership.

barbara says our debt was inherited. and peggy says the gop and tea party don't believe in facts. they continue to make up their own. do you know someone who needs some help with the facts? we've got this posted on our facebook page for you to share with your friends. head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. r parking. that's remarkable that so much energy is, is wasted. streetline has looked at the problem of parking, which has not been looked at for the last 30, 40 years, we wanted to rethink that whole industry, so we go and put out these sensors in each parking spot and then there's a mesh network that takes this information sends it over the internet so you can go find exactly where those open parking spots are.

the collaboration with citi was important for providing us the necessary financing; allow this small start-up to go provide a service to municipalities. citi has been an incredible source of advice, how to engage with municipalities, how to structure deals, and as we think about internationally, citi is there every step of the way. so the end result is you reduce congestion, you reduce pollution and you provide a service to merchants, and that certainly is huge. senator rand paul has a big

problem. on monday rachel maddow uncovered the fact that he apparently lifted part of his speech that he delivered last weekend directly from wikipedia. on tuesday buzz feed found he'd done it before. and then rachel discovered a third instance. rand paul tried his best to defend these speeches, but it doesn't end there. politico uncovered more instances of borrowed language by senator paul. it turns out wikipedia isn't his only ones. his response to the state of the union, his remarks had the exact same words from the associated press. and he makes only minimal changes in his delivery. >> under president obama the ranks of america's poor have swelled to almost one in six

people. we are now at an all time high in long-term unemployment. millions of americans are struggling and out of work. >> that looks pretty similar to me. and in a speech that paul gave at howard university earlier this year, politico says he borrows language from the conservative magazine citizen link to tell a story about d.c. student named ronald holisi. >> he was failing most of his class. through school choice he was able to attend a catholic school here in d.c. there he learned that he had a natural gift for composing music. before that he wasn't even reading. >> rand paul has a lot of explaining to do. -- something this trivial.

going forward he will be more cautious in presenting and attributing sources. he'll be more cautious. what? what he needs to do is be more honest. this is serious business. in the past accusations had destroyed political careers and ended presidential campaigns. senator paul, did you think we wouldn't notice how you tried to cut and paste the truth? nice try, but you can't hit the backspace because we got you. ♪ love...

in the nation, what's precious to you is precious to us. ♪ love is strange so when coverage really counts, count on nationwide insurance. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ with my united mileageplus explorer card. i've saved $75 in checked bag fees. [ delavane ] priority boarding is really important to us. you can just get on the plane and relax. [ julian ] having a card that doesn't charge you foreign transaction fees saves me a ton of money. [ delavane ] we can go to any country and spend money the way we would in the u.s. when i spend money on this card, i can see brazil in my future. [ anthony ] i use the explorer card to earn miles in order to go visit my family, which means a lot to me. ♪ mom? come in here. come in where? welcome to my mom cave. wow. sit down.

you need some campbell's chunky soup before today's big game, new chunky cheeseburger. mmm. i love cheeseburgers. i know you do. when did you get this place? when i negotiated your new contract, it was part of the deal. cool. [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.

this week the gop feigned interest in making the affordable care act work. but let's be clear. all this glitch hunt hearings on capitol hill were a sham, an act. there has been an obama care sabotage campaign from day one.

politico writes the opposition was strategic from the start. derail president barack obama's biggest ambition and derail obama himself. that's what this has always been about. derailing the president himself. and like everything else with this president, the right wing isn't attacking on substance. it's attacking out of hatred for the president. >> the president believes that his vision for america including health care for all is more noble than any truthful statement. and so he justifies his actions even if deceit is involved. >> deceit? the president was trying to deceive america by fighting for affordable health care? and here's rush limbaugh today. >> richard nixon resigned over a

lie nowhere near this big. and you know the hell of it is obama doesn't think he lied. >> comparing a health care rollout to watergate? that's a joke. just like the gop's phony interest in affordable health care. joining me now is congressman jim mcdermott, democrat from washington. thanks for coming on the show tonight. >> good to see you, al. >> congressman, sabotaging, relentless attacks on this president. what is going on here? >> al, you know, they started from the day after the election. i mean, obama was just elected by a huge majority and they didn't take it. they didn't think it meant anything. they started immediately to do so nothing and for the last year they have done absolutely nothing to make the obama care

work with any help from the republicans. anything that happened came out of the white house or out of the senate. and the republicans have done nothing but drag their feet. there are all sorts of things they could have done to make it work better. governors all over the country sat on their hands. legislatures, reforms, exchanges, everything possible was done to make it fail. and right up until the very last minute, they shut the government down to they could have the final act with coming online with the program that government wouldn't be functioning. it was a massive propaganda stunt. >> now, today senator ted cruz argued that the affordable care act hurts the poor. listen to this. >> under president obama right now, the top 1% earn a higher share of u.s. income than at any time since 1928. the people who are being hurt under the obama economy are young people, are hispanics,

african-americans, single moms. those who are struggling to climb the economic ladder. those are the ones losing their health care. >> now, how is senator cruz who's getting his own health insurance from goldman sachs acting like a populist? i mean, how is this go to wash? >> it simply isn't going to fly. the people will see through it. he's saying that there are people who don't have health care and he starts crying. if those aren't crocodile tears, i don't know what are. this guy has no feeling for those people or he would have stopped his effort to destroy it and make it work. i talked to bill frist some months ago. he was a former leader of the republicans. he said, jim, we should stop trying to repeal it and fix it. make it work. but cruz has none of that in him at all. it's all crocodile tears. >> and there's this relentless

attack of misinformation about the law by the right wing media. watch this. >> there's too much health insurance. it covers too much. too many people have it. >> the government deciding who will live, who will die. you're too old, you're too young. >> is that what this plan is about by saving money by telling who to kill people? >> putting you at risk of losing insurance is a bit of hot air, in my opinion. >> it's not insurance. it's welfare. buy your own birth control pill. buy your own breast pump. that's not a health issue. >> it's amazing. and they try to pretend that they want to make the health care -- affordable care act work. do they think we forgot they tried to repeal it 46 times? >> every time we turned around in the congress in the last year, they were bringing another forward to repeal obama care.

they simply do not care about people. this is really a war on the poor. and this is one of the things that is the most difficult for the people at the lower end of the economic schedule to deal with. that is an illness or an injury. you could be wiped out for the rest of your life. it's why it's the number one cause of bankruptcy. and they do absolutely nothing. they say, oh, well, we should repeal it. and do what? they have never put anything on the table to replace it. not a single proposal in a year while they tried to repeal it 46 times. >> congressman jim mcdermott, thanks for your time this evening. >> we'll see you. ahead, investigating the alliance between the fundamentalist christians and the tea party. and ted cruz and his father are right in the middle of it. that's next. ♪

screech ] ♪ [ male announcer ] 1.21 gigawatts. today, that's easy. ge is revolutionizing power. supercharging turbines with advanced hardware and innovative software. using data predictively to help power entire cities. so the turbines of today... will power us all... into the future. ♪ the end. lovely read susan. but isn't it time to turn the page on your cup of joe? gevalia, or a cup of johan, is like losing yourself in a great book. may i read something? yes, please. of course. a rich, never bitter taste cup after cup. net weight 340 grams. [ sighs ] [ chuckles ] [ announcer ] always rich, never bitter.

gevalia. i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more sinus symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is. became big business overnight? ♪ like, really big... then expanded? ♪ or their new product tanked? ♪ or not? what if they embrace new technology instead? ♪ imagine a company's future with the future of trading. company profile. a research tool on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade.

wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. the end of trial and error has arrived. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it does make a sound? ohhh...ohhh...oh boy! i'm falling. everybody look out! ahhhhh...ugh. little help here. geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know.

anybody? we have our work cut out for us. we need to send barack obama back to chicago. i'd like to send him back to kenya, back to indonesia. >> the father of senator ted cruz rafael cruz making a birther comment at a tea party rally last year. we showed you that video last night. highlighting the extremism on the far right. evangelical wing of the gop is way over there. but if you try to look at that video today, you got this instead instead. the video apparently blocked from the public to see. somebody didn't like it we

showed it. it's already out there. here's a newly uncovered video that you haven't seen yet. showing rafael cruz talking about obama care. >> obama care is going to destroy the elderly by denying care, by even perhaps denying treatment on people that are in catastrophic sicknesses. >> obama care is going to destroy the elderly? this extremism has been fully embraced by rafael's son, senator cruz. next week he's heading to south carolina to speak at a religious right conference. he'll share the stage with radical evangelicals who have made some stunning claims about america under president obama. just listen. >> in this election we tipped western civilization. it's going to be different.

absolutely different. the christian value system. the christian view of man will be replaced. >> obama's been using the bully pulpit to advance islam. >> so here we are, kill 60 million babies, red ink as far as the eye can see, homosexuals praying at the inauguration. if we get mercy, i think the process of mercy looks like probably car bombs in los angeles, washington, d.c., and des moines, iowa. >> this stuff is far outside the mainstream. but every person you just heard is an organizer or featured speaker at the same event with ted cruz. this problem is much bigger than the cruz family. it extends deep into the underside of right wing politics. it isn't about faith of politics. it's about paranoia and hate. joining me now is michael keegan

his right wing watch blog tracks this extremist red rik. and frank schaffer. he's shore of the book "and good said, billy." thank you both for joining me. >> thanks for having us. >> this is really rough stuff. but not unfamiliar to you. what is this really about? >> well, listen, you know, we've talked about this before. you're one of the only in the mainstream media that gets it. the fact is america does not have a right wing political problem. america has a right wing religion problem. and when they talk about losing our heritage and all the rest of it, this is a kind of religious delusion i talk about in my book "and god said, billy" which might as well be a biography of the cruz family. we've got to stop being so

polite. we kind of dance around it and we don't say something very obvious. and that is the obama sabotage campaign has been driven by one group and one group only in this country. and that is white predominantly southern evangelicals who have a chip on their shoulder because he's black, because he's liberal, because he's come passionate and humane. he doesn't go along with their war on the poor, their war on women, their war on gay people. and they have it in for him. not for political reasons. they have it in for him because he doesn't fit in with their right wing agenda that comes straight out of their interpretation of the bible. the religious delusion i talk about in the book. that's it. that's the story and that's what the media has not been reporting. >> you know, michael, how do these extremists -- i'm talking about the evangelicals frank were referring to. how are they connected to the politicians? >> well, it's interesting just a

few years ago a conservative politician would not have gone anywhere near any of these crazy people. now they seek them out. they go to the conferences and you often find -- and that's why we track it on right wing watch is that you often find that what some crazy person says on a radio show just a few hours later is coming out the mouths of politicians. ted and rafael cruz are a great example. but they're just the tip of the iceberg. and they're all flocking to these people for their advice and their counsel and to be seen with them and photographed with them. they identify with them. >> do they, frank, know that these people are way out there and if so what is the appeal? why would you want to be out with people so extreme? >> well, look. the problem the republican party has is that a fringe has taken over, the tea party. and a fringe has take b over through the tea party. if it weren't for the jer

gerrmandered states, these guys would be a footnote that would not show up. they'd be like the village idiot howling at the moon on the street. the problem is they've taken over one of our political parties. and i fault the media and the evangelical, quote, respectable leaders like billy graham whose son is one of these right wing crazy leaders. and i fault the people who are supposedly responsible for not speaking out. where is the evangelical mainstream leadership saying ted cruz and his dad are nuts. they don't represent us. where are the people talking about the apocalyptic fantasies that jesus will come back so health care reform, politics doesn't matter on one hand. on the other hand they don't like the black man in the white house. they'll do everything to sabotage them. there's no logic to what these people are doing. it's about religious delusion and extremism. it is not about politics and the kind of people i knew back in the '70s and '80s when i was

working in the republican party, i'm not anymore thank god, but when i was people like jack kemp and bob dole who were friends of mine would be shocked at these guys and would have nothing to do with them. they'd get primaried. they could not run in these parties. these are religious fanatics. these are not politicians. >> you know, when he talks about evangelicals and talks about how far out they are, let me play for you an interview from an evangelical radio show that aired yesterday. just listen to how the host and guest talk about president obama. >> obama is a leader of a massive cult himself. he's the leader of the cult and the cult is islam. >> is barack obama leading america to a cultural suicide? >> oh, yes. >> i mean, a cultural jonestown massacre? >> yes. >> now, this was uncovered by

your right wing watch. this is scary stuff that's being put out over the airwaves. but like frank says, no adults in the republican party or on the right are denouncing these kinds of statements. >> to add what frank was saying, i think their strategy is unfortunately this is what appeals to voters in the primaries. we're going to see next week a good example of that in virginia. ken cuccinelli who is a real extremist. he's the attorney general for the tea party, got the nomination for governor and now we'll see what the voters say. i think you're going to find people in virginia and all across the country are sick of it. but it works in the primaries and doesn't work in the general elections. and this is just the tip of the iceberg. some of the stuff you're saying. i feel sorry for people that have to listen to this on our

right wing watch every day. but every day there's a constant reminder that these people are extremists. some of the things you couldn't even believe. it'd be funny if it wasn't so scary. >> he's right. it is so much out there. yesterday a right wing radio host brian fisher tweeted this. we need a christian president in 2016 who will invite christian clergy to exorcise the white house. and this summer a web host actually prayed, prayed to get rid of the demon of tyranny in the white house. listen to this. >> we pray against the domestic enemies of the constitution, against this demon of tyranny who is using the white house occupant. that demonic spirit is oppressing us. >> now, that host is actually running as a republican in a seat for the colorado state house, frank. >> well, you know, reverend al,

there's no way to overstate this. once you let the spirit of religious fanaticism loss. if you disagree with me, you're evil. it's no longer policy. what i write about is the textbook that describes these people. it's delusion. what a shame on our country that these reyesist delusion nar republicans calling themselves christians. and i am a christian so i resent people that call themselves christian that are diluted religious racists. i'm tired of it. you're tired of it. every reasonable american is tired of it. i just pray to god that gerrymandering or not, we can toss these people out and get this country back at least to a sane middle ground. >> well, we're going to have to keep exposing it. powerful stuff. we're going to stay on top of

it. frank schaffer, michael keegan, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. coming up, mitt romney talking about chris christie's weight? trust me, you'll want to hear this. and a police beating in atlantic city has one officer revealing what he calls a culture of thuggism. >> shattered eye sockets. it's wrong, man. it's wrong. >> the victim's parents and lawyer join me ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] welcome back all the sweet things your family loves with 0-calorie monk fruit in the raw. ♪ welcome back [ male announcer ] it's made with the natural, vine-ripened sweetness of fruit, so you can serve up deliciously sweet treats without all the sugar. so let no drink go unsweetened. no spatula un-licked. and no last bit un-sipped. you don't have to throw a party, but you'll probably feel like celebrating.

raw natural sweetness, raw natural success. but you'll probably feel like celebrating. cashback concierge, here. what is a cashback concierge? well there's lots of ways you can get cash back. i'm here to help you get the most out of your cash rewards. it's personalized, and it's free. i want that. we have a concierge! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with cashback concierge. man: [ laughs ] those look like baby steps now. but they were some pretty good moves. and the best move of all? having the right partner at my side. it's so much better that way. ♪ [ male announcer ] take the next step. consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, it helps pay expenses that medicare doesn't cover and lets you choose or keep any doctor who accepts medicare patients.

call or go online and request your free decision guide. use this guide to help you choose from a range of aarp medicare supplement insurance plans. have the right partner at your side. consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. go long. you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommended gaviscon®. only gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps block stomach acid from splashing up- relieving the pain quickly. try fast, long lasting gaviscon®. who gets the allstate safe driving bonus check. rock beats scissors! [ chuckles ] wife beats rock. and with two checks a year, everyone wins. [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call 866-906-8500 now. [ dennis ] zach really loves his new camera. problem is...this isn't zach. it's a friend of a friend who was at zach's party and stole his camera. but zach's got it covered... with allstate renters insurance.

[ female announcer ] protect your valuables for as low as $4 a month when you add renters insurance to your allstate auto policy. call 866-906-8500 now. what are you doing? we're switching car insurance. why? because these guys are the cheapest. why? good question. because a cut-rate price could mean cut-rate protection. you should listen to this guy. [ female announcer ] with allstate you get great protection and a great price, plus an agent! drivers who switched saved an average of $498 a year. call now and see how much you can save. just a few more ways allstate is changing car insurance for good. [ female announcer ] call an allstate agent and get a quote now.

now a troubling story of police brutality out of atlantic city. this past june 20-year-old david connor cosolani was kicked out of a casino for being underage. what happened next was caught on surveillance tape. it shows police officers tackling david to the ground and hitting him with their clubs and knees. then a k-9 dog unit rolls up. the police released the dog on him. you can see the dog biting his neck and dragging him to the curb. david needed more than 200 stitches. his family says he sustained permanent injuries. the police are investigating.

nbc's philadelphia affiliate wcau first broke the story and an atlantic city police officer who wished to remain anonymous told investigative reporter harry hairston that the cops are just hiding behind their badges. >> some of them wouldn't do this if they didn't have a gun and a badge. cowards. i just think about kids. shattered eye sockets. dog bites. it's wrong, man. it's wrong. >> joining me now are david's parents david and terry cosolani and his lawyer. thank you all for being here. first of all, david, how is your son? >> well, he's in school. he's back in school. however, he's not doing well at all. in addition to the physical injuries, he's suffering every day.

nightmares, anxiety. and the stress of these false criminal charges that have been filed against him. >> they filed charges against him? >> yes. >> charging him with what? getting bitten? >> actually they charged him with aggravated assault of the police officers and assault of the dog. aggravated assault of this dog plus disorderly. >> wait a minute. they charged him with assaulting the dog? >> correct. >> yes. >> the dog that we saw on the tape biting him. >> yes. >> almost killed him. >> he has to go to court and trial on this? >> yes, he does. >> we have to prosecute it. they have to do the right thing. we're confident they will. we're confident hopefully that the prosecutor will seek justice against these officers and charge them. these are the one who is need to be charged criminalally. >> now, wheaton who is the officer involved. he had complaints against him between 2008 and 2011.

he was the subject of 21 civilian complaints of misconduct. 15 of which were related to excessive force or assault, jennifer. >> that's right. >> some of the complaints was brutally beat and restrained. another alleges he threw him down a flight of stairs and punched him. and another alleged the officer grabbed, punched, and restrained him at a casino. all of which wheaton, the officer in your client's case was involved. >> that's right. one of the most troubling aspects of this case is there is no internal affairs process that works in atlantic city. it is a sham. there have been numerous internal affairs complaints, civilian complaints against this one officer over a period of time. and none of them, not one have been sustained. he's been exonerated or not sustained in every one. and it's just not possible. >> you know, david, teri, what did you think whin you saw this

video? >> completely horrified. completely shocked. never saw anything like this in our lives let alone with our own son being the victim of this police brutality. >> you brought me still photos here. what did you think when you saw your son in this condition and saw the video? >> it's an absolute nightmare. it's unbelievable. >> you're regular citizens. i mean, respect the police. and there's no -- i mean, you don't look to me to be any wide eyed radicals looking to start something with police. and the injuries are real clear. how do people reconcile, people that you pay and you respect to uphold the law and you end up with a situation like this that you just can't explain. >> reverend, i don't know how you can reconcile it. you look at the police department, police officers to protect and serve. you don't look to them to be fearful. you go to atlantic city. you don't want to have to fear the police department, the very people who are there to protect

you. i mean, it's an outrage. >> and this has been going on in the community for quite some time. david connor castellani has resources. he's a young white man. he's been able to bring a voice to a lot of the community that has been terrorized by the police department for years and years. i have been called -- i've refed so many calls since this incident happened. people from the african-american community, people who have been margin alize marginalized. they are thankful there's somebody out there to bring a voice for them. because no one's listening to them. >> an anonymous atlantic city police officer who came forward thinks the problem runs very deep. watch this. >> i honestly feel as though in the atlantic city police department there is an

undercurrent of discrimination, there's an undercurrent of thuggism. >> undercurrent of discrimination and thuggism. unbelievable. and this is a police officer saying this. >> it's incredible. that's been what my experience has been. i've been receiving calls from mothers, from victims. i have one fellow i'm going to be representing who had two k-9 dogs released on him. he said it felt like mobile, alabama, in the 1950s. that's what he felt. >> i think the thing that is most upsetting to me, terri, and i've been involved many years in police cases, is the dogs. i mean, to sick a dog on your son. >> a helpless person. >> a helpless person. he's handcuffed while the dog is on him. this does smack as something out of the deep south. then charging him for assault of the dog. >> i've been getting numerous calls, numerous e-mails myself.

every time an atlantic city police officer beats someone up, brutalizes them, you see the same things. aggravated assault against the police officer, resisting arrest, objection of justice. >> disorderly conduct. >> it's their m.o. >> what is it that you would like to see happen as the mother of this young man? >> i just think of all the mothers, that their sons are out there that didn't have a videotape, that didn't have the means to get somebody to help them. now they're charged. they have nothing to do. they're charged and their lives are over and destroyed. >> david and teri castellani, we are going to be following this case. >> thank you. >> we wish your son a full recovery. thank you for being on tonight. as i said, atlantic city police say they're investigating this incident. we'll stay on this story. we'll be right back.

for your loss. still doesn't feel real. our time together was... so short. well, since you had progressive's total loss coverage, we were able to replace your totaled bike with a brand-new one. the tank, the exhaust... well, she looks just like roxy! you know, i'll bet she's in a better place now. i'm sure she is. [ ethereal music plays ] [ motorcycle revving ] getting you back on a brand-new bike. now, that's progressive.

almost a year to the day since his shellacking -- according to to a new book, the code name for this supersecret mission was project goldfish. so what was governor christie's code name? well, it was pufferfish. yes.

puff pufferfish. as in this pufferfish. a fish that blows up like a balloon. known to be called the fat fish. but no way mitt romney would be so rude as to compare governor christie, a guy who endorsed him, to a fat fish, right? well, reportedly christie's weight was a real issue. quote, romney marvelled at christie's girth, his difficulties in making his way down the narrow aisles of the campaign bus, watching a video of christie without his suit jacket on romney cackled to his aides, guys, look at that. wow. how's that for a friend? i don't think governor christie would be too happy to see willard romney again. over the next 40 years

the united states population is going to grow by over 90 million people, and almost all that growth is going to be in cities. what's the healthiest and best way for them to grow so that they really become cauldrons of prosperity and cities of opportunity? what we have found is that if that family is moved into safe, clean affordable housing, places that have access to great school systems, access to jobs and multiple transportation modes then the neighborhood begins to thrive and then really really take off. the oxygen of community redevelopment is financing. and all this rebuilding that happened could not have happened without organizations like citi. citi has formed a partnership with our company so that we can take all the lessons

from the revitalization of urban america to other cities. so we are now working in chicago and in washington, dc and newark. it's amazing how important safe, affordable housing is to the future of our society. out for drinks, eats. i have very well fitting dentures. i like to eat a lot of fruits. love them all. the seal i get with the super poligrip free keeps the seeds from getting up underneath. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. a lot of things going on in my life and the last thing i want to be thinking about is my dentures. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. finally tonight, first dog bo makes news. we've seen him with the first