. >> who is that >> reporter: connor o'brien is like so many americans, struggling to take care of a father with alzheimer's. >> growing up he was the life of the party, you know, class clown. and now i just look at him he's my hero, and just cry >> reporter: after so many drug failures, now scientists have a promising new target, inflammation >> so this is what a healthy brain should look like but when there is inflammation and disease, the nerve cells are wiped out, decimated, just threads of them left >> reporter: dr. rudy tansy at massachusetts general hospital discovered inflammation kills millions of nerve cells, shutting down the area responsible for thinking and memory and he says there are things you can do now to fight inflammation >> so these life-style interventions, how do those help your brain prevent alzheimer's >> each one does something different. sleep clears out the brain exercise grows new nerve cells in the brain diet helps your bacteria in your gut to help your brain >> reporter: new studies suggest life-style changes can reduce the risk of alzheimer's by up to

. >> connor o'brien is a defense reporter for politico. he joins us for a look ahead at 2020eek ahead and the defense bill. remind us of what that means and why it is important. >> it is an authorization or policy bill. it does not spend any money, but it is one of the really big bills, one of the few major bills that passes congress reliably each year.

. >> connor o'brien

. >> connor o'brien is a defense reporter for politico. this is an authorization bill. remind us of what that means and why it is important. >> it is an authorization or policy that doesn't spend any money but it is one of the really big bills, one of the few major bills that passes congress reliably each year. it lays out what the defense budget should look like for the coming fiscal year, how big the military should be, how many fighters, troops, ships the military should have and the pay raise our troops get. that will be the center of this debate this coming week. the house armed services committee approved in committee after a 21-hour committee last month and we are looking at some spirited debate, i think, on the house floor. host: what are some of the key provisions you can tell us about in this year's bill? connor: sure. the highlights of the house version of the bill is it would authorize about 733 billion dollars for the pentagon across its budget for war operations as well as nuclear weapons programs. that is about $17 billion left -- less than what the admin