god bless mitch landrieu. he did the right thing.hey're not going to take the statue down in jackson park. caller: no. there were four statues that were brought up to the city council. on,statues that were voted the only statues that will come down are the ones that are already down. are not talking about andrew jackson or anybody else. the ones that were planned on coming down are down. to let everybody know we love everybody here. orleansgelo from new asking about the removal of confederate statues in particular in new orleans. your thoughts, do you support or oppose that. the government of alabama signing legislation that would from the removal of statues over 40 years old, in effect grandfathering confederate statuary across the state in alabama. allensenator gerald lending his support, saying i appreciate the governor standing up for thoughtful presentation of the governor's history. the memorial preservation act is all ofd to preserve alabama's history so our children and grandchildren can learn from the past. caller: good morn

juan: i want to ask about the who hasnt governor asked mitch landrieu to turn over the confederate monuments to his office. he met with landrieu, but city officials said the state would have to submit their proposals for acquiring the monuments along with any other interested groups. this is the lieutenant governor speaking on monday. >> i just want to do the right thing with them. i think driving this thing out is that helping tourism. it is not helping the city. it is truly not helping the state. i think the people are passionate about preserving wantry, are those people to feel comfortable they're going to not sit in a yard somewhere or not be put back up where visitors from all over the world can come see the history of louisiana. and that is what we are for. juan: your response? >> well, billy none gets her is a white supremacists, believes in white supremacy. we don't take seriously his argument that tourists come to new orleans to brave themselves -- bathe themselves in white supremacy. they come to enjoy the food, coulter, and very few people come here out of any love or desire to le

as the final statue came down, mayor mitch landrieu spoke about why h believed it was time for them toeechiew and read by hundreds of thousands across the country it went viral as a text. the mayor offered a look at race relations as far as he would use it in his city. >> another friend asked me to consider the four monults from the perspective of an african american mother or father trying to explain why robert e. lee sat on top of our city. can you do it? can you do it? can you look into the eyes of this young girl and convince her that robert e. lee is there to encourage her? >> the move was not without protests. the first three were removed because of death threats of crews doing the work. i spoke to the mayor and began by asking why this was an important speech for him to give at this moment. >> really it was a speech to the people of new orleans. we are getting ready to celebrate our 300th anniversary and coming off of the worst man-made natural disaster that any city has gone through. as we began preparing for the anniversary, i began asking the people of the city of new orleans

we will start with the actions of a few as mayor, mitch landrieu of new orleans.wing through on his effort to remove confederate statues from that city over the last and addressing city residents in a speech and we hope to show you some of this hour as well on the reasoning behind his decision to remove confederate statues from the

. >> also new today, new orleans mayor mitch landrieu pushing back against critics against the removal of several monuments. >> the monuments that were in place were really are signs of oppression for 67% of my cit that isorced to walk by them. and i found that mally offensive, so it didn't make any sense. this didn't have anything to do with politics. what a silly thing for a politician in the south to do something he knows most people disagree with. >> thank you for being with us. ozzie, let's start with you. reuters is reporting that jared kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the russian ambassador, sergey kislyak. how damaging is that, if it is true.? >> it can be very damaging, not disclosing contact especially when asked about it could have impacts on his national security clearance and b, as you say, the questions about russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential elections is a question that is only perpetuating and continue to go grow. the white house is establishing now a sort of war room to deal with this and have previously, those questions had i

new orleans mayor mitch landrieu: >> these monuments celebrate a fictional, sanitized confederacy, ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement. >> reporter: the statue of lee is the first one to come down in broad daylight. under the cover of darkness, workers removed the stat fiewrs confederate president jefferson davis, general p.g.t beauregard, and the liberty monument because police say there were threats made against the crews. >> if we take down these statues and don't change to become a more open and inclusive society, then all of this would have been in vain. >> reporter: protests erupted in new orleans when the city decided to remove the monuments. both sides argued over whether these monuments celebrated racism or southern heritage. dr. maria ortiz with the southern christian leadership council worked for 44 years to bring the monuments down. >> i would point up there and i would say, "you devil. you coming down one day." i thought was oppression and what my grandmother, sweating blood. >> reporter: businessman frank stewart thinks the stat use should remain. >> i really don't th

but new orleans mayor mitch landrieu says he's not backing down. >> the removal of these statues sends clear message, an unequivocal message to the people of new orleans and the people of our nation that new orleans celebrates diversity. >> reporter: mayor landrieu says they're using private funding to bring these statues down, and eventually, they'll be placed in a museum. >>> the legendary rock band, the eagles, aren't recording together but they will set aside their differences to kick off a world tour next month. they've also come together to sue a mexican hotel that's been calling itself hotel california, that was the name of their grammy winning album from 1976. they insist they have a trademark on the hotel. we report from the beverly hills hotel which was the real inspiration of the tune. >> reporter: this is the cover for the album, but when the mexican state of baja had its own hotel california, the eagles swooped right in with a lawsuit. ♪ welcome to the hotel california ♪ >> reporter: there's plenty of room at the hotel california, but not apparently if you're misleading co

mayor mitch landrieu is planning a major speech this afternoon to explain his reasoning behind why thetatue is coming down. you can expect demonstrations on both sides of the issue. we will let you know as it happens. autria: thank you, sam. happy spring. how about a little snow? people in colorado dealing with heavy snow. some are actually enjoying it. it all came down in denver yesterday. the snow is so deep that one fire department is using an old military vehicle to get around. by the way, we checked and this time next week it should be 80 degrees there. if you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes. veronica: it is the flip side of our pattern here. things are going to flatten out across the ease. we are not talking that cold. more seasonable weather for us, late may. few more showers and storms. for the weekend, we could have some spotty showers. a big change, though, from what today is going to feel like an this weekend. he go from temperatures in the 90's to the 70's for the weekend. -- we go from temperatures in the 90's. spotty anytime. a little shower coming through. for th

then there's my conversation with mitch landrieu.oving four confederate era statues. this is a divisive move to many southerners. what do you say to they will? this has become more polarized. >> first of all, i didn't start the civil war and i didn't start the racial divide that this country has had. i simply recognize for the people that we still have it and that the monuments in place were really signs of oppression for 67% of my city that is forced to walk by them. and i found morally offensive. so it didn't make any sense. there didn't have anything to do with politics. >> you'll be able to see a lot more of that on sunday. "meet the press." but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. with it, i earn unlimited 2% cash back on all of my purchasing. and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... which adds fuel to my bottom line. what's in your wallet? i hafor my belly painking overand constipation.ucts i'

. >> new orleans governor mitch landrieu talking about why he removed statues in his own city.lawmakers moved to protect their confederate past. kay ivy signed a bill making it illegal to remove monuments more than 40 years old. the bill's sponsor defended that move saying the alabama memorial preservation act is designed to preserve all acts of our history. condoleezza rice stating, "destroying our history, including its most painful parts, does a disservice to future generations wishing to study it." hank sanders opposes the new law. he joins me now from montgomery. how do you respond here -- and thank you for joining us here today. >> thank you. >> how do you respond to what condoleezza rice and matt butler are saying? >> well, first, let me say that monuments are not history. monuments are symbols of how somebody feels about history. we're not destroying any history. the history is history and remains the history. that's simply about a monument that's about how somebody feels about something or somebody that happened in history and it's a symbol. it doesn't destroy history.

morning, the third of four such monuments ordered to be removed by the city council and mayor mitch landrieu. white nationalists had staged a series o of protesests in thee lead-up to the confederate memorials' removals, prompting some workers to wear masks and bulletproof vests for protection. one statue remains t to be removeved, that of confedederate army leader general robert e lee. in new york city dozens of , protesters gathered outside governor andrew cuomo's offices wednesday to oppose a bailout of new york's aging nuclear power plants that could cost ratepayers up to $7.6 billion over the next 12 years. bruce rosen of the group united for action says new york should instead turn to clean energy sources like solar and wind to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. >> the governor has promoted renewables. in no way is nuclear power renewable. we don't know how to handle the waste. these have to go. the state should be going, as everybody is here, 100% as fast as p possible to renewable ener. amy: the new york protest came as a draft budget document seen by the website axi

new orleans mayor mitch landrieu: >> for that matter.drive by property that they own, occupied by reverential statues seems perverse. >> brangham: the city dismantled this statue in the broad light of day, but three others were taken down in the cover of night-- with no advanced notice. because of threats of violence, city contractors wore masks and bulletproof vests, and were guarded by police snipers. >> it's cheap, it's low. it's cowardly. if there ever was cowardice, this is an act of cowardice and treachery, right here. this is american history, whether you like it or not. >> brangham: this all goes back to a december 2015 city council vote to take down these monuments, following an op-ed by city native and jazz musician wynton marsalis. many have argued it was an appropriate response to the killing of nine black church parishioners that year in charleston, south carolina, by avowed white supremacist dylann roof. weeks after that attack, south carolina removed the confederate battle flag from its state capitol. back to today, new or

president on the democratic slate, i'd say the one person to keep your eye on is new orleans mayor mitch landrieureat thing in his city of removing the four confederate monuments out there on sanctuary cities, and he is a white southern mayor who gets it on race. >> he gets the black vote big time too. i know he did. i was down there moderating those debates. anyway, ned ryan, jennifer jacobs, jonathan capehart. when we return, let me finish tonight with the trump watch. time's up, insufficient we're on prenatal care.es. and administrative paperwork... your days of drowning people are numbered. same goes for you, dget overruns. and rising costs, wipe that smile off your face. we're coming for you, too. for those who won't rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. optum. how well gets done. termites, we're on the move.24/7. roger. hey rick, all good? oh yeah, we're good. we're good. termites never stop trying to get in, we never stop working to keep them out. terminix. defenders of home. there's nothing more than my vacation.me so when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that mak

mitch landrieu, mayor of new orleans. "the new york times" says he might be interested.olten, second-term congressman from massachusetts, iraq war vet, she's gottgotten visibility as a trump critic. martin o'malley ran in 2016. didn't get much support. he may be interested in 2020. what does this point to, though, in a vacuum like one i was describing when people think it is wide open? you see this. you see names all over the place say, hey, maybe i'll check this out. why not me? maybe there's an opening. take a look at this historically. what could we be looking at in 2020? this is the size of the democratic presidential field. by the time the first contest came around. you can see, single digits. you got to a high there of eight in 2004. 1298 1984. this jumps out, 1976. 13 candidates. that's the year jimmy carter came out of nowhere, peanut farmer from plains, georgia. happened in '76? that was basically two years after watergate, after the nixon presidency imploded. a very volatile time in american politics. wide open democratic race. and a nobody at the time from pla

i was thinking about this the other evening, watching mitch landrieu's speech in new orleans. >> amazingat we're talking about here. but the coarseness of language in politics, it's a huge turnoff to so many people. >> the west best sign of what you're saying is that you had president obama in one of his last interactions before leaving office, doing that press conference and defending the first amendment and george w. bush in one of his first public statements since the election defending a free press. two presidents who had plenty of rows with the media who covered them. but they were always on substance, media fixation of a topic they didn't like. i cannot fathom a scenario where either one of -- what people don't understand is that the press that work or cover a president, they work at the white house. when a president goes overseas, it is the white house's job to protect them, to advocate for them. they go into meetings with foreign leaders and you go in as team usa, the president and the press that cover him or her. so the whole idea that at the top is where it's going to break dow