rikers island has 1400 people -- 14,000 people. i worked at a high-school that had a mural on the wall. there was a figure, a man dressed in green, split in two. the front have has a gun, a rifle in his hand, military fatigues. the back half has the prison inmate uniform. on top it says choose your dream. so those are your options. we have seen it hurts our families apart. women are the fastest growing population to be incarcerated. we see women's prisons, men's prisons, teenagers -- they have a baby prison for the babies. they build a prison every year based on third and fourth great test scores in black and latino communities around the country. that is a fact. i can give me the documentation on that. so when the police are grabbing us up, it is a function of capitalism. white supremacy and capitalism, they have had a very long dance together. the police are filling the prisons because prisons operate like hotels. they do not make as much money, so police are agents of the state. not only where they serving the interests of the w

think that he was treated very well by the system which hauled him off an airplane and put him in rikers islandf a woman who turns out to be a liar and forced to live in a situation that cost him and his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars in order not to be in jail. >> he had the nickname back in france of the great seducer. do you think he'll face further actions back home? particularly against tristane benault filed suit? are you worried about these cases progressing against him? >> i think i had turn to my partner, bill taylor, who has dealt with those issues primarily. >> we're not representing him in france. but i have been in close touch with the lawyers in paris who are representing him and i know something about the allegations. they are no more worthy of credit than are the ones which are here, and we fully expect this case will be treated essentially the same way. no merit in the allegation that he forced himself on this young woman and the fact that she comes forward eight years after the alleged fact is the first question that anybody asks about. >> i suppose a question many view

former nba star, jayson williams is being transferred from the new jersey prison to new york's rikers island to serve a one-year sentence for dui after doing 18 months for aggravated assault. and happy birthday to a former president, bill clinton. today he turns 65. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news". and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. tea party star and former senate candidate christina o'donnell talks about why she walked off piers morgan tonight. enrique eglasias performs in the "today" summer concert series. now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

. >> mayor, why wasn't rikers island evacuated? >> there's no reason to evacuate rikers island. higher than the zone "a" areas and it's preferably safe. yes? >> specific fire dangers, concerns? >> well, candles, for example, present a great danger. people like candles. the winds are open, the wind blows the curtain, the curtain catch on fire. that's what we worry about more than anything. that and the fact that in certain areas, we're not sure if there's enough tidal surge and the bridges are closed that we can get fire equipment to you. that's one of the reasons to evacuate all of the localawayro. yes, sir? >> i was wonder if the city is sure that everyone has been evacuated from the subway and there aren't any -- >> we're not 100% sure. we've done the best job we can. keep in mind, it's the mta that does that along with the nypd. they've done everything they possibly can. can i promise you there isn't somebody hiding someplace in in there? b no. but the bottom line is you shouldn't be living in the subways. we do everything we can to find those people and give them the support

the only problem i would have is that there were 12,000, you know, prisoners in rikers island who wereo be evacuated with either plan "a" or zone "a" or "b," and that's pretty reprehensible because the four acres of rikers island are on landfill, which is most vulnerable alone. so you have to figure out a plan to keep them out of harm's way as well. >> let me disk with you. there's a larger point and i think mayor booker brought it up. here we're having a debate over the budget in this town, the federal budget and deficit, and also the need for infrastructure improvements. we had an earthquake this week, which pointed out the fact that the east coast is not prepared for something that is rare but still happened. and then just the kind of damage to our inastructure that storms like this pony up. what's it do to that debate? >> i think it suggests that, a, you've got to be prepared in the sense of knowing where the weak spots are and the hotspots are. number two, you've got to understand that investment in infrastructure is extremely important. it does have a resounding effect on the deb

helped staff our evacuation centers and i'm especially grateful to our first responders, pace at rikers island and other employees who gave it their all, and thank you to the livery drivers, who transferred some of the most vulnerable neighbors to safety. as we've seen so many times before, this is about bringing out about the best in new yorkers. i'm happy to say overnight crime activity was below normal. ray reports 45 arrests overnight compared to, on average, on a typical saturday night in august, 345. so 300 fewer arrests. if that doesn't tell you about new yorkers, i don't know what does. people said, you were going to have a problem, quite the contrary, new yorkers do come together. the plan for tomorrow, we understand that some people will have difficult times coming to work. city government offices will be open with some disruptions i'm sure, because people can't get there. the new york stock exchange and the other financial markets plan to open on time, and have a normal day. i'm sure most businesses will, with some minor quick adjustments getting riling back to keeping the economy g

and i'm especially grateful to our fire police, first responders, correction officers at rikers islandther city employee who is really gave it their all. and a big thanks to the taxi drivers, livery drivers, bus companies and other who is answered our call in helping transports some of the most vulnerable neighbors to safety. as we've seen so many times before, this emergency is really about bringing out the best in new yorkers. i'm happy to say overnight crime activity was below normal. ray reports 45 arrests overnight compared to on average on a typical saturday night in august 345. so 300 fewer arrests. if that doesn't tell you about new yorkers, i don't know what does. people said, oh, you were going to have a problem. quite the contrary. new yorkers do come together. the plan for tomorrow, we understand that some people will have difficulty coming to new york. city government offices will be open with some disruptions, i'm sure, because people can't get there. the new york stock exchange and the other financial markets plan to open on time and have a normal day. i'm sure most busi

he has been under house arrest and spent sometime, a few nights in the rikers island jail. prosecutors yesterday filed papers asking that the charges are dismissed, saying that they could not ask a jury to believe the maid's story when they, the prosecutors did not find her to be a credible witness. this is a man who many thought could be the next president of france. whether he can still resuscitate his political career there is yet to be determined. but for now dominique strauss-kahn in a new york city courtroom where the charges against him are likely to be dismissed any minute now. we'll keep you updated. rebels shelling moammar qaddafi's main compound in libya's capitol. gunfire and explosions ring out, smoke is still filling the skies over tripoli. is this the final battle for control of that country? live team fox coverage of all the late breaking developments. jenna: back at home sarah palin creating more political buzz, just ahead of her big announcement we now know a few weeks off, a new video shows her in iowa. does she have her sights on washington d.c.? the yes