rockaway, here we come.subway line, the a-train, is the connection for the rockaways to the rest of the world. and it is the longest subway line in this big, big, big city. the part of that subway trip that goes across jamaica bay, just that one part, takes so long that new york city pigeons have learned to ride the a-train so they don't have to fly across the bay. they get on the train on one side of the bay, ride the train and get off on the other side, just like normal commuters, except their pigeons. when you ride that train right out over the bay to the rockaways, when you get there, what you find, miraculously, are beaches. new york city's beaches where you can swim and surf on a real beach with real waves and lifeguards and everything. you can chase your mom around the sand. the rockaways are a miraculous urban thing, and they belong to the people of new york. to the people of new york who live there and to the ones who hop on the a-train with their surf boards to go out there and go surfing. and then

rockaway here we come. is the connection for the rockaways to the rest of the world and it is the longest subway line in this big, big, big city. a part of that subway trip that goes across ja make cag bay just that one part takes so long that new york city pigeons are learned to ride the a train. they get on the train on one side of the bay, they ride the train and then they get off the tray on the other side of the bay just like norm commuters except they're pigeons. but when you ride that train ride to the rockaways, what you find when you get there miraculously are beaches, new york city's beaches where you can swim and surf on a real beach with real waves and lifeguards and everything. you can chase your mom around the sand. the rockaways are a miraculous urban thing and they belong to the people of new york, to the people of new york who live there and to the one who's hop on the "a" train with their surf boards to go out there and go surfing. then came hurricane sandy about the the storm tore holes i

>>> on october 29, floodwaters were up to here at this bagel shop in rockaway beach, new york. while the storm may have destroyed this property, it did not destroy the owner's resolve. and we're here to help them reopen with a "your business" makeover. that's coming up next on "your business." >>> hi there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg. welcome to "your business." today is a milestone for our program. it is our 300th episode. and so i want to thank all of you for welcoming us into your homes every single week. this has been a really amazing job for me. i've got tone meet so maen to m entrepreneurs, people i could learn from and represelicate th success. we had the opportunity to meet one of the most amazing and heartwarming stories ever done on this special makeover show. it's a comeback story. scott edwards and tim keen are two of new york city's bravest, firefighters who put all of their savings into a seaside bagel shop in order to make more money to support their families. they almost lost it all in hurricane sandy. see how a little help from our makeover team and some very g

not as long as the rockaways waiting for the a-train to come back. official notice, and for the rockaways itself, that darn train coming back is the best new thing in the world today. i have been looking forward to doing that best new thing in the world for a long time. not as long as the rockaways have been waiting to come back, but i was waiting to tell that story. "first look" is up next. >>> good friday morning, right now on "first look," breaking news. the american mom busted in mexico for marijuana has been released. we have the latest. >>> weather continues to be a major concern across the midwest and today is the first day of hurricane season. >>> we got the latest on the slew of ricin-laced letters coming from gun enthusiasts. >>> plus a new spelling bee champ is crowned. jon bon jovi's generous gift to his fans and what are these guys dressed up for? >>> good morning, i'm mara schiavocampo. breaking news overnight, an arizona mother of seven has been released from a mexican prison and is back in the u.s. this morning after a week long drug

i'm a kid from far rockaway.till would not-- >> you have $14 billion, and she wants to go-- >> well, you say i've got $14 billion. i never said it. >> so how do they spend their money? more and more on philanthropy, like building this track and field stadium for the school children of new york city. >> raise your hand. >> and building two charter schools in poor neighborhoods in the bronx. these are overseen by icahn's foundations, which gail runs. >> call them just to make sure. >> she works in the office, and so does his son. >> that's my son. >> brett, an analyst at the icahn firm, plays chess with his dad on the weekends, for money, of course, and recently, brett began winning. >> beat the hell out of me. tell 'em how you beat the hell out of me. >> no, no. he's too good. he's too good. he just says that 'cause he wants to get odds. >> that's bull. he beats me. >> i heard that you went out and hired somebody to teach you to play better so you can beat him again. >> well, i got a grandmaster. >> icahn, along w

in psychology from columbia university, a proud native of rockaway, queens, was 85 years old. >>> still ahead for us tonight, shock waves hit some of the largest clothing retailers in the world. what some big brand names are now doing after one of the worst industrial disasters ever. >>> some big clothing makers are signing on tonight to a legally binding plan to improve safety conditions in bangladesh in the wake of the horrifying factory collapse there. that disaster serving as a wake-up call for big business and people here in the u.s. who love cheap clothing and lots of it, and don't always think of the conditions where it's made. our report tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: for nearly three weeks the death toll from the clothing factory in bangladesh has been rising. now the search for bodies is over. more than 1,100 workers have died. there will be no more miracle rescues. a tragedy so large in scope it is already changing a global industry. today retailers including zara and h & m signed an agreement drafted by labor rights groups to pay for fire and safety renovati

. >>> on october 29, floodwaters were up to here at this bagel shop in rockaway beach, new york. while the storm may have destroyed this property, it did not destroy the owner's resolve. and we're here to help them reopen with a "your business" makeover. that's coming up next on "your business."

rockaway, new york. tyrone, thank you for that call. can we hear from harlem?an we hear from the williamsburg in brooklyn? or port jefferson out in long the endor anywhere on of long island. maybe you hear it -- you live in southampton or east hampton. anywhere along the atlantic ocean. we ask your support. the riverlive along in the new york area, the hudson river, the great south bay, the connecticut river. we urge you to call in and let us know you're there. if you live and as -- minnesota or missouri or montana, go to the phone. maryland is in the house. arizona? wyoming, the dakotas, we ask you to call. carolinas, we ask for your support. can we get a few from georgia? portland oregon is in the house. a call from richmond, mississippi. and jonah's called in from st. louis, missouri. and how about moab, which i just visited. the amazing read city. we urge you to call. william kolding from forde city. dennis from philadelphia. can we hear from pittsburgh, which we also just visited? wayne called in from bremerton, washington. pedro,alling from san california

under around the new york city area, breezy point, places like staten island, the rockaways, where allaway. you have people's homes elect c electrical systems are blown away, where the houses are declared basically unlivable and you have to deal with almost a rock bottom situation where whole communities have to be rebuilt, especially the electrical systems, sewer systems, water systems. how do you do the triage in the next couple months, in fact, the next couple of days? >> it's the assessment process. you hit the nail on the head, chris. it's one thing to go through the rescue efforts we're going through right now and the recovery efforts we're going through right now. the cleanup we're going through right now. i've talked to many people that asked me, what are my thoughts? well, don't forget oklahoma in three days. don't forget oklahoma in one week. don't forget oklahoma in three weeks. moore, oklahoma, where we are, you've said it many times, i know already, on your program. this is the third time we've had this go through moore. 1999, 2003, and yesterday. we will rebuild. we're a

you had the rockaways, you had staten island and the city. >> i agree they've done a good job. >> i think the obama administration has, if you're in the white house, you've always got the picture of bush in the back of your mind. whatever you do is -- >> there is resentment in new orleans in fundamental ways. because i think katrina was treated as a hurricane, a storm of race and class. and there's a feeling that you shouldn't pit hurricanes against each other. but that the financial center of the universe is getting the aid it needs more quickly and less republicans hold it up. >> major media markets being affected. >> another problem with bush was not simply that they didn't respond and that he flew over and seemed disinterested. he and then you can go with the republicans all the way back to ronald reagan. they actually undermined these agencies of government. they put incompetent people in charge. so that the agencies weren't capable of responding properly when the emergency arose. >> well that's exactly right. i will add one more thing to it. i think the biggest fault that affected t

the trouble up in new jersey, new york, breezy point, staten island, the rockaways is still there. it's really horrendous up there. >>> coming up, if it's not how, it's who. hillary is running for president. it's clear as a bell, with all the dozens of people that talked to her over the weekend. they all believe she's running. it's just a question of what kind of a campaign? who's going to help her win it? >>> plus, it turns out some of those conservative groups scrutinize bid the irs did, in fact, engage in the type of political activity not allowed for nonprofits. in other words, they deserve scrutiny not based on ideologies of their name but their behavior. >>> my big question tonight, did the white house learn anything from now they dealt with the irs kerfuffle? >>> john mccain is in syria. white house officials, by the way, said they knew about mccain's mission beforehand. you put it together. >>> finally let me finish tonight with this question. we get into a war in syria, what are we fighting for? exactly? and who? this is "hardball." the place for politics. [ larry ] you kn

not as long as the rockaways waiting for the a-train to come back. that does it for us. now time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. thanks for being with us. >>> well, it turns out that when the nra says that president obama and mayor bloomberg are enemies of the constitution, some very crazy people actually believe that. >>> new york mayor michael bloomberg targeted. >> sent two threatening letters. >> a letter containing ricin. >> the bloomberg letters threatened physical harm if the senator's guns were taken away. >> one letter september to bloomberg at city hall. >> mailed from shreveport, louisiana. >> the other sent to the director of his organization, mayors against illegal guns. >> that just shows there is a lot of fear around this issue. >> our freedom is at risk in this election. >> the gun lobby in this country has done a great job of making people afraid. >> when freedom is at risk, gun owners step up and make a difference. >> let me read to you what this letter to bloomberg said. >> the right to bear arms is my constitutional, go god-given right. >

tyrone has called in from far rockaway? how about your neighbors in long beach?leslie has called in from chesterfield, virginia. can we hear from vienna, virginia, annandale? and nablus, maryland? wendy calling in from california. anybody calling in from the district of columbia? a caller from el paso, texas. how about houston, austin? we urge you to call. if you are watching from galveston, the ireland, or up there in huntsville, give us a call, 866-359-4334. kerry has hauled in from knoxville, tennessee, james the michigan, north dakota. patricia from gold river, california. nettie from los angeles. barbara from los angeles. a lot of people are calling in from california. it definitely california is at the top. troy from bakersfield, clarence from santa barbara. can we hear from the mexican border? .an we hear from mendocino we are asking you to go to the phone right now and let us know you are in the house. we cannot do this without you. only together, your call makes a difference. 866-359-4334. f'swill send you richard wolf book and the full speech, $125, the

the trouble in new jersey, breezy point, staten islands, the rockaways, it's horrendous up there. >>> coming up, if it's not how, it's who. hillary is running for president. it's clear as a bell, with all the dozens of people that talked to her over the weekend. they all believe she's running. what kind of campaign? who's going to help her win it? >>> some of the groups scrutinized by the irs engaged in activity not allowed by non-profits. in other words, they deserve scrutiny not based on ideologies of their name but their behear. my big question tonight, did the white house learn anything about how they dealt with the irs cur colorf fufl? >>> white house officials, by the way, said they knew about mccain's mission before hand. you put it together. >>> finally let me finish tonight with this question. we get into a war in syria, what are we fighting for? exactly, and who? this is "hardball." the place for politics. used a contractor before and didn't know where to start. at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you.

families in breezy point in the rockaways, staten island and brooklyn, the south shore of long island, from long beach all the way out to shirley are still trying to make decisions about repairing their homes and investing tens of thousands of dollars to do so. many of these homes are very middle-class homes. these are not rich people. they've worked hard. some of them are teachers or policemen or firemen or construction workers or small business owners. now, many of them are being told that their insurance rates could be $10,000 a year or more. what kind of insurance is flood insurance if it's $10,000 a year? it puts homeowners in the worst possible position. they either have to come up with an additional $10,000 -- worse in sandy because they've already repaid to do their homes -- but even for a normal homeowner, $10,000 a year, you don't get a mortgage? $10,000 a year? this is absurd. i don't know what's wrong with the flood insurance program, but any program that has to charge an average homeowner on long island or brooklyn or queens or staten island $10,000 ought to be reexamined

there are some areas still suffering and it will be a long hall, rockaways a while, monday toe lo mantolokingand i think it's emblematic for the other shoreline communities of connecticut, of delaware, of maryland, the carolinas, new york, again, they're all working hard to bring this back, some are having a little more success than others but everybody wants this to come back. they're not going to rest until it's done but the national hurricane center just out with the forecast for 2013. >> not looking good? >> it is very active. normal number of named storms 11, they're predicting anywhere from 13 to 20. 11 named hurricanes and of those three to six could be major hurricanes. that doesn't mean they'll all make landfall but you just need one. >> coming down here, as somebody who grew up in no, jerth jersey drive down, springsteen playing, and to be able to come down and feel good about it after coming down the last few months worried about what was going to happen, to see governor christie cutting the ribbon feels really good. it's a good day in seaside heights. it's always a good day when y

families are being forced to make this choice in neighbors from staten island to the rockaways to massapequa and east. and upstate in places like scoharey county and the southern tier counties like broom, tiago, northern -- north country counties like essex.i. it would be ashame if we allowed this to - -- a shame if we allod this to happen. all because people daint get around to -- didn't get around to studying the impact of higher flood rates and congress didn't respond. so i hope, madam president, that by the time new york's maps are completed and new yorkers have completed the process of rebuilding in the wake of sandy, fears of $10,000 flood insurance premiums for middle-class homes will prove to have been incorrect. but right now those fears are very real and they're putting the future of some of new york's most tightly knit middle-class neighborhoods at risk. as i noted previously, new york's flood maps were in the process of being revised before sandy hit, but in the wake of sandy, it adds insult to injury when families who are spending their entire savings to repair their home are to