tavis smiley raised the issue.rns to the president's home turf today at chicago state university. now, i had a chance to speak with smiley along with author and professor cornell west. very interesting discussion. pay close attention. >> this conversation at chicago state here in chicago, obviously, is really about whether or not there ought to be an african-american agenda in the era of obama in this so-called post-racial world, don. and how we go about doing that. i happen to believe that disproportionate pain requires a disproportionate response. i agree and i believe dr. west agrees the black agenda is the best in america because it is always about democracy, looking out for those who are disenfranchised. how can black people exercise their agency and how do we get black leaders to understand the urgency of the pain black people are feeling. >> so, listen, there is a controversy for people who don't know. people are saying who is tavis smiley to set the agenda for black america? black americans are not monolith

these two men, tavis smiley, dr.they want the president to give more attention to issues important to african-americans. >>> and it's hard to see when sand is blowing in your eyes, right? a sandstorm so bad that it cancelled airline flights. tide loads of hope has been committed to helping people affected by disasters. this is what gives us hope! [ female announcer ] now tide's bringing help to those affected by the recent earthquakes in haiti. by providing clean clothes and linens. you too can help by purchasing a tide vintage tee at tide.com. during february and march, all profits from tide vintage tee sales will be matched by tide up to $250,000 and donated to disaster relief in haiti. together, we can provide loads of hope. host: could switching to geico 15% or more on car insurance? host: is ed "too tall" jones too tall? host: could switching to geico 15% or more on car insurance? host: does a ten-pound bag of flour make a really big biscuit? and you're still fighting to sleep in the middle of the night, why wou

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first, our conversation with nobel prize-winning economist joseph stiglitz. his latest book is about how the u.s. has mishandled the financial crisis. also, our conversation with michael bernard beckwith, founder of the agape international spiritual center. he is also author of the recent book, "spiritual liberation." they are coming up right now. >> there are so many things that walmart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better. but mostly, we're helping build stronger communities and relationships. because with your help, the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports "tavis smiley." tavis and nationwide, working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: joseph stiglitz is a nobel prize-winning economist whose new book is called "freefall."

tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley.me on my next program with actress holly hunter with her new project "saving face." we'll see you then. >> there are so many things wal-mart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better, but we're looking forward to helping people build stronger communities and better relationships. with your help, the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports "tavis smiley." tavis and nationwide insurance working to improve national literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> and by contributions from viewers like you. thank you. captioned by the national captioning institute, inc. ---www.ncicap.org---

i'm tavis smiley. first up tonight, a conversation about the struggling city of detroit and a unique project about motown from the staff of "time." last year "time" purchased the home in detroit which now houses correspondent steven gray. heads reporting from the magazine's detroit house. it is about the city that has been at the epicenter of the economic slowdown. also tonight oscar-winning actress holly hunter is here. this is the final season of her series "saving grace." we're glad you have joined us. conversations about the motor city and holly hunter coming up right now. >> there are so many things that wal-mart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better, but mostly we're looking forward to helping build stronger communities and relationships because with your help, the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. ♪ nationwide is on

smiley who have been critical of the president to do their job.ob is to deliver something tangible. our people are in very, very serious conditions. they need a president that includes them in the change and not just gives them some retorical good feeling without results. >> dr. watkins, what is the first area to tackle -- the president has so much on his plate and all those issues you chronicled of being challenging to the black community. where is the first place to start? >> you have to start with jobs. right now, we talk about the american unemployment rate at about 9.7%. the black unemployment rate is 17.3%. the black male unemployment rate is 19.5%. >> but does some of that stem from lack of education, the high school dropout rate, people that aren't getting the education to get those jobs? >> yeah. >> don't you even need to take a step backwards and get back to the beginning to get to education? >> you have to take a lot of steps in a lot of different directions. what the president needs to address right now to protect his presidency, he ha

> hi, i'm it was a smiley.n me next time with grammy-winning artist dee dee bridgewater. that's next time. see you then. >> there are so many things that wal-mart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better, but mostly we're looking forward to helping build stronger communities and relationships because with your help, the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

i'm tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with "washington post" science writer shankar vedantam. he is out now with a thought provoking new text about the differences between our conscious and unconscious minds. the compelling text, "the hidden brain" examines the science behind the decisions we make every day about politics, race, war and even markets. we're glad you have joined us. a fascinating conversation with science writer shankar vedantam coming up right now >> there are so many things that wal-mart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better, but mostly we're looking forward to helping build stronger communities and relationships because with your help, the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: shankar vedantam, the national science wr

a security camera caught shantina smiley prchasing wine, and was also seen falling down in a parkingot and not wearing shoes. authorities say she stopped it asked for directions and looked like she had been crying. >>> if federal judge rejected the settlement for those made ill by the ground zero cleanup after 9/11. now the federal judge says that nearly half a billion dollars is not enough because their legal fees have exceeded $200 million. >>> a maryland lawmaker is trying to strengthen penalties against sex offenders, creating a mandatory 15-year prison sentence for those who commit second degree shot offense or rape against a child. it -- second-degree sex offense or rape against a child. >>> doctors and nurses are back home tonight after the usns comfort arrived back in baltimore this morning. the ship spent nearly two months helping victims of the haitian earthquake. 700 nurses and doctors treated more than 870 people. most of the medical staff comes from the national made up -- national naval medical center in bethesda. >>> arch campbell has the best bets for the box office t

tonight, where is 29-year-old shantina smiley and her 8-year-old little boy? >> it looks to be an abandoned car or a stolen vehicle on my beach property. >> i miss her more than you could ever imagine. >> and it's partially submerged. >> the only one that knows f sure is god. >> shantina smiley and her son, 8-year-old azriel carver, are still missing. >> it makes no sense. >> baffling. >> it's really bizarre. >> we just don't know. >> there's no rational explanation for why shantina's van ended up abandoned and stuck on a puget sound bch surday night. >> we have no idea what happened. >> the van doors were open. >> i can't put it into words >> and no one was inside. >> empty. >> shantina and her 8-year-old son were last seen driving all over olympia. >> this video shows santina and her son at a west olympia minimart about 8:00 p.m. saturday. >> she's very intelligent, well read, well spoken. >> she was apparently lost and can be seen on the video looking at a map and getting directions. workers say her behavior was odd and she fell in the parking lot. >> i wis

president goes from here, with nbc news chief white house correspondent chucked to, pbva's tavis smiley, democrat anita dunne and republican ed gillespi. in our "meet the press" minute we remember liz carpenter, pioneer in journalism, politics and the women's rights movement who died yesterday at the age of 89. her feisty spirit was on display right here 33 years ago, as she argued the case for the equal rights amendment. but first, down to the wire on health care reform, the house votes just hours from now. president obama made a last-minute trip to the hill yesterday afternoon for the final push. joining us now, two men at the center of that fight, house republican leader john boehner of ohio and house democratic leader steny hoyer of maryland. both of you welcome back to "meet the press" on a big day. >> good to be with you, david. >> nice to see you. >> leader hoyer, 216 votes. where are you this morning? >> we're going to get those 216 votes because we believe they understand that americans want health care reform by overwhelming majority. >> do you have them as we sit here? >> i t

washington state, two days ago, we put out the alert about a young mom, shantina smiley, and her beautiful 8-year-old boy. they head out to visit their grandfather 120 miles away. in the last hours a body washes ashore, fox island, pierce county, washington. the boy's t-shirt pulled up over his face. is it 8-year-old little azriel? one of the last sightings, mommy buying a jug of wine, the little boy standing there at her side. >> it looks to be an abandoned car, or a stolen vehicle. on my beach property. >> breaking news, it looks to be sad news. >> it's partially submerged. >> police have found the body of a young boy. >> it makes no sense. >> the body was found on the shore this afternoon. >> we have no idea what happened. >> authorities have not made a positive i.d. >> it's really bizarre. >> we do not know if it's the little azriel carver. >> there's no explanation for why shantina's van ended up abandoned. >> do you see anything inside? >> no, no. >> and stuck on a puget sound beach saturday night. >> doors are all open. >> shantina and her 8-year-old son were last seen driving all a

television host tabba smiley has been at the forefront of this discussion. i spoke with him and dr.l west about what message they think should be sent to the president from the black community. >> i'm not calling out president obama. i'm calling out black leaders who have said recently that the president doesn't need to focus on an african-american agenda. when black leaders start saying that then what role are they playing? if they're not fighting for the best interest of black people no matter what the president is. this is not about the president, it's about the presidency. how to you get the white house to take note of the suffering of your people and get them to address that? >> it's not a question of the president and the color of the president, but it is true that president obama has tended to tilt toward the investment bankers more than he's tilting toward brother and sister on the block. that concerns me. >> all right. you know what the urban league will release its state of black america next week. i believe it is on wednesday. stay tuned to cnn for that and to see the ent

hosted by top show personality tavis smiley, along with a who's who of african-american leaders and jim live in our chicago bureau with more and, jim, there was concern this event was going to be a slam against the president. was it? >> well, it was at sim times, a bit of a two-way street, sometimes the black community called out itself to do more to help the blab community. but, yes, the president received a good deal of criticism, but, it was by no means a bash obama fest. as a matter of fact, just about every time the criticism was laid against the president, it was also pointed out that external factors, like corporate america make it difficult for the president to get a lot of things done. one of the harshest critics in that movement, that voice was lose farrakhan -- lewis farrakhan and here's what he said. >> between the money being spent down, and coming to those who need it most and if he does not use his bully pulpit to address that, we can fault him for that. >> jim, you mentioned -- listened to lewis farrakhan there and you mentioned responsibility within the black community

speaking of education, to ron night, i believe on c-span2, there will be a tavis smiley program. host: yes, we taped last week. caller: yes, so people, take some time to watch the program to ron night. it should scare the living daylights out of you. have a good it did. tomorrow night, 7:00 p.m., c- span2. host: the cover story here, the meaning of stupak. another comment from our twitter conversation -- the obama has not done any severe mistakes yet, considering that the policies on afghanistan, iraq, israel are done behind the scene. caller: good morning, steve. i spoke with you before and you are always kind and polite. i am a union member, and a 11- year veteran of the marine corps. i do not understand the republicans do not understand that when the economy was strong the country was 40% [inaudible] today we are no where near that. we are about 10% organize. i would remind listeners that we have had unions, companies that pay per diem would not if unions did not have double-time sunda ys. i would also remind viewers that the eight-hour workday was created by unions. you can s

. >> tonight, tavis smiley's forum. that is at 8:30 eastern, on c- span 2. this morning, we will talk about how congressional democrats and republicans plan to present the new health care bill to their constituents over the easter recess and beyond.

halfway through, smiley unexpectedly got off the freeway and spent the next several hours driving ine seen at a convenience store, at a restaurant, and finally at a home where they asked to use the phone and get directions. but the next morning, their van was found on a remote beach, half submerged and empty. their belongings, washing ashore, including a half empty wine bottle. >> crazy series of events that unfolded and ended so tragically. >> reporter: azriel's father says it doesn't appear to be foul play. sheriff's detectives agree. but something happened on that beach that night that no one can explain. lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. >>> former presidents bill clinton and george w. bush make a one-day visit to haiti today. president obama put them in charge of u.s. fund-raising in response to the devastating january 12th earthquake. many of haiti's remaining buildings meanwhile are still unstable. a small earth quake sunday toppled an apartment building. >>> the luger who was killed on the first day of vancouver games, tuesday's service comes 40 days after his death in accord

over the weekend, talk show host tavist smiley, a frequent critic convened leaders and scholars to urgent to pay more attention to the black agenda. at times seemed more like a political rally or church, with speakers criticizing the president. >> you bailed out the notorious aig. you bailed them out. you bailed out general motors but can't bail out african-american people. >> as long as he's loved by african-american people he can circumvent officials when he chooses to. >> there are a number of highly misguided right wing brothers and sisters engaged in assault and tack and took attempt to kill him. >> when you start throwing money at bankers and others, you can throw that same kind of money to the hood. >> we're joined by georgetown university michael eric dyson part of the weekend panel and compared the president to baseball legend jackie robinson. president and ceo of independent women's forum. >>> you made the point the money for bailouts going to help wall street and financial institutions but not a lot of money for inner city. what about the argument it was important at the time

as a subsequent version of the story, jim smiley and his jumping frog later renamed the celebrated jumpingfrog of calcareous county was picked up all over the east and twain like lord byron woke up one morning to find himself famous. being mark twain he still didn't have any money, so he went to hawaii for several before he turned serious thinkers see. this was more like it. during his visit he became one of the first mainlanders to try the native sport of surfing, but it didn't go too well. the board he said struck the shore and three quarters of the second without any cargo. i started about the same time with a couple barrels of water in it. he spent the rest of his time closely observing the native hula dancers through the sake of research said. he visited the site of captain cook's death at the hands of an enraged islanders in 1779, justifiable homicide and hiked across an active volcano were twain said that the smell of sulfur was strong, but not unpleasant for a sinner. [laughter] turned to san francisco dead broke as usual and wondering what to do next. someone suggested he run a th

so you basically just push this in and you keep alternating these smiley faces until you fill up alle into this. >> thank you. >> she likes to shove things in places. >> and, you know -- >> wait, wait. just stop a second. what on earth does that even mean? >> i want to -- >> are they giving au hard time? that's good. so you have african violets. i got a lot of them from lowe's. it's simple. this is weed meting. you've got peat moss. >> i need ivy, though. you didn't give us any ivy. i need ivy to soften it up. hoda! oh, my gosh! >> what? you're so picky about what you put where. >> so, jamie, you live in los angeles now? >> i do. >> it's beautiful weather most of the year so you can have these year round. >> yes, you can. but you can do these indoor or out. if you wakt to make it out of cacti and succulent. i actually don't like cacti -- >> i know it's supposed to be beautiful and everybody likes it. you don't care. who am i talking to? who gives a rip what i think. >> if you lived in florida, you would use tropical plants. we just lost an african violet. >> that was my fault. we've

monday night, have a smiley -- tavis smiley's form, at 8:30 eastern on c-span to. >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. >> whether you are researching former presidents or just watching their speeches, or if you missed an event from just yesterday, you can search it and watch it on line at the new c- span video library, with over 160,000 hours of video. every c-span program since 1987 -- the c-span video library. cables latest gift to america. >> john mccain kicks of a series of the events in his home state of arizona as he begins his reelection campaign. the presidential nominee is running for a fifth term and faces a primary challenge from a former congressman. he spoke at a rally in arizona and was reunited with his prior running mate, sarah palin. this event is about 40 minutes. itute] ♪ [applause] [applause] >> hello. it is such a pleasure to be here this morning. thank you for this wonderful turnout. thank you. i know you all had something to do with his wonderful weather so that we can also offer up this wonderful whether to our alaskan visitors as we always do. [

get ready to meet smiley riley, the dog with the human grin. of animal stories as you knowress when you see this dog you'll see why we picked it. isn't that cute? >> he is smiling. >> that's a bejohn freeze say. he can do a snobby look and a curious look. she says she doesn't think >>> legal challenge. before the ink could dry on the historic health care reform legislation, republicans file lawsuits to repeal it. is the white house worried? >>> plus, bad business. a banking executive reveals how financial institutions put the squeeze on the middle class. >> they get a complete run-around. >>> and, prom princesses. one woman's generosity is helping underprivileged young ladies fulfill their dreams. it's wednesday, march 24th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> that time of the year again where girls across the country are looking at those prom dresses and paying too much for them. >> they are expensive so this story talks about people who are helping out and making it more affordable. >> great story so stick around for that. good mor

you see -- low prices, all sorts of things kind of helter-skelter around the store, the big, yellow smileyces -- it is a culture that embodies what sam walton was. as i consider different enterprise is a different guise, i looked at how much they reflected the founders and people who built them -- the washington post and the boston globe. disneyland is let the physical embodiment of walt disney himself -- whimsical, filled with fantasy, and childlike. microsoft -- in a ligot of respects, it is like bill gates. apple is like steve jobs. virgin airlines is edgy and forever it just like its founder richard branson -- and the rev. -- and irreverent just like its founder richard branson. what is true of those enterprises is that -- is also true of countries to a certain degree. america of reflects the vision and character and culture of the people who founded it. they took extraordinary risks to come to our shores, make this their home, put at risk their lives to be about to come across the ocean. those who were the founders themselves said, "we are born to make a difficult decision. should we

the tavis smiley show, that should scare the daylights out of everybody. host: reid wilson, do you know anything about this? guest: i haven't heard anything about that. one of the interesting things about the reconciliation bill, though, is that it didn't just fix health care. it did deal a lot with student loan bills that is going to dramatically change the way student loans are handled in this country. one of the things that -- host: and is that a winning argument for democrats? guest: i think it s. i think at the he happened of the day, they will be able to say, look, we voted in favor of reducing everybody's student loan payments and republicans voted against it. one of the things that democrats are trying to set republicans up for is not only being the party of no idea, that's what democrats keep saying about republicans, but that they are against these very popular things. and let me tell you, when they come back from recess, one of the things that's going to be top of the docket is regulatory reform, financial regulatory reform. senator chris dodd i

a big -- those big yellow smiley faces everywhere. it is kind of a culture that embodies what he was. i've actually looked as i have considered different enterprises, and they reflect the founder's spirit and the people who built them. the great institutions like the washington post reflect the gramm family. disneyland, i have been there. i met walt disney. it is like the physical embodiment of walt disney himself. whimsical, filled with them -- fantasy, childlike. look at a company like microsoft. it is a shadow of bill gates himself. apple is a lot more like steve jobs. an airline like virgin atlantic is edgy just liked its founder richard branson. you find that in enterprises we see every day, there is a sense of the individual that stands behind them. whether it is a business or republic institution, a not-for- profit, a newspaper. what's true of those enterprises, i found is also true of countries. to a certain degree. america reflects the vision and the character and the culture of the people who founded it, those who took extra

you see -- low prices, all sorts of things kind of helter-skelter around the store, the big, yellow smiley faces -- it is a culture that embodies what sam walton was. as i consider different enterprise is a different guise, i looked at how much they reflected the founders and people who built them -- the washington post and the boston globe. disneyland is let the physical embodiment of walt disney himself -- whimsical, filled with fantasy, and childlike. microsoft -- in a ligot of respects, it is like bill gates. apple is like steve jobs. virgin airlines is edgy and forever it just like its founder richard branson -- and the rev. -- and irreverent just like its founder richard branson. what is true of those enterprises is that -- is also true of countries to a certain degree. america of reflects the vision and character and culture of the people who founded it. they took extraordinary risks to come to our shores, make this their home, put at risk their lives to be about to come across the ocean. those who were the founders themselves said, "we are born to make a difficult decision. should