Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live 20150813

sludge in colorado for us. scott, i know the feds have made it very clear who's to blame her here. the big question is, what is the best way to contain this? >> reporter: well, to some degree, you're looking at it. the river is to some degree restoring itself. it's an uncontrolled river meaning there are no dams to slow things down. things are going okay. you heard her mention the county where we are. the river is still closed to recreation. and it's not just a natural process. upstream at the actual site of the release, they're actually diverting that mine water into a holding pond, treating it and getting it back into the river. downstream in new mexico, while they're still waiting for the all-clear, they're bringing in emergency water for livestock and so on. so it's a process that's going onto try and contain and fix this. but it also points to a much larger issue. and that's the tens of thousands of abandoned mines throughout the west. here in colorado alone, six or seven active cleanup projects. the question now is, do you stop, do you re-evaluate, wait to do that cleanup? because the longer they take with this, the more chances there are of a disaster like this repeating itself. our big story in politics today has been brewing for several weeks now. rumors of vice president biden looking to lose "vice" from his title. but his friend and perhaps more importantly hillary clinton's friend, howard dean threw some cold water on that idea today. >> problem is that joe biden is a very good guy and probably has no appeal whatsoever to people under 35. people under 35 elected barack obama president of the united states. that is a key part of the democratic coalition. so i think it makes sense to have a candidate, and i think hillary is one. bernie is another, who really can turn on the under 35 set. >> where clinton would crush bernie sanders in iowa. this weekend, there will be a big one there for all of the candidates beginning to show up for the state fair. more than 11 million people are expected during the seven-day event. everybody gets 20 minutes each on the des moines register soap box, except donald trump who declined. we have a soap box of our own. resident scholar at american enterprise institute. and i had a turn at alpha house. let's start with joe biden. is howard dean right about his chances? >> i do think that biden is probably looking to having an option available. some democrats are nervous. but i think it would take a complete implosion on the part of hillary clinton to bring him or others into the race. that's not likely to happen. it's more a measure of the nervousness that you see out there among some democrats than anything else. >> do you think he should run? >> you know, i -- i will never say a bad word about joe biden. >> nobody will it seems. >> he is the nicest human being i have ever met. i've had my own tragedies where he responded in just incredible fashion. but i think at this point, howard dean is probably right. jumping into the race now where you have the entire democratic party establishment trying to close this out as quickly as they can and watch the republican circus go on and on and on, it would be difficult for him to raise money that would make it very effective. i'm skeptical unless you see a dramatic change on the ground with hillary. >> the poll numbers, they are solid outside of new hampshire. do you think the e-mail scandal could change that? >> i'm skeptical about that happen lg. when you look more carefully at what the inspector general of the intelligence community has done, it seems to reflect a much more deep and ongoing dispute between the state department and intelligence agencies over what you consider to be classified and secret. it's always possible that there's something in that server or something else that will be some kind of smoking gun. even the e-mails that they say were top secret weren't ones that she sent, they were sent to her. my guess this goes on and on, but it will be more like white water. >> politics so hard to predict. had i told you six months ago that bernie sanders would be beating hillary clinton in the state of new hampshire, would you have believed it? >> i would have imagined that bernie could be doing very well in his home state. leading, i'm not sure. one poll at this stage in the campaign in new hampshire or even one in iowa, one that shows her down by seven in new hampshire. one that shows her basically cleaning the clock in iowa don't mean anything at this stage of the campaign. you get closer to those races, it may mean a little bit more. i also believe we live in a political world now where iowa and new hampshire are not going to be as significant. you can't force candidates out because their resources dry up when you have a bunch of them who have a billionaire behind them who will stay long enough to see if the dust will settle. >> in the spirit of things not really mattering at this stage of the game, republican side, donald trump, holding steady even in some cases surging in the polls despite controversial comments. can he keep it up? >> this is somebody not to be underestimated. and all of the saying for months this is it for him, i think they ignored that this is a different world. the angry populous contingent is a dominant one in the republican party now. not just trump who has enough resources and clever enough to figure out how to keep this going. trump at 23. ted cruz at 13. ben carson at 11. 47% of republicans opting at that point for insurgent candidates, not for establishment ones. to imagine that this is going to be a typical race where there's a coalesce sans around an establishment candy think is dreaming and it's something that a lot of establishment republicans are dreaming will happen, but it may turn into a nightmare. >> put together all you know, push us 12 months ahead from where we are now. do you think it is possible that these non-establishment candidates actually gets in? i mean, how likely is that? >> i think what we may see is a ted cruz, who is one of the five favored candidates at the koch brothers enclave, may pick up some of the pieces if donald trump stumbles. we've had this long-standing dream of a convention that goes to multiple ballots. we haven't had it in more than sex decades. it's still not likely to happen. you can imagine six, eight, or nine of these candidates staying in the race beyond march. even though the rules have changed so that it should be easier to find a nominee early, that may work against them. this could go on for many, many months. i don't rule out the possibility that a donald trump or a ted cruz could be the next barry goldwater. >> what do you think is best suited to win if what you're saying happens? >> if i were hillary clinton or howard dean or anybody in the democratic party establishment, the idea that you would have a nomination process on the republican side going close to or up to or through the convention, even if you get an establishment figure at a convention where 40% of the delegates will be angry and unhappy, that is a dream come true. just as appearing on alpha house with you. >> i was going to say something equally nice and flattering. can't wait to see you again. it's just one of the developing stories we're following this hour. the death toll rising for a massive explosion in china. we're going to bring you the latest from the scene. >> isis claims responsibility for a huge suicide bombing at an outdoor market in baghdad. plus, terror implications for 2016. just where do the candidates stand on our biggest foreign policy issues? that and much more straight ahead. ♪ no student's ever been the king of the campus on day one. but you're armed with a roomy new jansport backpack, a powerful new dell 2-in-1 laptop, and durable new stellar notebooks, so you're walking the halls with varsity level swagger. that's what we call that new gear feeling. you left this on the bus... get it at the place with the experts to get you the right gear. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. (vo) maggie wasn't thrilled when i knew it'd take some time. and her sensitive stomach didn't make things easier. it was hard to know why... the move...her food...? so we tried purina cat chow gentle... ...because it's specially formulated for easy digestion. she's loved it ever since. and as for her and ben... ...she's coming around. purina cat chow gentle. one hundred percent complete and balanced for everyday feeding of adult cats. developing news out of china. 50 people are now confirmed dead. 12 firefighters among them and hundreds more wounded after two massive explosions in one of china's largest cities. it happened about 80 miles from beijing. the resulting shock to strong they registered on a nearby seismometer. sate-run media reports firefighting efforts are now suspended until they learn more about the dangerous goods stored at that facility. ian, to you. >> reporter: hi, alex. the blast was so powerful that it even registered with the united states geological survey as a seismic event. many people in the area thought they were experiencing an earthquake. they saw the bright flight lights in the sky that turned out to be something potentially possibly more terrifying. the fire continues. flames and smoke into the night sky. four major fires we're told being fought by about a thousand firefighters. their task is made all the more complicated because they're not sure precisely what they're up against, precisely what the chemical mix is, what mix of toxins and gases were in that warehouse when it exploded late last night. that is also very, very worrying for people who live in this area. there have been reports of cyanide which of course would be extremely worrying. officials have not been able to reassure people. they themselves cannot confirm precisely what chemicals were in the explosion. army experts are coming in. clearly, the explosion itself has been a terrifying experience, but the worry now of course is what continuing threat there might be from toxins in the area. >> thank you for that. also developing at this hour, former president jimmy carter will soon begin cancer treatment. he revealed yesterday that a recent surgery on his liver showed that cancer had spread to other parts of his body. >> our nbc's hallie jackson is there with the latest on the president's condition. >> reporter: even today, we've seen more support for president carter coming in from another former president, bill clinton, who just a little bit ago tweeted his thoughts and prayers are with president carter. the support crosses party lines. republicans like jeb bush, the governor of georgia have also indicated that their thoughts and prayers are with president carter. at this point, there's a lot we don't know about his cancer, for example what kind it is. all the president has said so far it was discovered last week. even after that surgery, the president was back to work at his carter center, his foundation, within just a couple days. that's really indicative of how active jimmy carter has been after his presidency. just this summer, he was traveling overseas to monitor an election. he's been on a book tour. it's the 29th book he's published in his lifetime. he presumably intends to stay busy. lot of folks around the country and world hoping the treatment he goes through here will be successful. we may know more as early as next week. tomorrow for the first time in more than 50 years, the american flag will fly over the u.s. embassy in havana. hue ban disbents will not be at the ceremony. secretary of state john kerry said, they haven't been forgotten. >> they will be invited to our -- to our mission. they will come to the mission. i'll have a chance to sit down with them at the mission. there will be a broad cross section of cuban society that will be invited to that event at the mission. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez is joining us live from havana. i'm curious what the reaction is of havana citizens. how excited are they? >> reporter: good afternoon. the answer to that question is complex. much like the complex relationship that these two countries have had over the past several decades. some of the people we have spoken with are better hopeful. they hope it means a better economy here in cuba. still others are very skeptical because of that strained relationship that these two countries have had. as you mentioned, secretary of state john kerry heading here tomorrow. he is the first u.s. secretary of state to visit cuba in 70 years. he says that he even plans to take a stroll through the streets of havana. in his audience tomorrow morning will be several marines who actually took the u.s. flag down in 1961. that's the year that the u.s. severed diplomatic ties with cuba. >> he said there's a certain way you have to fold it. >> somebody says, yes. so -- we folded the flag. >> of course the u.s. trade embargo is still in place. only congress with lift there. there's still very deep differences between these two countries. many american businesses are looking at all this with hope. carnival cruise lines is planning more people to people cruise trips starting next year. other online sites have already had a footprint here in havana and cuba. they launched in april with 1,000 rental home listings. that's now up to 2,600. so a lot is changing here, but no one here is under any illusion that this diplomatic process won't take a very, very long time. >> secretary kerry has said from the vantage point of watching human rights, it will be a lot easier to do so with the embassy there. i want to pick up on the economic aspect. do you see evidence in the last couple of months since we've known that this was coming that cuba is prepared for the influx of tourists? >> reporter: that is a big question at this point. right now, the infrastructure here doesn't appear to be able to handle an influx of american tourists. through many of these eased travel restrictions in the first seven months of this year, about 90,000 americans have visited cuba in some way or another. that's up 54% since last year. we went to the port of havana. they are rebuilding some of the terminals and moving some of the trade ships over to another port which is away from the port of havana, potentially hoping for an increase in tourists. there's still a long way to go. not just with the port, but also with hotels, with internet, cell phone connections. that still leaves a lot to be desired if cuba were to get a lot more tourists. >> definitely can hear something going on behind you there. >> reporter: that's right. those are workers getting ready for tomorrow's event. they've been at it all day. the stage is set. >> weather looks beautiful for that. tomorrow for all of you, make sure to watch andrea mitchel reports live from havana. she joins secretary john kerry for his historic trip to cuba. straight ahead, what it's like to sevrve on one of the mot dangerous police forces in america. and donald trump raises an eye broad on isis. the news and the politics. we are back in three. age defy from clairol the secret? superior gray coverage that leaves hair looking 10 years younger age defy from clairol welcome to fort green sheets. welcome to castle bravestorm. it's full of cool stuff, like... my trusty bow. and free of stuff i don't like. we only eat chex cereal. no artificial flavors, and it's gluten-free. mom, brian threw a ball in the house! the divide between police and the communities they serve has been back in the headlines this week after a ferguson teen who police say fired first was critically injured when they shot back. and a texas officer was let go from the force after shooting and killing an unarmed black man. "time" tackles the issue from a different perspective spending several weeks with the philadelphia police force. here to share what he found, times editor at larmg. i want to ask you about the several weeks you spent there in philadelphia, seeing the pressures that they go through. what was your biggest takeaway? >> there were a couple. one, i've worked overseas a lot. war zones, all this. i hadn't really been with police in a real urban city, it's a pretty inner city sections of their district. the level of hazard they face every day is really tiekind of formidable. pennsylvania is a big hunting state with a big city in it and there's just lead flying a lot. there would be traffic stops, calls, immediate acceleration. literally, things do happen in seconds. that was one. another was simply that, my question to all of them, how are things different than a year ago. and they weren't whining. they're cops. cops are kind of like, yeah, you know. once they get talking, everything's harder. it's harder. there's a lot more confrontation. there's a lot more pushback. this in a neighborhood where people were always kind of -- they're used to the role of the heavy there. everyone's going to have a phone now, every one's going to have their cameras out. that can lead to, at a time when they're really trying to contain things, that can lead to things, just a scene escalating. they say sometimes a suspect will feel empowered by all the attention and resist a little more. >> okay. getting to the point where you talk about all the lead flying. let's look at some of the stats akin to philadelphia. it's violent. 248 homicides in 2014. three-quarters of new york city. new york city here we're five times larger. philadelphia's police force more diverse. the national average of 80%. what are they doing about this? >> well, it's -- i mean, philly is intense. it used to be more so. the number of police-involved shootings is down like from three-quarters from a few years ago. there was only four last year. 15, 16 like in 2012. there's a police commissioner charles ramsey. he used to be in d.c. he was co-chair of president obama's task force, basically policing the task force that obama started after ferguson blew up first. he's like a reform-minded -- he's known as a pretty progressive kind of guy. it's adept that's like trying to change and i think making some real progress. like everywhere in the country, any that's local -- >> body cameras, what do they think about it? >> the cops like the idea. >> it protects them, right? >> the cops are up on social media and us in the media is that the focus is on -- not in some cases where it's very clear what's happened. but in cases where somebody's being taken down and there will be a bunch of officers, they say one, you don't understand that more officers is safer. but the main thing is that they say it's just a piece of the narrative. >> yeah. >> it's just the part at the end where they look like it's brutal and they haven't seen what's led up to that. body cam will show it from the beginning. >> there's one case you're talking about eric eric garner's situation, that was not more is better. at least one applied too much pressure. >> you know, i wasn't getting any, we're getting a bad rap. you're hearing there's bad cops. we all make bad decisions sometimes. we know it can be catastrophic. we know we're held to a higher standard, and we should be. as i said, really wasn't getting a lot of, we're getting a bad rap. it was just our jobs are harder, we're walking on egg shells. this is the process. this is where change comes. >> has the uptick in the anti-police rhetoric, do they feel it has increased in the past couple decades? there was violent times in the '70s, then there seems to be a lull. are there any guys you talked to that have been around that long? >> not that long. west philly is known for like cussing the police. they say, yeah, it's definitely worse, but it ain't new. they're accustomed be being cast as the heavies. it's simply a matter that cops work at a tactical level. they want to like contain situations. and situations have gotten a little harder to contain and more likely to escalate. >> thanks so much. appreciate your time. next, why big bird, dunham, and ka leecy all have in common. we'll share. it's so shiny. i know, mommy, but it's time to let the new kitchen get some sleep. ♪ if you want beautiful results, you know where to go. angie's list. everyone can shop for services from highly rated companies, even without a membership. but as a member, you can save more. and you get exclusive access to ratings and reviews. angie's list is there... for all your projects - big and small. pretty! come see what the new angie's list can do for you. what do a nasca comedian... and a professional golfer have in common? we talked to our doctors about treatment with xarelto®. xarelto® is proven to treat and help reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots. xarelto® has also been proven to reduce the risk of stroke in people with afib, not caused by a heart valve problem. for people with afib currently well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke. i tried warfarin before, but the blood testing routine and dietary restrictions had me off my game. not this time. not with xarelto®. i'll have another arnold palmer. make mine a kevin nealon. really, brian? hey, safety first. like all blood thinners, don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of a blood clot or stroke. while taking, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. xarelto® may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you have had spinal anesthesia while on xarelto®, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. xarelto® has been prescribed more than 11 million times in the u.s. and that number's growing. like your guys' scores. with xarelto® there is no regular blood monitoring, and no known dietary restrictions. treatment with xarelto® was the right move for us. ask your doctor about xarelto®. (vo)cars for crash survival,ning subaru has developed our most revolutionary feature yet. a car that can see trouble... ...and stop itself to avoid it. when the insurance institute for highway safety tested front crash prevention nobody beat subaru models with eyesight. not honda. not ford or any other brand. subaru eyesight. an extra set of eyes, every time you drive. we're back and here's what's going on. fire officials are investigating what cause add ceiling to collapse during a concert at a famed minneapolis club sending at least two people to the hospital. the venue has yet to announce where a sold-out performance this weekend will be canceled. >> today, a colorado ruled against a suburban denver baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. they said he cannot cite his religious belief because it would lead to discrimination. and starting this fall, if you want to know how to get to "sesame street," head on over to hbo. the children's classic has struck a deal for the next five seasons to debut on the premium cable network. after airing, they will become available for freon pbs. well, some breaking news out of baghdad. one of the deadliest single strikes ever by isis. this after a truck bomb tore through a crowded market. it happened in a shia dominated district. u.s. fighter jets are now staging for anti-isis missions. help put the scope of this attack into perspective for us. >> reporter: a truck bomb in the early morning hours driven by an isis, it appeared suicide bomber. this truck bomb was driven right into the heart of a fruit and vegetable market blowing up the stalls, blowing up the vendors, blowing up civilians buying their produce for the day. a terrible death toll with estimates ranging from 60 to over 75 people killed. this is part of the isis campaign to keep the civil war, the ethnic and religious war between sunnis and shias, persians and arabs going. it is this fight that drives isis, brings in its recruits. it is the fire which keeps isis going and it was burning today in baghdad. isis also now has a new threat, that one coming from turkey. the u.s. announced yesterday that american fighter jets, four f-16s took off from a base in southern turkey and attacked isis targets in northern syria. before the u.s. had access to bases in southern turkey, american fighter jets had to fly from the persian gulf, flying a thousand miles to reach their targets and then a thousand miles back again. now from the bases in southern turkey, american jets can be over isis targets in just 15 minutes. that's a significant tactical change. nbc news. >> thank you so much for that. back now to politics from a foreign policy perspective. isis has a big place on the 2016 debate stage as the two dozen candidates set out this week. jeb bush blamed the obama administration for the unraveling situation in iraq. >> like the president himself, she opposed the surge, then joined in claiming credit for its success. then stood by as that hard-won victory by american allied forces was thrown away. when the president and secretary clinton, the storied team of rivals took office. so eager to be the history makers, they failed to be the peacemakers. >> and donald trump told morning joe he's open to putting boots on the ground if that's what it will take to stop isis. >> they have great money because they have oil. every place where they have oil, i would knock the hell out of them. i would put boots on the ground in those areas. i would take the oil. what you're doing, is you're cutting off a big portion of their money source. >> david, with a welcome to you. >> hi. >> just today donald trump posts an instagram video of jihadi john with the teelt "not under my watch." this video shows obama playing golf. when do you think we are going to get some solid policy plans from the candidates and not just rhetoric and calling out the others and these inflammatory 15-second videos? >> well, probably january 2017. i think it's unlikely because politics today is sort of descended to a level of name-calling. and donald trump has proven that it's name-calling that gets you attention and that substance has nothing to do with it. after all, donald trump has zero foreign policy experience. he wouldn't hire a janitor in one of his buildings that has as little previous experience as he does in the area of foreign policy. >> what do you think of his statement that he'd put boots on the ground to take out isis? >> i think it's nonsense. i'm sure he has no idea of how he would begin to do that. there's a republican party saying that we're going to be tougher that president obama has been. there's anti-war from bernie sanders to rand paul, which this isn't our fight. and then there's hillary clinton left kind of walking a tight rope not trying to distance herself too much from the president, but at the same time trying to remind people that when she was within his candidate, he was one of the people pushing for tougher action. >> look, what you're saying here, we have this new poll of the iowa voters, and they say trump would be the strongest on terrorism, strongest on immigration, strongest on economy. we've heard trump bash china on jobs, say boots on the ground against isis. clearly, those messages are resonating with the voters. you suggest inauguration day, but it's got to come down before that. >> well, you got to hope so. certainly some of them are going to be more serious about it. john kasich is serious about policy. clearly hillary clinton is serious about policy and these issues. so you will get some concrete stuff. but donald trump is all heat and no light. he is purely there to appeal to emotions and that that's what appeals to voters in august before an election. this is the equivalent of the nfl preseason where they look like real games but they don't mean a thing. >> whether or not you agree with their plan, who on the 2016 trail has given us the most comprehensive strategy to counter isis? anyone? >> clearly hillary clinton is the most experienced in terms of foreign policy. she's offered nuanced arguments where she has suggested we should have been tougher dealing with the either region. marco rubio, jeb bush have been on the more substantive side of the republican side there. then you've got the people pounding the table and making the feel good speeches that they would be tougher and bringing it down to, forgive the expression, manho manhood, which gives manhood a bad name. >> do you think benghazi still has the potential to hurt, though, hillary clinton? >> no, i think benghazi is a long, long time ago. the e-mail thing or some story that hasn't come out yet might. people have been pounding on the benghazi drum for a long time. it's become one of those things that i think voters can too easily tune out. there's a small fraction of voters who believe something bad happened, and facts on either side aren't going to change their view. the vast majority of people have moved on. they're going to care about the issues that have to do with their wallet, jobs, and their future. and security issues next. but things like benghazi are long over. >> more recently, broad out whether or not congress upholds the iran nuclear deal next month. who do you think in the 2016 poll has the background to navigate this? >> i think every single person involved in the campaign from the democratic side to the republican side will seek to have better relations with israel than barack obama has with israel. barack obama has sort of gone at this with a chip on his shoulder. the relationship right now is completely toxic. it is going to stay toxic for the next 18 months because of the iran deal and because it's become so personal. simply by showing up and saying i'm not barack obama, they're going to improve the relationship. but i think a number of them from both sides are sincere in recognizing we need the israel relationship, we need it to improve. i wouldn't be surprised if hillary clinton or jeb bush or any of the others got on a plane, flew to israel, flew to the persian gulf to talk to arab allies and say, look, we've got to work together better than we have recently. >> this week, hillary clinton vowed to build on the iran nuclear deal. >> you play the hand you're dealt. and we played that hand to get them to the table to make unprecedented concessions. i will do everything necessary to make sure the lid stays on their nuclear weapons program and i will begin to form a coalition against iran on all the other things they do which are dangerous. >> david, are you at all surprised that we've not heard more on foreign policy from the one candidate who indeed was our nation's chief diplomat as secretary of state or as you suggested domestic issues are playing higher in the minds of voters at this point? >> i'm not really surprised. i think she does want to address domestic policy issues. she can't really be too critical of the administration. but her position on the iran deal strikes me as the right one. the deal's ultimately going to become reality. how do you make this deal work, focus on that rather than wishing there was something else that had happened or we lived in an alternative universe. i think she's captured that pretty well. given that the republicans have been hammering against it, she's the one who's got the iran deal best. >> okay. thanks for the chat. much appreciated. it is a big day for us here at msnbc with another exciting announcement about the upcoming global citizens festival. today we learn the celebrity host for the event. >> i am very excited to announce that on september 26, i will join steven colbert, hugh jackman, kerry washington and olivia wilde to co-host the 2015 global citizen festival in new york city. we will be coming together to join artists like pearl jam, beyonce, ed sheeran and cold play as well as tens of thousands of global citizens to encourage our world leaders to commit to ending extreme poverty. the best part, you can be there too. >> you can all head to globalcitizen.org to learn more how to eastern your tickets. and join us for live special coverage right here on msnbc. it wi you don't want to miss that. on . but you're armed with a roomy new jansport backpack, a powerful new dell 2-in-1 laptop, and durable new stellar notebooks, so you're walking the halls with varsity level swagger. that's what we call that new gear feeling. you left this on the bus... get it at the place with the experts to get you the right gear. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. to breathe with copd?ow hard it can be it can feel like this. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva respimat does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva respimat. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain or problems passing urine, stop taking spiriva respimat and call your doctor right away. side effects include sore throat, cough, dry mouth and sinus infection. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. to learn about spiriva respimat slow-moving mist, ask your doctor or visit spirivarespimat.com about what happens when you turn sixty-five. but, really, it's what you do before that counts. see, medicare doesn't cover everything. only about eighty percent of part b medical costs. the rest is on you. 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[ male announcer ] go long™. it will be one decade this month since hurricane katrina a billion plus dollars in damage, the costliest storm in u.s. history. to put it in perspective, super storm sandy was less than half that cost. and then the human toll, more than 1,000 people killed, but even with those staggering numbers, katrina does not come close to a storm that none of us were around to witness. al roker documents in his new book. a category four hurricane that nearly wiped galveston texas off the map in 1900. somewhere between 8,000 and 12,000 people were killed. and they had no clue what was coming at them. the storm of the century is as much a historical document that will forever change how we forecast weather. let's talk about the prospective of this storm. this was incredible in 1900, help us to understand the kind of damage that it did. >> it destroyed 80% of the buildings in galveston, galveston was in 1900, an up and coming city. it had electricity, streetlig streetlights. it was a bustling port city. it had per capita more millionaires than any place in the united states. >> really? >> it was a captain of industry. and it was one of these places where they felt there was a prevailing attitude that storms couldn't -- hurricanes couldn't hit galveston. the preeminent forecaster at the time, isaac klein said, we don't need to build a seawall, we'll be okay. there will be some storms, we can weather them. they cleaned up afterwards, they moved on. this one was a category four storm, before they knew what the categories were. >> and the irony is, they knew this was coming, but not the folks in the united states. cubans, the cuban government. the jesuits ran an institute that looked at hurricanes back then. they forecasted this storm was going to come across the caribbean, into the gulf and smash into texas. the u.s. weather bureau was jealous and walled off cuba tell graphically, so that forecast never left cuba. >> what did cuba have that we did not have. how did this change everything? >> they had an extensive telegraphic network throughout the caribbean. they got almost realtime data as storms came across. because the -- they still had high droppers, thermometers, barometers, so all that would be sent into havana, they put it all together and come up with a forecast, this thing was pretty accurate. >> was this a turning point? is this what changed the way we forecast? >> it did, the u.s. weather bureau centralized all its power in washington, and sent out the forecast to the local u.s. weather station. well, after that, all local u.s. weather stations became responsible for their own forecasts. >> big lessons learned? >> yes, it cost 10,000 people their lives and life in galveston in the days and weeks after that hurricane was miserable. >> okay. let's talk about evacuation issues sometimes. you get a lot of people who want to hunker down. i don't know how many times i've watched you in the "today" show where you're barely hanging on. is it because therein been bad experience with the bottleneck of evacuations? >> i think what happens is, it's been 10 years since katrina, as you get every year, you get further away from a major hurricane or disaster, people's memories start to fade. that wasn't so bad, i survived this. it -- but it's coming for you. and when -- that's when most -- the biggest amount of deaths in hurricanes is flooding. people are trapped and drown. when people tell you to evacuate. you have to evacuate. >> human nature is such that we could over react. >> you can say that didn't happen, but what if it had? and a lot of times, it's bad in one place, but not so bad where you are in the example of hurricane isaac, the year before, katrina hit. well, it devastated connecticut, parts of long island, but in new york city, it was okay. it wasn't quite so bad. people say, that wasn't so bad. tell that to the folks who lost their homes in connecticut and long eye land. >> what was your biggest takeaway from writing this book? >> we have a lot of hubris. we believe we are masters of our environment and domain, and we're not. >> al roker, the book is the storm of the century. i thought they could be talking about you, my friend. so funny. >> i love you. >> i know. >> al roker. thank you so much. we'll tell you in the morning on "wake up with al." >> i'll see you saturday and sunday on weekends with alex vehicle. a man mohyeldin is next with the explosion from china. and a possible biden 2016 run. it's all ahead. stick around. r been the king of the campus on day one. but you're armed with a roomy new jansport backpack, a powerful new dell 2-in-1 laptop, and durable new stellar notebooks, so you're walking the halls with varsity level swagger. that's what we call that new gear feeling. you left this on the bus... get it at the place with the experts to get you the right gear. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. don't wait for a chip like this to crack your whole windshield. with safelite's exclusive resin, you get a strong repair... ...that you can trust. plus with most insurance a safelite repair is no cost to you. really?! safelite repair, safelite replace. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. ♪ as we age, certain nutrients... longer than ever. ...become especially important. from the makers of one a day fifty-plus. new one a day proactive sixty-five plus. with high potency vitamin b12... ...and more vitamin d. it's how i try to live... how i stay active. so i need nutrition... that won't weigh me down. for the nutrition you want without the calories you don't... introducing boost 100 calories. each delicious snack size drink gives you... 25 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. so it's big in nutrition and small in calories. i'm not about to swim in the slow lane. stay strong. stay active with boost®. call it the super bowl of retail politics, the iowa state fair kicked off today. 20 presidential candidates will attend including donald trump, the soap box is already hot. >> hillary probably is not going to come, she'll e-mail in her appearances. >> another hot political story developing. will joe biden run for president. the strongest sign yet that the vice president is considering a 2016 campaign. his son's former adviser speaks out in his first tv interview since joining the draft biden pack. also black lives matter interrupt a jeb bush rally. i'll speak with the two activists that led that demonstration, and the horrific explosion in china kills 50 and injures hundreds. we are on the ground where rescue and cleanup operations are still underway. it's home to blue ribbon steers, fried food on a stick and the butter cow. the iowa state fair kicks off today. aside from the rides and deep fried other yowls, it's a major test for the 2016 presidential candidates. today mike huckabee was first up on the famous soap box. take a listen. >> big changes, not little

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