Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Ali Velshi 20190913

Good job, she writes. By, ali. It is friday, september 13th. I talked myself into believing that all i was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot. Thats what Actress Felicity Huffman said in a letter to federal judges as she finds out whether she will be spending time in prison for her participation in the Largest College scandal, admissions scandal in history. A scandal that could get even bigger as that investigation continues. The first parent who pleaded guilty in the scandal, to be sentenced, possibly setting a precedent for other parents, facing similar allegations. She was just one of 50 people charged in the criminal scheme, exposing how wealthy parents bribed a california businessman to get their children into elite colleges and universities, through fraudulent means. There is a big hebigger issue a and one still to be solved which we will get into in a moment. And following the latest on the case from the courthouse in boston is nbcs ron allen. Good afternoon, what have we got. Reporter it is a very intense scene inside the courthouse, ali, it is a packed courtroom, there is an overflow room, the session has been going on now since about 2 30 for about a half hour or so, one line from the prosecutor about parenting, essentially lecturing huffman about parenting, saying most parents have the moral compass not to lie, but the defendant did not. Pointing out that this is not a blunder or a mistake. Theyre emphasizing the criminality of what she did. At one point, he says, the defendant must go to jail for one month, because the only meaningful and significant sanction for the criminal activity that she engagesd in i to go to prison for one month. That gives you a sent tone of. This the defense will have its chance after the prosecution finishes. We think this is going to take about an hour or so. Which means maybe another half hour. But it is unclear. But youre right. The big issue is whether or not the judge feels that huffman should go to prison. The sense of it from our reporters inside the courtroom is that the judge seems to be siding with the argument that there was not a determinant amount of loss here, there was not a huge amount of harm done here, as is the case in many typical fraud cases so that seems to be the tone of it now. Thats something that the judge is trying to decide, was there a loss here, who was harmed in this situation . The prosecutors have argued that it was the university, it was the testing services, that were harmed, their reputations at least, and while the defense is saying essentially, this is something that was a breaking of the rules, not a breaking of the law, and it is a news helicopter overhead, and to give you a sense of the scrutiny, the amount of attention that is focused on this. And youre right, ali, a lot of other people involved in this case. 51 who were charged in the case, who are watching all of this. About half of them pleaded guilty, and the other half or so are taking their case to trial. And they want to see how this all turns out. If she does not get, if she gets leniency, that might embolden people to continue pushing on for trial, or it may convince some people to go and try and strike a deal. This could go many different ways. We hope to have a dition, decision shortly. And as fthat decision comes in shortly, well go right back to ron. Keep in mind, Felicity Huffman is just one player in the College Admissions conspiracy, and it is a deeply corrupt and ongoing systemic issue in the countrys highly selective College Admissions process and to talk more about it, i want to bring in a civil rights lawyer, chief of the Educational Opportunity segment of the Civil Rights Division under the department of justice under president obama. Im going to say, i dislike the coverage of this story, because we are so focused on the thing that someone will get a sentence for, whether she serves time in jail or not, and it entirely ignores the fact that there are thousands of children getting into college across this country, today, breaking no rules, breaking no rules, but that their privilege allows them to hire these college counselors, to game the system, to undertake the activities that look good on their applications, while people on those mean does not get to compete on that level because that is the story we should be considering. Absolutely. This is an opportunity to look at the ways in which the process is unfair and privileges the wealthy and starts in the beginning from access to Early Childhood education to the fact that our schools are funded by property tax values, that means that students in wealthy neighborhoods have go go to a better school. Have access to resources from Guidance Counselors to advanced placement and different courses, and other students dont have a chance to take. So when we get to the part of College Admissions, we add to that the fact that students have, you know, a billion dollar industry, in terms of preparation for the s. A. T. , and the a. C. T. , and it is, part of that industry is paying for people to work on College Essays and to make sure that people have a leg up, throughout this process. But they had, as you point out, the leg up, probably since birth. Correct. And we recognize that. We know that thats happening. Thats why this bright shiny object is distracting because Felicity Huffman will or wont get sentenced and well think some justice has been done but in that question that the judge asked, who gets harmed, everybody who doesnt in some fashion have a leg up, an economic advantage, in this country, is harmed by the way we do this. How do we even think about fixing this . Because as you said, its not a college problem. It is everything to do with education and taxation problem. I think it is first recognizing the ways in which wealth has played such a role in our educational system from the beginning to the point of College Admissions and actually even beyond in terms of the way the college debt and other things impact the ability of students to be able to stay in college, and move on. And so thats the first part of it. The second is to understand thatcologist admissions, theres a lot of ways in which we continue to push for an admissions process that privileges the elite. So that includes thinking about limiting the ways in which colleges can take account of students background, their wealth, their race and ethnicity, those are challenges that weve seen going around the country, which is in some ways another aspect of this, which is how do we actually have a process that takes account of the kinds of ways in which tunes dont have the same advantages, when theyre coming into the process. Who fixes that, though . Is that a president ial thing . Is that ale fr federal thing . Who looks at this holistically and say we get it, this is broken, heres what fixes look like. Selective institution,cologists in this country, are a very small slice of higher education. It is important that they start this process, of really making sure in the way in which they are inviting students in and the way theyre doing outreach and the way theyre evaluating who should be in their schools, it is one that doesnt actually bake in things like legacy, things like wealth, and the way that they are currently. Or sports to be exact. And lets start there. And we have to go at the questions of how it is that we recognize again the fact that the test process, the test prep process, but also the opportunity to learn, which is the most important part of this, is impacted by wealth. I hope when this story of this scandal passes, we are really still having that story, because the number of people affected by this scandal is miniscule compared to the number of qualified students who will not get a place in a college that they want to, because they dont have legacy, because they dont have sports, because they dont have wealth, from when they were young. So thank you for helping us with that. Thank you very much. A former chief of the Educational Opportunity section of the Civil Rights Division, at the department of justice. Turning now to 2020, just last hour, we learned when the next president ial debate is going to be, the dnc announced the fourth debate at Otterbine University on october 15 and potentially october 16 if needed. Here is what the candidates will be, we will tell you if needed in a second. The candidates have to reeve 2 or more support in at least four polls and refer donations from a minimum of 130,000 unique donors, and 400 unique donors in at least 20 states. The most recent National Poll released before last nights democratic debate showed most minds were not completely made up on the president ial pick. 55 of those polled said they would consider another candidate. The ten democratic president ial candidates on the stage tried to use that to their advantage. And this time, ideological skimps were exposed even more. Joining me now for analysis on what last nights performance mean force the 2020 race are msnbc National Political correspondent steve, at the big board and msnbc senior political editor, beth, thanks to both of you for being here. And steve, a logistics question, does everybody who made it into last nights debate have a berth in the next debate . Yes, so all ten will be there, and right now, it looks like one other has qualified. Tom steyer, and there is still a possibility that maybe tulsi gabbard, somebody else could get in there. But it looks like there will be at least 11 for the next one. Lets talk about this idea that there are people who have indicated, they like somebody, but its not baked. They might move to someone else. Which makes this much more more compelling for top tier candidates and you might like joe biden and way ahead but maybe i can sway you. My experience on campaign trail this year, everybody is shopping. Democratic voters are very eager to participate. Theyre very interested in this race. They havent for the most part settled on somebody. We see polling, and steve will share that with us, kind of where people are at, you know, who do you like, do you like joe biden, or Bernie Sanders or what not, but that doesnt mean theyre baked in and they are looking for the person who they think can most credibly beat trump, thats why these debates are very important, even if we dont see particularly any big movements out of any of them and my guess from last nights debate, we wont see a big shift, sort of a biden, bernie, warren top tier, nonetheless this is where people, large audiences get a measure of these candidates, see how they do on their feet, and envision them on the stage with trump, and over time, as we get closer to those all important early voting states, iowa, New Hampshire, and have a better sense of who they think can go the distance. And what do the numbers tell us, steve . Taking a look at the contrast between two of the candidates, as much anticipated last night, biden versus Elizabeth Warren. Seeing them on the same stage. It looks like certainly this is a competition that is going to define the week, maybe the months to come. We thought we would compare the coalitions here. Because in a lot of ways these are from opposite ends of the Democratic Party. Among white voters, there is actually a lot of overlap. Biden, 21 . Warren 23 . Where you start to see a big difference though between who they are appealing to, each candidates coalition, when you look at black voters, look at that biden support, doubles, 42 , running right now, among black voters and meanwhile, warren support drops to just 10 among black voters so that is one area where bidens coalition is clearly different than warrens coalition. How about this . Hen you look among voters we talk about the divide, we see nowadays, among white voters, College Educated versus noncollege, and here we go, white College Educated voters, wasnt has a 29 first place on the democratic side right now. And basically almost doubling up joe biden who is only at 16 . Noncollege white voters, tend to be more blue collar white voters, there is biden running at 26 and warren down at 15 , so a bit of a reversal right there. And there is also the age divide. We have been talking about one all year. Under 45 years old, both of them running at 17 . Where do you see the difference . You see it at 45 and older. Look at biden support, it explodes to 30 . And warren down at 19. So again, you see a difference. And one other here, its the ideological divide. Self described liberals, theres warren at 26. Almost ten points ahead of biden. Looking at moderates and conservatives, theres biden up at 29. Warren all the way down at 12. So more moderate, older, more blue collar, stronger africanamerican support, thats the biden coalition, and warren, sort of the opposite. So beth, theyre appealing to different people. Ideologically and demographically. What happens . How do you square that . Well, thats a great question, you could base it on times when weve seen this in the past. For example in 2004, howard dean, another sort of new england, liberal, who appealed very much to white College Educated people, as does Elizabeth Warren this time, he flamed up very strong, kind of in those months into 2004 and then flamed out very quickly in iowa. And that was it. And he was done. And john kerry went on to be the nominee. A lot of reasons for that. Because among others, he didnt have a well organized campaign in iowa, as some of the other candidates particularly kerry but on the other hand, and bidens people will be the first ones to tell you, the Democratic Coalition is not simply made up of these liberal white College Educated people. They make that point at every opportunity. Every opportunity. And those folks that theyre people, the biden voters are typically not as much on twitter and not out there being very visible, perhaps, with how they feel about their candidate. But the end of the day, if they go into that voting booth, thats who they will choose. You see that very consistently with the black support across many polls for biden. He cant win the democratic nomination without a good sizable showing of black support. They made a point last night whatever happens in the first two primaries and caucuses, they think this thing is not a good measure until after South Carolina. I would argue with joe biden because the message is all about electability, if he doesnt do well in New Hampshire and iowa, it does matter for him. Coming off of last nights debate, former Vice President joe biden is looking to maintain the momentum with africanamerican voters. This sunday, biden will be in birmingham, alabama to deliver what his campaign is calling a significant speech on race and quote the battle for the soul of america. It is the keynote speech at the services to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four young africanamerican girls, and injured several others in what marked a Pivotal Moment in the civil rights movement. Joining me now is Derrick Johnson who serves as the president and the ceo of the naacp. Good to see you, and it is a perfect opportunity to continue the conversation i was just having with beth about joe biden, and his, what seems to be enduring and unique appeal with the Africanamerican Community. You know, it is unique. When you begin to look at all of the candidates. Joe biden served eight years, as Vice President for president barm. Hes very familiar with the African Community, particularly when senator in delaware, and there he is, somewhat of a familiar voice there. But it is still early. And i think all of the candidates should continue to understand that that is a community, were not a monolith, as you broke down on the screen, we had one category that said black, but how are they doing in terms of College Educated blacks, how are they doing in terms of given generations of blacks, and these are the things that the candidates should really be looking at, and understand that were looking for candidates who think to issues, and how those issues will best address the needs and interests of the very Diverse Community that we know as the Africanamerican Community. What then is the answer to that . Appeal to crowds of africanamericans, and their leaders, or their churches, or their communities . Or underscoring of policy that will ultimately help a lot of americans, but will help in a very focused way, africanamericans, because there are a number of candidates who have come out with policies that are not necessarily labeled as beneficial to africanamericans, but would certainly disproportionately enhance the lives and Economic Prosperity of africanamericans. Well, the real question is are you treating Africanamerican Community like you would treat any other community, appreciating the uniqueness of the community, africanamericans who live in rural south, are different, than africanamericans who live in urban population centers. And africanamericans who are under the age of 35 may see the world differently than africanamericans who are over the age of 55. This is about a campaign to get as many voters as possible. So how are you targeting the most loyal voting bloc in the democratic base, in a way that which you could speak to all of the interests of the totality of the community. Were not a monolith. And so i believe the candidate who really understands that, continues to drill in, targeting messages to africanamerican, will be the candidate who will prevail in the primary. If i were an adviser to any number of candidates, i would want to be watching you, saying whats the clue youre giving me. Who is working at this . Im not asking to you endorse candidates, im saying who has shown the hard work of developing policies that would go down that road . Because it seems to me that africanamericans and other groups have been frustrated over the years, that Democratic Candidates show up to their events, assume theyre coming out to vote, but do not necessarily follow policies that would help them. So this would be the election and the moment to say stop coming to our events, stop commemorating stuff, because that doesnt actually change things for africanamericans on the ground. I actually dont know why candidates do it. Because it doesnt. If you dont have policies that deal with the criminal Justice System and incarceration, and address the idea of reparations, and deal with red lining, and deal with the access to capital, why does showing ups a someth g something, at something help . It is typically the reflection of the Consulting Group advising the candidate, the staffing surrounding the candidates, and many individuals who run for the office of the presidency, they will staff with consultants who are familiar with the broader community, with very little diversity, and even with some diversity, very little knowledge of how unique the African Community is. Im a person who grew up in detroit, michigan. I live in jarkson, mississippi. And i run a national organization. That Broad Perspective has allowed me to understand how i communicate with individuals in Shreveport Louisiana is remarkably different than how i talk to voters in oakland, california. Both africanamericans. But all may have interests around criminal Justice Reform but what are the nuances that i need to be attuned to, to ensure that i capture the energy, the support, of all of those communities. You cannot do that if you have a set of consultants or Campaign Advisers who are not familiar with the uniqueness of the Africanamerican Community. So i will put that poll up again that i just showed that indicates joe biden leading against black supporters, and is that reflected, joe biden at 46, and Bernie Sanders at 10, and Elizabeth Warren, at 10, Kamala Harris at seven and is that indicative of what you said, the complex understanding of the range and breadth of the africanamerican experience in america . Well, i would venture to say thats respective of name i. D. It is so early in this process, that many voters have not had the opportunity to hear messages penetrate. You know, for africanamericans, if you want to move the needle, often times it is not in traditional media, its in black radio, its in our social networks, its penetrating where we exist, not by going to a church to commemorate an event, but actually being present in the places where we will congregate, as a community. Africanamericans, as we move forward towards the election day, and the targeted states, you know, who is spending time in South Carolina . Theres a fertile community in des moines, iowa, are we having those real conversations with africanamericans in those communities . And it is really going to resonate not in the polling but resonate on election day. I hear you. And i cant doubt your experience. And i hear what youre saying. I just dont know why we get all that excited that people come to visit people and people come to events and people, because none of that has changed the experience for africanamericans. Absolutely. In america. Yes. I think it is time to dispense of this stuff. Stop inviting people to events and say just give me policy, just tell me what youre actually going to do, just show me your record. And not only that, and also, invest in my community by hiring individuals who understand the people, because theyre from the community. Yes. And they can provide the necessary expertise. Thank you, sir. I appreciate the conversation. Lets have this many more times. Because that next election may change this. And hopefully that begins to change the experience for africanamericans across the board with their varied opinions and thoughts and experiences. Good to see you again. The president and the ceo of the naacp. Up next, a moment for teachers during last nights democratic debate. President ial contenders including former public schoolteacher Elizabeth Warren talk about what should done to fix the countrys education system. We will take a look at their proposed solutions. Plus, President Trump has yet to deliver on a gun control proposal that he vowed to be acceptable to everybody. How close are Party Leaders to making a deal . Well check it out. Y leaders to making a deal . Well check it out the best eggs. In so many ways. Which cage free eggs taste fresher and more delicious . Only egglands best. Which organic eggs have more vitamins and less saturated fat . Only egglands best. Better taste, better nutrition, better eggs. Now, theres skyrizi. I have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. 3 out of 4 people achieved. 90 clearer skin at 4 months. After just 2 doses. Skyrizi may increase your risk of infections. And lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection. Or symptoms such as fevers,. Sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs. Or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. I feel free to bare my skin. Visit skyrizi. Com. Hey. You must be stevens phone. Now you can know whos on your network and control who shouldnt be, only with xfinity xfi. Simple. Easy. Awesome. American teachers were in the spotlight for part of last nights democratic debate in houston where a number of 2020 hopefuls pledged to improve the lives of educators. So we need to pay teachers more because the data clearly shows that a good teachers worth his or her weight in gold. We need to lighten up the emphasis on standardized tests. Step one is appoint a secretary of education who actually believes in Public Education. And lets be clear, in all of the ways we talk about this, money for Public Schools should stay in Public Schools. Not go anywhere else. I have, it is part of my proposal we will put 2 trillion in investing in our history sbcus for teachers. Under my legislation we move to see that every teacher in america makes at least 60,000 a year. I propose that we take is those very poor schools, the title one schools, triple amount of money we spend from 15 to 45 billion a year. The proposals came after more than a year of widespread teacher strikes across the nation and lets look at the financial burden our educators face and why it is garnering so much attention. The salaries, according to the National Center for education statistics, in 2016 and 2017, the average u. S. Teacher salary was 58,950. Which is less than what average teachers earned almost 20 years ago. When you adjusted it for inflation. Coming up next, teachers have to foot the bill on a lengthy list of supplies for their classrooms and students. According toe a survey from the zm department of education no less, 94 of teachers pay for supplies and spend an average of 479 a year, decorations for the classroom, pencils, crayons, extra books, that figure can be much higher for teachers, who have students from low income homes and finally, the student loan crisis affects people in all sorts of professions and teachers are no exception. Seven out of ten College Students leave school with Student Loan Debt and for the class of 2017 the average amount owed is 28,650. Compare that to the average starting teacher salary in the 2016 to to 2017 school year, just over 38,000. Joining me now randy winegarden, the president of the American Federation of teacher, one of the nations largest teacher labor unions, and good to see you. Were seeing interesting proposals from the candidates to deal specifically with education and salaries and funding for Public Schools but in fact, this problem isnt a federal problem. It occurs in many states with i have systematically for the last several decades underfunded Public Education. So it was, ali, i was at the debate last night, and you know, about an hour in, i tweeted, where is the education question, and it was just, but i was pretty thrilled and stunned about where the heart and soul of the Democratic Party is right now. Because what youre seeing is that over the course of the last two decades, we have not heard this either on stage, at the state level, or at the federal level, about the importance of Public Education, as foundational to the democracy, and importance of Public Education, as foundational for childrens growth and for children to thrive. And as you and i have talked, so many times, that before those teacher strikes, a couple of years ago, over 28 states spent less on Public Education than they did before the great recession, 20072008. And now, because of all of the work that teachers on the ground, and parents, and we and others have done, were down to 21 states. But so 21 states still spend less than they did, you know, ten years ago. And you see the effects of this in two ways. You just brilliantly talked about it in terms of teacher salary. And in terms of student debt. But what you also see is class sizes that are in the 40s or 50s. You see horrible conditions in terms of schools. And where teachers are actually picking up mouse droppings and other things, before classes start. You see like in newark, the lead in the water. You know, this is not just a flint issue. You see the, you know, some places have internet, some places dont. Yurp. And if we are really trying to deal with equity, thats why the proposals that bidemade, and warren had made, and others have made, and bernie have made, to basically say were going to triple, double and triple title one, that was johnsons program that said the federal government in terms of equity should be giving kids who have the least the most. And thats what we need to do to level up. Let me ask you, what causes you, and your members, to back a certain candidate . What will it be . Because there are platitudes and this applies to Climate Change and health care and i was talking to Derrick Johnson of the naacp, all of, 100 of the Democratic Candidates, are on the right side of all of the platitudes but teaching, like dealing with africanamericans, like dealing with health care, like dealing with climate, requires complicated nuanced multifaceted policy. Do you see that anywhere . I actually have. But i think you have, so look, we have 1. 7 million members, and we go from the adjunct professor, and the graduate worker, to the bus driver, to the correction officer, in montana, and lots of teachers and public employees, and nurses in between. So, but what i think you hear from teachers, and thats why weve been doing a very different process this year, is that the issue is, as much about heart, as it is about ahead. That, you know, too often over the last 20 years, there has been a lot of platitudes. How many people have said i wants to be the education president and how many people say we want to make sure every kid regardless of the zip code has a great education. How are we going to meet the needs of all kids . How are we going to have a welcoming and safe environment for them . How are we going to actually have powerful instruction instead of testing, testing, testing . So when Elizabeth Warren, and im not doing this to lift up anybody, or send any messages but when Elizabeth Warren says, you know, i was a special needs teacher, that means a lot to people, because it says, okay, she understands the challenges, in a classroom. When joe biden says we need to triple title one, when Bernie Sanders says we need to do this kind of stuff, so were listening to the heart and the head. Randi, good to talk to you as always, thanks for joining us. The president of the American Federation of teachers. Breaking news, a judge is handing down the sentence for Felicity Huffman for her part in the College Admissions scandal. Ron has more from the courthouse. Ron . Reporter its Community Service. The judge is saying she will Order Community service in this case. But she is still on the stand, still, court is still in session, the judge is still reading out the rationale for why this decision is being made but it seems to be Community Service. It does not seem there will be a prison sentence. One of the most dramatic moments in this whole situation came when Felicity Huffman stood up to address the court, speaking from printed remarks, she said things like, let me say first how sorry i am, and im deeply sorry to the schools, to the students at the universities, she says i thought to myself, as she was driving to the testing center, turn around, turn around, i was so ashamed. She says one of the hardest things was after my arrest, my daughter said i dont know who you are anymore. And she apologized to her daughter. So should i take responsibility for my actions, as the first step for making amends for my crime, and i accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate. But again, the judge, the session is still continuing, there may be more, but what the rationale is for this, the judge is saying that huffman is not responsible for example in some ways doing harm to the College Admissions process, the judge is saying that that was already a flawed process, and she shouldnt hold the responsibility for that. Throughout this whole argument, the judge has said that theres been a problem trying to see where the harm was. Where there was loss involved in this. The prosecutors have argued that the universities, that the testing centers, that students, have suffered a loss because of what she did. But the judge apparently doesnt see it that way. The judge at one point also pointed out that this case is one of the smaller cases, one of the smaller amounts of bribes that was made in this case. As you know, huffman paid 15,000 to a testing center, to bump up her daughters s. A. T. Scores, by some 400 points. And has also emphasized her daughter did not go to usc, to the school, as a result of all of this. So some very dramatic moments here. The judge still making more remarks. The prosecutors are winding down. But the bottom line is that im going to Order Community service in this case is what the judge has said. Ali . Interesting. Not clear where the harm is. Community service, is he accounting for the time that she has spent in custody, time served . Or is there no reference to time served in the sentence . Reporter well, im just reading some more, there is a note that the judge is apparently saying there should be incarceration imposed, im imposing 14 day sentence, im not, im literally, reading a transcript of the proceedings, and that is what it is saying. I dont know what the rationale for this is. But clearly, the judge seems to be say at this point, there should be incarceration imposed. I am imposing a 14day sentence. I dont think that, and literally, it is pausing there. So apparently, now, the judge is feeling that there should be some sort of incarceration, punishment, a 14 day sentence and a 30,000 dollars fine along with a supervised one year of probation is probably what it is going to say. 250 hours of Community Service work. So this is a pretty stiff sentence. If in fact the prosecutors had asked for a month of, a month of time in prison, she is getting 14 days in prison. So thats not a that seems to be right. That seems to be a little more in line with the idea that it is some distance toward what prosecutors were looking for. Felicity huffman, is obviously, has been asking for leniency, she asked for just Community Service, and there has been some argument made on the part of her Defense Attorneys that theres no, a, theres nobody really harmed by this thing, and b, shes not the cause of this larger institutional problem. Prosecutors have argued that there has been some harm done, as a result of these activities. And that she is a contributor to what is ultimately a larger problem and a bigger scandal. Ron . Reporter exactly, but the bottom line that the judge, the ra rationale, the judge is saying that there is a crime committed that should be punished by the perpetrator going to jail. That seemed to be the line that the judge was trying to weigh throughout her, throughout this long discussion of how the case was being played out. So if that in fact is the precedent, that sends quite a message to some of the other folks out there trilying to dece whether to plead or take their cases to trial. I think of lori lauf lynn and her husband for example, they are facing 40 years in prison. Based on what they did. Remember, that case involves half a million, money paid to the university, or to employees at the university. The students actually did go to tole the school. Phony dossiers of members of a crew team that they werent. There were other parents who fall into that category as well of having paid six figure sums to these universities to get their kids into school. And as we also know, there are about a half a dozen students at least, perhaps more, who have been dismissed from various schools like georgetown, stanford, because it is seen that they were either aware or beneficiaries all of this. So this is quite something. Its quite something. The judge is saying that there should be incarceration imposed. 14day sentence. She says i dont think anyone wants to go to prison. And that this is the right sentence here. So thats where we are. Okay. Reporter a very lengthy rationale but she is going to prison. I think that lengthy rationale in this, the first of these cases, is probably valuable, because this wont be the last person. Shes one of more than 50 people charged. We will keep an eye on you, ron, and on those mics that are outside the courtroom in boston and if any of the parties to this case come out to talk, we will bring that to our viewers. Ron allen in boston, thank you sir. Coming up, the Trump Administration takes on Energy Efficient light bulbs and the president blames, i cant say this, the president blames Energy Efficient light bulbs for making him look orange. I didnt just say that, right . This is tape. That just came out of my mouth as a veteran journalist. Youre watching msnbc. Youre watching msnbc. This fall, book two, separate qualifying stays at choicehotels. Com. And earn a free night. Because when your business is rewarding yourself, our business is you. Book direct at choicehotels. Com Liberty Mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. I wish i could shake your hand. Granted. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. We are still waiting for attorneys to come to the microphones in boston, news broke moments ago that Actress Felicity Huffman has been sentenced to 14 days for her role in the College Admissions scandal. There may be a Community Service component to that as well. We will discuss that when we get more information. While the president and congress decide what to do about guns theyre facing pressure on what to do about another issue, Climate Change, hundreds of activists gathered near the white house today for a climate strike to demand that political leaders address the climate crisis, joined by greta thunberg, who spearheaded the Youth Climate Movement and had this message for the crowd. I am so proud of you for coming here. This is more than i think anyone had ever expected. This is very overwhelming. And just never give up. We will continue. As a young activist pushes for action, there is new evidence that the American Public is on their side a New Washington post Tiger Family Foundation poll shows that 30 disapprove of the way, twothirds disapprove of the way President Trump is handling Climate Change and 38 believe krimt climate is a crisis. Joining us is David Wallace wells, deputy climate chief for a book life after warming the uninhabitable earth and a look at what would happen to fight Climate Change. I cant remember how many pages but if you read it, you would not be a person who would think it is not a major concern but a crisis. Im frightened after reading your book. The truth is the science is alarming and all we can do is showcase that to the public and let them make their own decisions. And inevitable warming of two degrees would completely transform every aspect of life and two degrees likely to hit a couple of damages, damage from storms and Sea Level Rise 100 fold and displace 280 Million People just through Sea Level Rise and huge cities in the middle east and south asia unlivebly hot in summer, you couldnt go outside without risking heat stroke and death. Unbelievable warming and it could get considerably worse. The worst Case Scenario is eight degrees in the next 80 years or so. And thats catastrophic. But you think about, your book, that is interesting, you divide it into things. So some people will identify Climate Change with sea level rising. Others will identify it with storms. Or fires. Or drought. Or flooding. You talked about it on a lot of different levels. And it seems very obvious, as you write about it. And yet, would he have an administration that is undoing things that might help us get, that might prevent us from getting to the two degree increase. Most people dont think we can prevent that from happening under current law in the United States or anywhere else. I mean it is a tricky problem the world over. I mean trump is not the only climate villain out there. Bolsonaro, in the amazon, that is really problematic. We have putin. We have xi jingping with a mixed record in china. The truth is unless we have a cord flated global action, every individual nation faces a perverse incentive structure, because aside from china and maybe the u. S. , no nation contributes enough Carbon Emissions to really see an impact within their own borders based on what theyre doing which means that any individual nation could take really dramatic positive action, or really dramatic negative action and see almost no impact on the extreme weather that their citizens are experiencing. But one area i think is really worth focusing on particularly when we talk about the different impacts, and that is public health. It hasnt been talked about enough. But already, this year, last year, nine Million People died from small particulate pollution from the burning of fossil fuel, nine million, death at the scale of a hot kau holocaust and in the u. S. , where pollution is not bad, it affects cognitive performance and adhd and low birth weight and every part of human health that you can imagine is damaged by small particulates. You are sensitive about the hall kauholocaust in the book, it was actually a thing that was happening in a contained amount of time, that at least, if you wanted to, you could acknowledge was happening, and was bad. Part of the problem with Climate Change is our mines are not geared toward the, were doing x, and the result is y, so a hurricane comes, and a lot of people dont want to discuss the fact that that might be climateoriented this. Last hurricane, the slowmoving hurricane, of greater intensity, that wasnt pushed away by prevailing winds, a lot of Climate Sciences say seweyoure going to get higher intensity hurricanes because the storms wont be pushed away and the poles are not the same as they were before. And food will be less bountiful and the same plots of land producing half as much food if we dont change course. And the nutritional content of food will be affected. Less nutritional value in the rice and you need to eat more of it. Yes. And all of the impacts, this he cascade against one another and in the big picture the thing that is scariest to me, the impacts of Climate Change will make it harder to deal we are S International geopolitics where so many nations are retreating from International Frameworks embracing a more zero sum view of what politics can be and should be and thinking about their own interests in much more narrowly selfinterested ways. Thats a much more complicated landscape to navigate to try to coordinate some kind of Global Response than the International Community we were dealing with 20 years ago. Probably those impacts are only going accelerate when we see Something Like 200, 300, 400 million climate refugees which the u. N. Says we should expect by 2050. David hes also the author of the uninhabitable earth. I cannot more strongly recommend that you read a particular book. This will change your perspective or at least give you perspective on the climate situation. Msnbcs teaming up on Climate Change with Georgetown University and our daily planet, an independent environmental News Organization september 19th and 20th. All right. Coming up, trump hits the panic button over his own economic policies. Plus, a live look at the courthouse in boston where Felicity Huffman has just been sentenced to 14 days in prison. Wow thats ensure max protein, with high protein and 1 gram sugar. 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Before starting, tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures and any kidney or liver problems. Enjoy every momentand help protect yourself from an unexpected one, like a cardiovascular event. Are you doing enough . Ask your doctor if its time for xarelto®. To learn more about cost and how janssen can help, visit xarelto. Com. All right. We are still waiting for attorneys to come to the microphones in boston. This just after news broke that Actress Felicity Huffman has been sentenced to 14 days Community Service and fined 30,000 for her role in the College Admissions scandal. I just want to make sure i said that right. Its 14 days in jail plus Community Service plus 30,000. There may be a potential thaw. Beijing will suspend tariff hikes on u. S. Soy beans and pork and other farm goods. This comes after President Trump said he was postpone a hike in tariffs and ahead of a new round of trade talks. While the president may be making progress on trade, he does appear to be very worried about the economy. Earlier this week he sent a series of tweets calling on, quote, the bone heads at the Federal Reserve to cut Interest Rates to zero or less than zero. That means depositors would pay the bank to hold their money instead of receiving interest. New york times columnist wrote after he sent those tweets that they were revealing in two ways. Quote, it is now clear that he is in full blown panic over his economic policies. Second hes clueless about why his policies arent working. Joining me now to talk about this is linda yu. She is an economist and author of the book what would the great economist do . In response to your book title, the great economist wouldnt do what donald trump is doing. No, they wouldnt. There would be a lot more probably consideration of the false set of what the evidence shows. Coming to these two things because obviously on the u. S. china trade war, it has caused quite a lot of economic damage to both countries. Now one of the reasons why i think the chinese has paused exempting key things like soy beans and pork from their list of tariffs is because you essentially want theyre almost doing a phased deescalation. So they pause, they exempt, trump exempts, trump pauses. They are trying to get to a deal. But i think they also probably spot an opportunity because President Trump opened the door to a deal, norts a shortterm deal. So that could help him with this bigger economic dilemma. And lets face it, the u. S. In terms of the economy is slowing down like most other major economies. But what President Trump thinks is a fix, he is actually trying to take a lesson from the european playbook on that which is here in europe, the European Central Bank Actually cut the Interest Rate deeper into negative territory. So in other words you got a trade war thats causing economic harm. He wants to halt that before the election cycle speeds up. He sees the fed as a cheaper way of putting some stimulus into the economy instead of say tax cuts which add to the debt. So all of that is not something probably most great economists Say Something you should be doing. So tax cuts as part of fiscal policy, theyre different tools. They can ultimately support the same goal. But theyre different tools. And the president is not supposed to be using Monetary Policy to achieve his goals. Yeah, absolutely right. The independent fed is one of the real bastians of credibility in the financial markets. But this is not the first time that hes actually lashed out at the fed. I think this is very much triggered by whats happening in other central banks. In one sense hes right in that the negative Interest Rate, the European Central bank has said in theory if you deposited money, youd have to pay the bank to hold your money. So thats a way of stimulating the economy. The fed of course is not in opposition. The u. S. Economy is actually stronger than the european economies. Major economies in europe like germany and the uk are shrinking. The u. S. Is not. So you dont really push for something dramatic unless youre there. And most importantly, the government can use fiscal policy, as you say, taxes in other ways to boost the economy. Its really not great to interfere with the independent operations of the Federal Reserve. They are looking for price stability. And, remember, also, the u. S. Dollars credibility depends on the fed. So there are much wider consequences by trying to influence the fed. The but not the first time. Whos worse . President xi of china or the Federal Reserve chairman jay powell . Thats a good question. Linda, thanks for joining me as always. Linda is an economist and the author. That wraps up this hour for me. Ill see you right back here monday 1 00 p. M. Eastern and 3 00 p. M. Eastern. Thank you for watching. Deadline white house with Nicolle Wallace starts now. Hi, everyone. Its 4 00 in new york. The 2020 democrats spent much of last night, and today jockeying for advantage in the post debate spin wars. Some just trying to distinguish themselves after all ten frontrunners finally shared one debate stage for the first time in this election cycle. But other candidates spent the day in damage control mode. The showdown driving todays news, Julian Castros suggestion that joe biden has trouble remembering his line of attack landed with a thud in the debate hall. Our colleague Chris Matthews press ct