on the center stage of this weekend's oscars. president obama is pushing back against republicans who are threatening to block a supreme court nominee. the president said that the republicans will damage the credibility of the court if they hold fast to their threats of not even meeting with the possibly nominee. libby casey is joining us from washington, and libby, the president used an unusual venue to speak about this. >> reporter: authorities, richelle. he was meeting with king abdullah of jordan, and they met with the press briefly where the conversation was really about syria, and the refugees, but the president did take one question, and of course it was about the supreme court. a big topic here in washington. very predictable. and a clear indication that president obama wants to shape the conversation about naming a supreme court justice. republicans drew a line in the sand this week, promising to shut down the process of replacing juice scalley a. >> ha remember, on the republn side have unanimously agreed and wrote a letter to senator mcconnell saying we are of the view that there should not be a hearing in the committee for anyone that the president no more mates >> reporter: the president responding to the hearing. >> i recognize that the politics are hard for them, because the easier thing to do is to give into the most extreme voices within their party and stand pat and do nothing. but that's not our job. our job is to fulfill our constitutional duties. >> reporter: republicans say any decision should wait until after the 2016 presidential election. >> we are very comfortable letting the american people speak on this issue. the american people will choose a president in november, and they will get a choice between a president that is likely to point someone in the tradition of justice scalley a. or a president who is likely to point the type of nominees that we have seen from president obama. >> reporter: but the president dismissed suggestions that he's a lame duck in his last year of office. saying that politicians only become lame ducks when the elections are nine months away. >> they believe in reading the text of the constitution, and focusing on the intent of the constitution. none of the founding fathers thought that when it comes to the president carrying out his duties he should do it for three years and then on the last year stop doing it. >> reporter: senate democrats are backing up the commander in chief and say that the republicans will regret shutting down the vetting process. >> senate republicans are giving a middle finger to the american people, and giving a middle finger to this president. that's why we're confident that this is going to go very badly for mitch mcconnell and his republican conference. >> reporter: meanwhile, the white house said that president obama is reviewing candidates, and will be the best person for the job, politics aside. >> i'm confident that we'll get here where he's interviewing nominees, potential nominees in a conversation. i'm confident this he's not going to ask them which party primary they vote in. >> reporter: white house officials say that the president is not rushing his decision, which will be announced they say, sometime in the coming weeks. >> richelle, president obama has extended an invitation to republican leader mcconnell to come to the white house tomorrow. and that also goes to the head of the judiciary committee, chuck grassley, and clearly, the president is trying to pull them in and make it harder for them to push back against his will. richelle. >> we'll have to see if they accept that invitation, and in the meantime, there's an unexpected name floating around as one of the president's nominees, and who? >> brian sandoval, the governor of nevada. he has been governor since 2011, and before that, he was a federal judge who was viewed as a centrist. here's the key of information. he's a republican, richelle, so even floating his name and getting it out there, this was first reported by the "washington post" today, is indicating how the white house can make it harder for the republicans to push back. even if vand vol is not ultimately the pick, the white house is vetting or thinking about republican governors indicates that this will be a little tougher for the gop to say flat out no to any candidate that the president likes. >> extreme politicking here. donald trump is the had presidential frontrunner with the huge win in the nevada gop caucuses, and many of the states vote super tuesday, just six days away. trump is receiving endorsements from sitting members of congress. what is next for the republican campaign. >> reporter: donald trump didn't just win the nevada republican caucuses. even if you add up the votes of marco rubio and ted cruz, who finished second and third, together they couldn't have beaten him. it's trump's third straight victory, adding to an air of instability. >> we weren't being expected to win too much. and now we're winning, winning, winning the country, and soon the country is going to start winning winning winning. >> marco rubio's second-place finish was anything but decisive, beating cruz by only 2 and a half percentage points. >> the goal right now is to get someone to beat trump, and the problem is that part of the elite have already coalesced around rubio, and the voters are not following the lead. >> reporter: dan is an associate professor of political science at the university of nevada las vegas. and he sees the distant second-place finish as having a small silver lining for rubio. >> that's two races in a row that he came in second, and we're starting to build a narrative. >> reporter: cruz, for his part, has finished a very close third to rubio in the contest. and says that he's still the one with the best chance of beating trump. >> the only campaign that has beaten donald trump and the only campaign that can beat donald trump is is this campaign. >> cruz was helped in his home state of texas on wednesday with the endorsement of greg abbott, ahead of thursday night in houston. >> ted cruz is our candidate. >> much has said about the importance of finishing second or third in these primaries, but donald trump has a lead that even his closest rivals can not erase. >> here's the fact, the vast majority of republicans don't want donald trump to be the nominee. >> but here's a fact, most republican voters don't want him to be the nominee, and john kasich, in order to help rubio, knows this. >> look, we have 54 of these races and we have had four, so everybody needs to chill out. >> reporter: and as the gop's gang of five heads to houston in what promises to be a fiery debate, with reports that rubio and especially cruz expects to turn up the volume on trump, trump himself has the reason to have optimism. >> it's going to be an amazing two months ago. >> and the democrats are battling it out in south carolina. in columbia with that, john terrett. >> richelle, good evening, we're inside, and it's just so windy here in south carolina, we literally couldn't put our cameras and risk our crew outside. that's how windy it is, so we're inside as you can see. but the national headlines for the democrats today, harry reid, the minority leader of the senate supporting hilliary clinton. i think it will be a bigger story if he isn't supporting hilliary clinton, and here on the ground, the headline news with bernie sanders, under attack from the local paper for abandoning the state, allegedly before we get to this saturday's primary, and in the meantime, hilliary clinton is doubling down, not taking any chances. hours after a town hall on the campus of columbia university, bernie sanders came under attack from the local newspaper, accusing him of abandoning the state even before the first votes are cast in saturday's primary. the paper said that sanders is so far behind clinton in the polls that he is often in states where he has a better chance of winning. on the face, talking about poverty, but to push back on the notion that he's walking away. >> there's a feeling in south carolina that you're writing off the state. >> no, no, no. >> reporter: sanders has left for states like oklahoma and ohio, and there's no guarantee that he'll be back to witness saturday's result, expected to be a big clinton win. at a luncheon saturday, for the sorority, capa alpha, clinton, far ahead with blacks, appealed to them to look at her career in the voting booth. >> so here's what i ask for all of you. hold me accountable. i'm laying out my plans, my agenda my hopes, my dreams in this campaign. >> she rattled off a list of issues that these voters care deeply about. jobs, civil rights, and they rose to their feet talking about guttin -- >> that's why i support president obama 100% in his fulfilling hi constitutional duty to send a nominee for the court to the senate. >> reporter: clinton knows she most likely has south carolina in the bag, but appears to be taking no chances. unlike senators, she has key of events lined up for south carolina, including one with husband, bill, on the eve of voting. >> and late tonight, we have heard that hilliary clinton won't be in south carolina for the results of the primary, she's going to be in alabama, and her husband, bill, will be here to receive what they expect to be very good news. richelle some. >> all right, let's talk about south carolina right now. hilliary clinton is going to spend more time there, as she said in the palmetto state. but bernie sanders, does he have a path to victory? >> reporter: no, i don't think he does, quite frankly, and he was asked that in the report. they asked, are you abandoning south carolina in and he said no, seven in a row. but he is abandoning south carolina, and he has identified other areas of the country, the states of oklahoma and ohio where he is going to be tomorrow, where they think in the sanders campaign that they have a shot of winning, and that's what it's all about. so he's leaving south carolina, and we do not know if he'll be back in town for saturday's primary ruts, and i would expect not. >> seven nos. thank you, so much. >> a deadly storm is now taking aim at the east coast. here's the scene in pensacola almost. and that's scary stuff. but today, police in virginia are confirming three deaths. the tomorrow system ripped through the small town of waverley, ripping up trees. >> this is winter. and we don't expect to see a tornado outbreak in the middle of winter. normally, we get a few tornadoes, but not to the magnitude of this. this is the storm system, and we have the severe weather phase, and the severe storm phase, and i'll get to that part in a moment. but first of all, we want to take you to florida, these are the tornadoes that we saw in pensacola. we want to show you what that tornado did in the aerial videos of pensacola, the damage that we saw across this area. as you can see, a lot of structural damage in this area because of the tornadoes, and now assessing the damage that happened across that region and that was not the only place. it was alabama and mississippi and louisiana that saw that damage. coming back, i want to show you what we're looking at now for the rest of that region as the thunderstorms are pushing through. up toward the north, it's the carolinas, as well as into parts of virginia, delaware, maryland. look at these areas right here. i want to show you all of the tornadoes that we saw, about seven across this region, but this is waverley, where three people died. look at this damage across the area. amazing footage of this area, and it's not over yet. right now, we're still looking at warnings and watches across this region. right now, in parts of virginia, we're looking at a tornado watch, tornado warnings in effect, but tornado watches all the way up to parts of new jersey, and that is going to make its way still more toward the northeast. we're keeping an eye on this. >> all right, kevin, thank you very much. the united nations is saying that it has encountered difficulties in delivering aid to the town of darzor, today surrounded by forces, and they dropped supplies today. james bays has more from the united nations. >> in the briefing earlier, he said that they are now having meetings on the ground with their partners and others in dare i zor to make necessary adjustments, so it's clear that from the statements that they did drop drop this is a town by isil. and we're getting very limited speculation from the united nations, we're being told that. >> still to come, a fighting fire with fire. how the u.s. is planning to battle isil propaganda using hollywood's best and showing support for hundreds rallying around an officer convicted of shooting an unarmed black man. when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business. >> miles per hours are mobilizing to support a police officer who was treated unfairly because of his race. a juror in new york city convicted him of manslaughter and the unarmed shooting of a black man. and the protests are to support people against people of color. and this is a very layered story, roxana. >> we spoke with several chinese americans saying that metepeter yang is being singledt because he's asian, and there are others two say that he's getting what he deserves. a familiar chant rang out on saturday from cities from los angeles to new york. this time, for a chinese american rookie cop. >> we have reached a verdict. >> reporter: the week before, a new york city jury found peter yang guilty of manslaughter, liang said that he unintentionally shot the unarmed black man while patrolling a dark stairway in a housing project. and they say that it was no accident. >> because he got started and he wasn't properly holding his gun, he fired his gun. the gun did not just go off. >> leang faces up to 15 years behind bars. some chinese american activists say that he's being targeted because of his race, while white officers charged in the deaths of unarmed black men have gone unpunished. >> we have years of being scapegoated and being blamed for much larger things going on in this country, whether it be economic recession, or now criminal justice reform that's needed. >> in new york city's china town, the community is rallying around liang, saying that race played a role in his conviction. at this beauty salon, some hair dressers say that this is the first time that they have been spurred to speak out. >> what role did race play in this, if any? do you think that the result would have been different if officer liang was white? >> yes, i think that it had an impact. when i heard the news, i was really upset. it was really unfair. >> but others argue that liang is getting what he deserves. they interrupted saturday's protest in brooklyn with a rally of their own. saying killer cops. some are saying that he should not be punished at all. >> this is not a question of whether people think that he is totally innocent. people understand that he did something wrong, but it doesn't rise to the level manslaughter. and that's where the community feels that there's an unequal justice being meeted out here. >> liang's partner, who is white testified under i want unit from prosecution, and he was later fired. the trial is scheduled to be in april. and that judge is korean-american. cathy, we appreciate you joining me, and let's pick up on what roxana just reported in her story. do you agree that there should be some sort of punishment for peter liang? but the idea of 15 years is too much? >> i think that right now, i'm glad to hear that he's being held accountable, and we hope that when the sentences comes, he is held accountable. there have been many officers in the past that walked away and have been found guilty and walked away with probation, and the family hasn't come out with a statement of what they wish, and we haven't of what we want. but ultimately, we support the family. >> do you think that if there had been some sort offing prosecution in the deaths of ericeric ganner and michael bro, and do you think that there would be this level of ang for the asian american community? >> i think maybe not, but i also want to put this into context. in the past year, there are 14 officers in the country being put on trial for excessive force or deadly course, and in this case, yes, it's true, that there has not been an officer in a very long time who has been convicted. but it only means that we need to push officers to be more accountable. more in new york city, but we know what's happening across the country, and it's because of the last couple of years, and this is why it's hang. >> in the wake of, unfortunately, so many deaths of unarmed black men, some cop's got to hang, and it's easier to hang an asian because asians, they don't speak up. what's your reaction to that? >> i think that the people the more than that. i don't think that they're looking that ken thompson came into office to reform. he's the attorney who prosecuted cops in 1997. so ken thompson is far different than donovan, who didn't do anything about the man who skilled eric garner. it is a race issue, and liang did get treated unfairly, and in this process, the white officers should be held accountable too. but ultimately, i think what happened should happen. and it should happen to white officers as well. >> so what is coming out of the emotion that we're seeing? >> what do you mean? >> i mean, what type of discussion will come from this? obviously the black lives movement pushed a lot of the discussion, pushed political candidates to have to address them, and what do you think comes from this? >> i think what comes from this is conversations. so long organizing, and it's a conversation that we're going to have within our community. but what it means to be consolidated within the black communities when it comes to police brutality, but also what it means to be an asian american, and how white supremacy works, and it's clear in this case, asians are not white. and we have to join with people of color. >> important discussions for sure, and before i let you go, my understanding is that the organization has received threats. why? >> yes, individuals in the organization and the staff have received harassment for our support of the akai gurley family and emails, and posted online. we don't think that that's okay, and we have many people supporting us. >> more discussion for sure. >> 16 people pleaded not guilty to federal conspiracy to a charge in the armed take over at the wildlife refuge. am not bundy and 15 others were arraigned this afternoon. the judge reminded them that they're innocent until proven guilty. and one fired back, in the federal government, you're going to do whatever you want. up next, the future of iran, why friday's parliamentary elections are so important. and plus, putting your money where your mouth is. president obama promises financial aid it a key ally. >> wednesday was the final day of cam papering since the first leaks in iran over the nuclear program. today, the vote for the body is seen by many as more important because it could be responsible for choosing the next supreme leader. andrew simmons reports from teheran. >> reporter: campaigning is now over, and for iranians preparing to vote, the issue is the ailing economy, and how much it could be transformed with the lifting of sanctions, the impact could be seen by anyone landing in teheran. runways could resemble an aircraft museum with some airliners more than 30 years old. straight out of nuclear deal came a multibillion-dollar deal for iran for a dozen double-decker aircraft. but many iranians want to see the color of the money coming into the country. this millionaire investment banker said the scope is massive. >> we have the largest market in the region, and totally diversified industry. well educated people, natural resources, and a very large market for consumers. besides that, our market on tap for around 10 years. >> oil is the bedrock of the economy, but iran wants to reduce reliance on it. the car industry and a host of other lines of manufacturing. while the investment is potentially big, will there be new jobs and better wages? these are the questions of voters, and with a banking system that needs reform and bailouts, people to the know when to invest in iran's vast retail sector. investment had little effect on the rich, and the poor became poorer. now, the conservatives and hardliners have always been able to rely on support from lower income families. and if conditions improve, could that be changing? the answer is it could be, because the moderate president, rouhani, is responsible for sanctions being lifted, but there's a question of timing. >> i think that the lack of relations between the international committee. at the moment, there's a lack of confidence, and knowing each other. and to know each other more, and to get familiar with business. more targeted and more communication. >> reporter: and so it could be too soon for some voters to be convinced, despite what appears to be increasing support for moderates and reformers, it may not be enough to see a parliamentary defeat for hardliners and conservatives. andrew simmons, aljazeera, teheran. >> president obama said that he does not want to raise expectations about a cease-fire set to take place in syria this weekend. the president met with king abdullah at the white house today. and he ted that the ceasing of fighting will make it easier to end the long and bloody conflict. >> over the next weeks, if we could see some less violence that has been wracking that country, it provides us with the ability to provide a cease-fire in the north and the south. and allows us to move forward on the political, and it's going to be necessary to bring an end to the civil war in syria, and it would allow us to focus all of our parties, all of the parties in the entire world community, including russia, in going after isil. >> reporter: president obama said that the u.s. will sustained money to cope with the flood of refugees into syria, they have provided 3 and a half billion dollars in aid since the beginning of the syrian where. there are 600,000 syrian refugees living in jordan, but with jobs scare, some are saying that they have had enough. reporting from jordan. >> reporter: there are traffic jams here all the time now. the population has doubled in the past five year. 100,000 syrian refugees out number 90,000 jordanians. these university students are celebrating their graduation, but it will be even more difficult for them to find jobs. the municipality here is struggling to cope, with jordanians feeling neglected in a city within a city. >> the system should be directed to jordanians, the landowners, and the rest to the syrians. in the past, it was directed to the syrians, and not the jordanians. >> there are cultural links, as well as tribal ties between jordanians and syrians, but many in jordan feel that they're paying a price for their hospitality. when the syrian refugees first started coming, the jordanians welcomed them into their homes, but now that there are nowhere syrians than jordanians, there's a different feeling. some don't see an end to the conflict, and some worry that the temporary guests are becoming permanent residents. they are competing with syrians for the lowest paying jobs. >> under the law, they are not allowed to work so, if they can find another source of income, in addition to the assistance they receive, it doesn't matter how much it is. >> reporter: he runs the cellphone shop by himself, but he said that some employ syrians for less than $3 a day. jordanians can no longer afford to rent apartments. >> we have become slaves to the landlord. you can't say a word when they raise the rent. when they ask you to leave, they say, i have 100 syrians willing to pay. >> jordanian society is conservative by nature. you never saw a man and woman walking in the streets who are not relatives. with the syrians coming, everything has become perm isable. >> they have pumped billions of dollars into the economy to care for them. the jordanians say that they are also suffering. >> aid is starting to reach fiji after a devastating cyclone hit the island. >> it's not much, but it is a start. in the town of farooka, the soldiers have arrived. and there's an enormous job ahead. in some nearby villages, virtually every house has been destroyed. many are not waiting for the soldiers and are beginning their own temporary repairs, but in a place where no one is short, there's a plea. >> i need help from the government so i can have my house and start my life again with my family. >> reporter: the island was one of fiji's prettiest. in 2014, aljazeera filmed here, along with the old colonial streets. then this. filmed from one of the strongest buildings in town, it gives some idea of the wind and the power of the waves. it looks different now. every building has holes, some without roofs. the port building collapsed and churches are badly damaged. but it's the smaller villages that look the worst. shattered after a storm that hit at lunchtime on saturday and didn't pass until 7:00 in the evening. >> six solid hours. it was like -- it flew all not around in minutes. >> in the remnants of another village, more stories of terror. about 40 people were sheltering in the community hall, that yellow building behind me, but when it's roof was ripped off, they ran to the only other building still standing, but look what happened to it. all but one of those inside ran out just before the collapse. the 72-year-old lady who couldn't was buried on sunday, 50 meters from where she died. three people were killed. for the living, establishing the basics are a priority. many with out homes are sleeping in schools. schools won't be schools again here for weeks or months ago. children's worlds have been turned upside down. hundreds of students were evacuated out to fiji's main island on wednesday, and no one seems to have any idea when they or normal life will return. aljazeera, on the island of overlu, fiji. >> recognizing the civil rights movement. selma 50 years ago. and save being detroit one restaurant at a time. how the culinary cuisine is changing the once bankrupt city. >> one of the things that separates isil from al qaeda is the flashy social media propaganda the obama administration is trying to combat that and looking to hollywood for help. >> missile lock. >> top gun, not just one of the biggest movies of the 1980s, but it's also an example of a successful collaboration between hollywood and the u.s. military. now, the u.s. government is looking to the entertainment world for advice on how to defeat isle. the group uses potential media to defeat would be fighters. recently john kerry sat down with movie executives. >> folks in silicone valley who are experts in conveying messages, whether it's through film or entertainment, we should be seeking their advice on how to do our job better. >> at the justice department on wednesday, another meeting between government and industry to figure out how to undermine isil's message, but in the past, this kind of cooperation has been controversial. >> these bombs will go off today. >> it's the truth, i swear to you on my family's life. >> critics hate the glorification of torture. >> we're overrun. >> and it's safe to assume that the white house didn't work with the studio that made a movie about the 2012 u.s. compound in benghazi, libbia it's understandable, but -- >> to go into a meeting with a bunch of older male studio executives to ask them how to stop young muslims from being radicalized. >> may i be honest with you? i'm bad news. i'm not your friend, i'm not going to help you. i'm going to break you. any questions? >> a fictional word of warning, that both private company and government officials might want to he'd. rosilan jordan, aljazeera, washington. >> the culinary transformation, restaurants and upcoming chefs are placing a trail, and turning it into a gastronomical oasis. bisi onile-ere has more. >> carrot soup? >> evan hanson and a partner purchased an old abandoned building and turned it into a restaurant a year ago. >> detroit was the only place that seemed to make sense for this restaurant. >> plagued by blight, it was once a city that many investors tried to avoid, but not anymore. >> hanson's restaurant is more than a dozen new upscale restaurants in downtown detroit. it's estimated that the city's restaurant boom has created hundreds of jobs over the past five years. and saiden alone employs more than 70 people. >> they are interested in doing slightly more creative, traditional food. it's definitely on the rise. >> over the past three years, i would say that it has really exploded. >> serena daniels, a food critic for the metro times said that the real estate market where homes have sold for one grand or less is a huge draw. according to a 2015 global cities initiative report, more young people are moving into the city, and finding a place to live can be tough. the occupancy rate stands at 98%. and seven years ago, that would have been unheard of. >> i think that if you have a vision or you have an idea of something that maybe you heard about in another city, you can make it happen. >> reporter: some have called detroit a food meck a. but daniels disagrees, saying some old issues still exist. >> there's a huge amount of poverty within the city. it's very difficult to find a decent grocery store. to be honest, a lot of people who live in detroit and have been here for years may not be able to afford some of the higher end restaurants that are organize. >> reporter: parks and recreation executive chef, sarah welch, said that she hopes to see the city's downtown economic growth reach the neighborhoods. >> people think that detroit is the ten square miles that make up downtown, right? but it's not, it's so much larger, so seeing restaurants crop up outside of that will cause infrastructure to spread. >> evan hanson's restaurant, that was voted the best in the region said that it's yet another sign that america's ames comeback city is finding it's way. >> if you were to leave and come back five years from now, you would say what the hell? what's hang? >> bisi onile-ere, aljazeera, detroit. >> straight ahead, the lack of diversity in hollywood. still white and what can be done about it? ((úz@úxóxkxñ($9 >> the foot soldier for the 1965 voting rights march received today the congressional gold medal, present by the paul ryan and mitch mcconnell. escaped it on behalf of marchers who walked from selma to montgomery, alabama, to protest the rights to vote. >> enmovable lines, day in and day out. some it stood on courthouse steps. attempted to register and vote. some were beaten, tear gassed, left bleeding in the streets. >> congressman john lewis there. thanked the congressional leaders for making the ceremony possible. some are angry that congress has not worked to restore the voting rights act of 1995 after it was shut down in 2013, and new restrictions are put in place since 2012. are the oscars racist? those are the questions being asked on sunday. this is not the first time that the academy has been called to task for lack of diversity. the controversy is overshadowing the awards. >> for halle berry in 2004, the first and only best african-american actress at the oscars. but at this year's awards, the best actor nominees, all white. and the same for best actress. oscars so white, that's the claim. it's the hashtag that everyone is talking about. >> we'll continue fighting until we see more representative films coming out of hollywood. >> and it's overshadowing the film industry's biggest night. look at the nominations this career. you have films like "creed," it's the white guys, like sylvester stallone up for the award. the black film, straight out of compton, but it's the white filmmaker up for the award. only 28% of big roles went to non-white actors, and if you think that doesn't sound like many at all, it's even worse behind the scenes. in terms of the directors, only 12% of directors from other ethnic groups got the jobs. are we talking about oscars so white or from the industries. >> he's an industry veteran, and he says he knows what the root cause of this problem is. >> race is a fact. in this country. and it permeates this country. look around. >> is the academy racist some. >> i think that they think it's a problem because will smith and spike lee saying that it's a problem. >> academy award winner, steven, has been making phipps for decades. he's white like 74% of the other members. >> they don't hire, they honor people. you do good work, bingo, you get nominated. if you don't do good work, you don't. but they don't hire or make those movies, so to take it out on the membership, it's wrong. >> the academy said that it's going to double the number of female and eth mick members by 2020. the promise from the boss, we're going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up. the question is, how long will that really take? >> well, an entertainment and cultural critic, and an vh1 correspondent. joining me from los angeles, and both of you, ladies, let's talk about something that jamie foxx said this weekend at the american black film festival. so part of it was joking and part of it serious. so he said denzel and i, they both won oscars, and he says, we have been joking about this, hashtag what's the big deal? as if he's dismissive of the issue, right? and he also said, i was with sydney portier a couple of weeks ago, and in 196 3, all he asked finish was an opportunity to act. that's all we have to do, an opportunity. if you turn on the camera and say action, jamie said that we have taken ten steps back, it's all about the art and who cares about anything else? and jamie, how did the joke play, and did he have something serious to say about it as well? >> i think if you know jamie, he's that great rare balance of comedian and activist. in the room, the joke went off just as that, it erupted in laughter, and i was sitting at the table with the cast of blackish, and it was jamie, and he can get away with things that other comedians can't. he mimics will smith's accent. and a lot of people have said that he wasn't the first to have said it. but i think that he legitimately believes that a lot of people complaining about not having it be recognized don't deserve it. but there are those that did. it was an amazing film, and he deserves it for his body of work, so i think that jamie sort of meant it in jest. and i think that there was a little bit of truth to the joke, but it's easy for him to say that it's just about the art because he has won an oscar, and that's the pinnacle of success, and you hope to get one. he has gotten one, and he can say that, and i don't think that everybody else feels the same. i don't think that he meant it in an offensive way, but he's a comedian, and he didn't mean it in the heavy way. and he's an academy award-winning actor, and it's a time when it has overshadowed t. >> i want to you jump in on that, and do you think that the fact that jamie has won an oscar makes it hard for this to swallow for other people? >> absolutely, i think that janelle is absolutely right. if you have won an oscar, it's easy to say get over it. and jamie forgets that he had almost plugged the oscar campaign, and so much of it is not just your ability to perform on the screen, but the politics of it >> well, good evening. we are just six days away from supertuesday. for all the pu pundits who predt they'd donald trump would nefer get thneverget the nomination, e be stopped? john terret is in south carolina. >> good evening, harry reid has endorsed hillary clinton. he mite have endorsed bernie sanders but he didn't. he's going for the clinton campaign. before we get to vote here on