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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders got into the presidential race Thursday, becoming Hillary Clinton's first official challenger for the Democratic nomination. His website has a disclaimer: "Paid for by Bernie not the billionaires."

Although he caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate, he's not a registered Democrat — he's actually the longest-serving independent in congressional history. (There's no rule, by the way, barring candidates who are not registered Democrats from running in the Democratic primary.)

Sanders is one of those politicians known by only one name — everyone in the Capitol knows who "Bernie" is. He's a fiery, left-wing voice who calls himself a democratic socialist. And he's never lost his Brooklyn accent or his absent-minded professor look.

Here are three reasons why Sanders' candidacy could actually help the Clinton campaign:

1. Progressives now have a champion

OK, he's not Elizabeth Warren. But the left-wing base of the Democratic Party has been hungering for an alternative to Clinton and now they have one. HRC herself welcomed him into the race by tweeting: "I agree with Bernie. Focus must be on helping America's middle class."

I agree with Bernie. Focus must be on helping America's middle class. GOP would hold them back. I welcome him to the race. –H

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 30, 2015

Sanders will force her to focus on issues important to the progressive base of the party, like climate change, campaign finance reform and income inequality. All of which she has already been talking about. But the contrast with Sanders may help her find that sweet spot between the left wing of the party and the center of American politics a little faster. She's a progressive who says "the deck is stacked in favor of those at the top," she supports a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, and she wants an "end to the era of mass incarceration." But, in comparison to Sanders, it's clear she's no socialist.

2. All candidates need a sparring partner

Clinton can't stand on the debate stage alone. Having challengers will help her sharpen her message and her skills, which are rusty from being out of the arena for eight years. And the sparring will not be lethal because Sanders has said that although he thinks questions of Clinton's ethics are "fair game," he will not air any negative ads against her. Sanders will be joined by other Clinton challengers. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is expected to join the race; so is former Democratic Sen. Jim Webb and the former Republican senator and Democratic governor of Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee.

3. He can't beat her

Sanders is a long shot. So are the other three potential Democratic candidates. But they're all serious, substantive challengers. All of them are current or former governors or senators — there's not a talk show host or a House member in the bunch. Democratic activists all over the country have been saying they want a real debate, not a coronation. And now they have one. Even though HRC's position as the leader of the Democratic pack hasn't changed, a multicandidate race could make the eventual nominee a much stronger general election candidate.

On the Republican side of the 2016 race, this was the week the courting of the Latino vote seemed to begin.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas spoke at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, after the group criticized him for skipping their summit last month. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush went on a Spanish-language tour — first to Puerto Rico and then speaking to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference in Houston.

Latinos are part of the electorate everyone agrees is key, but the GOP has struggled to connect. They have long skewed Democratic, but the last two presidential elections hit Republicans especially hard — they voted overwhelmingly for Obama. But this time around two major candidates on the right — Cruz and Marco Rubio — are Hispanic. And despite that box he checked, Jeb Bush is not Latino, but his wife is Mexican-American, and he speaks fluent Spanish.

Cruz, who is Cuban-American, told the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce about his immigrant father who struggled to get a job in the 1960s. He said his father came to terms with the fact that if he was up against an American for a job, "they'll hire the other guy."

Asked how he would attract Hispanic voters in 2016, he called the community "fundamentally conservative," and cited shared values like faith, family, patriotism, and hard work.

"I don't think I've ever seen a Hispanic panhandler," he told the audience. "And the reason is in our community it would be shameful to be begging on the street."

That's a line he has said before but during a presidential election, every word is more closely scrutinized. His hometown paper, The Houston Chronicle, noted this:

"Two days after making the statement, the Republican presidential contender refused to offer an opinion about African-Americans who beg for money on the street. Asked Thursday what he thought of them, Cruz turned away without speaking, striding into a senators-only elevator in the Capitol and waiting for the doors to close."

Cruz added at the chamber, "Now if you want people to work their fingers to the bones, hard work, you'll have Hispanic men and women lining up to work hard and provide for their families. Those are all conservative values."

Cruz also repeatedly pointed to polls that show the top issue for Hispanic voters (like nearly all others) is the economy. He called it the central issue for 2016, and said his "No. 1 priority" in the Senate "has been economic growth."

In Puerto Rico, Bush pushed for statehood, advocated a legal pathway to citizenship and spoke adoringly about his wife, and his bilingual, bicultural children.

Though Puerto Rico doesn't have any votes in the electoral college, it does send delegates to the conventions — and Bush's visit made for good optics back in the U.S. It was covered by Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision.

During those stops, Bush also spoke about his Catholic faith, which he converted to 20 years ago. In Houston, he called the audience of Hispanic Christians "the hope of this country."

Bush also hopes to capitalize on his last name. His older brother, George W., won about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2004 election, the best showing ever for a Republican.

Sen. Marco Rubio, who is also Cuban-American, spoke to NPR recently about what he feels the Republican Party needs to do to win over Latinos.

"Well, at the end, I don't think people go to the ballot box and say, 'I'm a Latino, therefore I'm voting Democrat,'" he said. "I think they bring with them their hopes and fears about the future, and they vote for whoever they think best understands them. And the challenge the Republican Party has had is unfairly, but it's the reality, they've been portrayed as a party that doesn't care about people who are trying to make it."

Republicans are hoping they can make inroads with Hispanics in 2016 given some disaffection among Latinos with President Obama's handling of deportations. But with Republicans in Congress standing in the way of comprehensive immigration reform, that is going to be a tough argument.

Hillary Clinton, the leading contender on the Democratic side, hopes to capitalize on that when she takes her pitch to Hispanics on the road in places like Nevada and Colorado.

2016 Presidential Race

Ted Cruz

Jeb Bush

Latinos

Marco Rubio

Hillary Clinton

Hispanics

On the Republican side of the 2016 race, this was the week the courting of the Latino vote seemed to begin.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas spoke at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, after the group criticized him for skipping their summit last month. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush went on a Spanish-language tour — first to Puerto Rico and then speaking to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference in Houston.

Latinos are part of the electorate everyone agrees is key, but the GOP has struggled to connect. They have long skewed Democratic, but the last two presidential elections hit Republicans especially hard — they voted overwhelmingly for Obama. But this time around two major candidates on the right — Cruz and Marco Rubio — are Hispanic. And despite that box he checked, Jeb Bush is not Latino, but his wife is Mexican-American, and he speaks fluent Spanish.

Cruz, who is Cuban-American, told the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce about his immigrant father who struggled to get a job in the 1960s. He said his father came to terms with the fact that if he was up against an American for a job, "they'll hire the other guy."

Asked how he would attract Hispanic voters in 2016, he called the community "fundamentally conservative," and cited shared values like faith, family, patriotism, and hard work.

"I don't think I've ever seen a Hispanic panhandler," he told the audience. "And the reason is in our community it would be shameful to be begging on the street."

That's a line he has said before but during a presidential election, every word is more closely scrutinized. His hometown paper, The Houston Chronicle, noted this:

"Two days after making the statement, the Republican presidential contender refused to offer an opinion about African-Americans who beg for money on the street. Asked Thursday what he thought of them, Cruz turned away without speaking, striding into a senators-only elevator in the Capitol and waiting for the doors to close."

Cruz added at the chamber, "Now if you want people to work their fingers to the bones, hard work, you'll have Hispanic men and women lining up to work hard and provide for their families. Those are all conservative values."

Cruz also repeatedly pointed to polls that show the top issue for Hispanic voters (like nearly all others) is the economy. He called it the central issue for 2016, and said his "No. 1 priority" in the Senate "has been economic growth."

In Puerto Rico, Bush pushed for statehood, advocated a legal pathway to citizenship and spoke adoringly about his wife, and his bilingual, bicultural children.

Though Puerto Rico doesn't have any votes in the electoral college, it does send delegates to the conventions — and Bush's visit made for good optics back in the U.S. It was covered by Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision.

During those stops, Bush also spoke about his Catholic faith, which he converted to 20 years ago. In Houston, he called the audience of Hispanic Christians "the hope of this country."

Bush also hopes to capitalize on his last name. His older brother, George W., won about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2004 election, the best showing ever for a Republican.

Sen. Marco Rubio, who is also Cuban-American, spoke to NPR recently about what he feels the Republican Party needs to do to win over Latinos.

"Well, at the end, I don't think people go to the ballot box and say, 'I'm a Latino, therefore I'm voting Democrat,'" he said. "I think they bring with them their hopes and fears about the future, and they vote for whoever they think best understands them. And the challenge the Republican Party has had is unfairly, but it's the reality, they've been portrayed as a party that doesn't care about people who are trying to make it."

Republicans are hoping they can make inroads with Hispanics in 2016 given some disaffection among Latinos with President Obama's handling of deportations. But with Republicans in Congress standing in the way of comprehensive immigration reform, that is going to be a tough argument.

Hillary Clinton, the leading contender on the Democratic side, hopes to capitalize on that when she takes her pitch to Hispanics on the road in places like Nevada and Colorado.

2016 Presidential Race

Ted Cruz

Jeb Bush

Latinos

Marco Rubio

Hillary Clinton

Hispanics

The unrest in Baltimore and other cities regarding alleged police misconduct has prompted new calls for law enforcement officers to wear body cameras. Such recordings could provide accountability and transparency in potentially controversial circumstances.

At least, that's the idea.

But the recent controversies and scandals also have introduced questions about how often officers' stories line up with what's on video.

Last summer, a rookie police officer in Oakland, Calif., pulled his gun on a man and his two young sons outside a fire station at night. The action was recorded by the cop's body camera as he issued orders to them: "Put, put the bag down! Huh? Put your hands up! Put you hands up! Turn around!"

Fortunately, the cop, who was white, quickly learned that the suspect, who was black, wasn't a burglar, but rather an off-duty firefighter. The officer apologized, though like virtually any video involving police these days, the incident went viral.

The Oakland Police Department has been using body cameras since 2010, and they've had an impact — cases of use-of-force and citizen complaints are both down, says Police Chief Sean Whent.

But have officers' reports fit what their cameras have recorded?

"Our experience has been that the evidence has largely supported the actions of the police officers, in showing that they were in fact behaving appropriately," Whent says.

Whent has been at the State Capitol in Sacramento a lot lately, testifying on behalf of a hotly contested proposed law that would have prevented police officers — in cases where force was used — from reviewing their own recordings before giving a statement.

Code Switch

Is It 'Uprising' Or 'Riot'? That Depends On Who's Watching

Photos: 'Ain't No Way You Can Sit Here And Be Silent'

Code Switch

Civilians Can Record Police Encounters, But When Is It Interference?

Whent says he wants to know what a cop recalls from an incident, not what the video recorded. That's important, he says, because it goes to the cop's state of mind.

"And we believe the public has more faith in the process if the officer does not watch the video prior," he says.

It's all about transparency, says Whent.

But many law enforcement groups aren't buying that, which have rallied in opposition to the measure, saying it that would undermine accurate police reports — and that it presumes that the police will lie.

Mike Rains, an attorney who specializes in representing police officers and their unions, says that's absurd.

"It really is the only reason for not showing an officer the video, is that 'okay, we don't want you to be able to get your story straight,' he says. "And it's all premised on that. And it's crazy!"

Crazy or not, this debate is just one of the questions raised by body camera use by police officers. Throughout the nation, policymakers are talking about rules for when a cop's camera should be turned on, where the recordings should be stored, and when — if ever — they should be shared with the public.

But this issue of whether a cop can see his or her video before writing a report is the most contentious, says Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. While she says there is a risk that some police officers will tailor their reports based on their videos, she also says that, in many instances, the possibility that other footage might be available could deter that.

"It may not be possible for them to be as much as a schemer as people think they can be, because you have lots of videos, not just the one that might be on the officer himself," she says. "In this day and age we might have videos from other perspectives, and they cannot anticipate what those will show."

Still, it appears that — for now — law enforcement is winning the debate.

Earlier this week the Los Angeles Police Commission voted to allow its officers to review their video before writing reports. Days later the California Assembly bill Oakland Police Chief Whent testified about was amended to give police around that same access — except in cities like Oakland that set their own limits.

body cameras

ferguson

CAlifornia

police brutality

crime

Baltimore

race relations

oakland