philadelphia area. ice and snow downed trees and power lines, forecasts show snow is on the way. it will not be as bad as wednesday. >> those are the headlines. "consider this" coming up next. is our face's power grid vulnerable to >> is our nation's power grid vulnerable to terrorists? a stunning study raises concerns. what toss it feel like to have the disorder, autism. a deadly uprising. and surviving a real life house of horrors, i'm antonio mora. here is more what's ahead. >> scary assault on the power

grid in california. >> beyond putting a few bullets into a power plant. >> what happens to children with autism. >> the per accept chul worl pery difficult. >> he will hand the keys over to jimmy fallon. >> we begin with what might be the most significant incident ever of domestic terrorism, are solving the power grid. in april of last year unknown attackers cut communications cables and fired 100 rounds to san jose power plant. quick action by the power

company minimized effects to consumers. brian michael jenkins, senior advisory at the rand operation, who has served as an advisory to the nuclear regulator commission. now regulatory commission. do you agree that it was not a terrorist attack? >> well, i don't know where the investigation is right now. it would be hard to say whether i agree or disagree. there is one interesting part of this attack: there was no claim of responsibility, no attempt by the perpetrators of the attack, to gain publicity. which is often a hallmark of terrorism. terrorism could be a motive but other motives could include a hostile employ, extortion or

other motives we don't know yet. >> we don't know what motive might have been behind this attack, but an official of pg&e said this was a very well-thought attack and that they targeted specific components. what does that tell you? >> that scug suggests either thd done their homework or had inside knowledge of how the system works. you know, we look as these facilities, there is an array of transformers and power lines. to the ordinary outsider it's mystifying. one wouldn't know which ones to fire rounds add, the ones -- at, the ones to go after. the fact that they were targeting specific components, does suggest a degree of more

sophisticated knowledge. >> ing a fellow of the nuclear regulatory commission, believes it could take down the u.s. power grid and black out much of the country. again what do you think? do you think there's a likelihood at least that this was a test for a bigger attack? >> i can say that. we have certainly seen in our own history of the united states, seen attacks ton power grid. in fact, in the years past, there was attacked on the same power grid last april, a group calling itself the new world liberation front carried out a bombing campaigning directed towards the electrical power grid and caused some serious blackouts in saws le sausalito n

jose. but to bring down a major tack that would bring down the system nationwide, that would require hitting a number of specific points, simultaneously, to preclude the possibility that the authorities could re-route power. it could happen. i don't want to say it's not feasible. but in recent years, we really haven't seen terrorist plots that have reached that magnitude. most of the terrorist plots we've seen in this country since 9/11, 68% of them have involved a single individual, the others have been tiny conspiracies. >> and in the past, there have been blackouts and they have as you said created all kinds of redundancies to prevent the major grids going down again. but they took out 17 transformers, six circuit breakers, it was $15 million

worth of damage. this was pretty significant what they managed to do. the power grid is out there, unprotected, right? >> there is no question, there are vulnerabilities, what is the scale of threat against those vulnerabilities? we have in our society, especially, a technology-dependent society like the united states, vulnerabilities are almost inventory. infinite. that does not necessarily translate into an actual threat. we have to make decisions how we allocate finite security forces to protect against these. we can't protect against every single possible contingency. we simply don't have the resources for that. >> as you bring up technology, when u.s. officials warn about attacks on electric power facilities an on the grid, the first thing that most often comes to mind is sophisticated computer hackers getting malwear

and shutting us down. do you think that's the biggest threat? >> i don't know if that's bigger one. in the cyberarea, in the form of physical sa sabotage, because te are so many people with this technical know-how which has become energiesingly available, we know -- increasingly available. you don't want to conflate that with terrorist attacks, but it certainly keeps the issue of cyber-vulnerability on the front pages. >> brian jenkins of the rand corporation, great to have you on the show. thank thank you. >> men who attended this school

said it was hell on earth and require the small white house on the property where they endured sexual abuse and brutal beatings. the search for 40 more bodies continues. jerry cooper was sold to the doaz yedozier school in 1950. works to stop violence. you were sent to this school because were running away and for decades there were horrors taking place there how did it stay open for 110 years? >> antonio, the only thing i can say to that question, the mindset it never claingd, you know, from the -- changed, from the day it started until it ended. the place was never policed properly by the right

authorities. and they did what they wanted to do, at will, when it came to us. >> and you believe that you actually witnessed a murder? >> absolutely. >> what happened? >> i had four other witnesses. we were actually is being coached. -- being coached, months before the regular season would open for the football team, i was a quarterback for the football team and we were practicing illegally according to state law. the heat was so bad and they hid us in the gym, because that way none of the other schools or people would know that we were practicing that time. and it took a boy's life. he was actually run to death. and i tried to -- go ahead sir. >> no please, go ahead. you tried what? >> i tried to intervene when he collapsed. and is it okay to use names?

>> uh-- sure. >> okay. his name was edgar elton. he was 15 years old. and he had collapsed a couple of times on the gym floor. and troy tidwell, along with r.w. hatton forced him to get up to run again. when i tried to intervene, r.w. hatton reached for his pistol. he was in the gym that day. they made him run until he collapsed again and he died. he didn't stand ochance. >> some of those people faced charges before. you believe many of those boys wering exposed to beatings that led to shock? >> we had children there as young as ten, 11 and 12 years old.

they couldn't take on some of the beating. i know i took on 135 lashes add 1:00, went into shock, had to rip my night clothing out of my rear end and also my legs. i can't imagine some of the ten-year-old, 11-year-old kids being able to survive beatings like that. they were quite common, went on every day. >> anything ocould lead to a beat -- could lead to a beating? >> absolutely. if you looked at somebody wrong, they called it -- you're odd-looking, what they referred to, or eye-balling me, you could go to the white house. anything could put you in the white house at any given time. >> and the university of south florida is leading the search for bodies on the school property. they've said that they expect to find a total of more than 100

bodies when they're done? >> yes, that's what i understand. and i understand that for the last few days, that they've had cadaver dogs in there from up massachusetts, connecticut, and i was told by a pretty good, reliable source, there's been some hits for the dogs. but that's all i be know at this point. >> and the university has released names hoping for information about boys that went missing. they know very little about these boys, anything tied to their deaths. you said at times if kids tried to escape they would actually send dogs out after them? >> absolutely. the full back for the football team just before we started our football practice had tried to escape. and he ended up with about 200 stitches in his face, arms,

chest, and that was from a dog attack after he had tried to get away. i mean, these dogs were brutal. they had dobie and they also had pit bull mixes along with bloodhounds. and the odds of you escaping them was about next to none. >> now florida prosecutors have yet to file really any significant charges or any big criminal investigations. what do you hope is going to come out of this? >> well, i would hope that after finding 24 more bodies, in a graveyard that the fdle stated there was only 31, would be do cause to launch a criminal investigation, wouldn't you sir? >> well, in seeing all these bodies certainly. but one instructor in the school was accused of abuse in a class action applaud i lawsuit but ths dismissed, the judge saying the

statute of limit limits limitation-- -- limitations had run out. the statute of limitations for murder never rung runs out. >> when i accused tri troy tid , he is accused under the fifth amended. the only -- amendment. it's not going ohappen through the state of florida. i've been through every political office there is, in this state, asking why. i even contacted the district attorney for the 14th district, which is where the crime happened, and he refuses to discuss it with me. >> how did your experience --

and his experience -- >> how did your experience at the school affect your life? >> badly. after i left this i've been treated all my life for post-stress. anger management. i have been in anger management on a couple of occasions. and i've just been an angry person ever since i left there. my life was changed when i left there. i wasn't the same kid that went in there. and it ruined a lot of these men's plieives. i have men -- lives. i have men now that are white house boys that are incarcerated and they are my age. this had a lot to do with that, you can't treat boys and not expect repercussions down the line. you just never heal from it.

>> i wish you the best of luck in uncuferg what truly happened there. , thank you. what's it really like to suffer from autism? we'll have a unique look of the mind of a child with autism. also, the curious case of a half naked statute. why it's causing such reaction. hermella aregawi. what's coming up? >> join the conversation on twitter @ajconsiderthis. and on our twitte facebook and e plus pages.

the stream is uniquely interactive television. we depend on you, >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> the stream. on al jazeera america and join the conversation online @ajamstream. al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> a new study may provide vital clues as to what's happening in the minds of children who suffer from autism. as many as a million children are believed to have some form of this disorder. the brains of children with autism appear to experience a lag when they experience sight and sound. while people without autism take less than a quarter of a second

to connect, children with autism take nearly twice as long. the results are deeply disorienting. >> imagine you're in the mind of a child with autism. are. >> come honey,. >> sights and sounds aren't matching up. lips are moving but the voice is delayed. confusion ensues, now you're scared and embarrassed. a bus approaches. but you only hear it once it's passed. you don't know any better. to you, this is normal. something as routine as riding in the car can be confusing.

>> you have homework? what do you want for dinner? [ ding ding ] >> what's going on, what did you do today? what did you do at recess? you okay? you okay? [ ding ding ding ] >> every play dates -- even play dates, what kids look forward to, can be too much. >> my dad's getting ice cream for me! [ laughter ] >> you want to come and play with us? maybe you can get some ice cream, too. >> this is the no the not so ory

afternoon of a kid with autism. >> i'm joined from nashville by dr. mark wallace, a professor of hearing and speech sciences who led the study. mark good to have you with us. >> pleasure to be here. >> deeply disoriented to watch that. do you think that's an accurate representation of what might be going on in their minds? >> i think it is. we really believe these children live in a confusing sensory world and i believe the video and audio, captures that well. >> children struggling with linking sight and sound? >> absolutely. there's been a tremendous focus on children in social interactions and these restricted interest and repetitive behaviors. there's probably an interesting sensory piece behind this as

well. that was the motivation of this, to explore this in more detail. >> how did you manage to set it up so this was going on? >> we just created a series of what in essence i consider to be video games which the children played, which in context of the video game it was a way for us to derive data that let us know how these children were binding sights and sounds of the sim lal la we were presenting. >> how -- stimula we were presenting. what we worked with were high functioning children with autism. children that would have i.q.s of a typically developed child. >> what are the consequences of the sensory lag?

learning, speech, safety, when we looked at the video going by and not hearing the bus, that is frightening i think. >> i completely agree. the consequences are, when i talked earlier about these three dough plains, language, communication, social interaction heactions that we te extraordinarily multireactionary, children binding together sights, sounds and even touch. if this process of binding information together is impacted we believe it is going to have effects on social processes and languages and communication. >> if i point to a cup saying this is a cup, trying to teach the child the word, they may not be hearing "cup" when i am pointing to the cup. >> there may be a

desynchronizing. binding the sight and the words. there's going to be confusion in terms of what sights, what sounds, what elements belong together. >> you mentioned it's not necessarily the sight and the sound, it could also be touch. so a child could be touching something and not reacting to that, that again brings up all sorts of issues of safety if a child is touching something that's hot. >> yes, completely agree. i think it's a great illustration. we haven't focused on safety but i think you're right. there are enormous implications that relate to that, as well. >> do you think this could apply to children across the full praing of the autism -- range of the autism spectrum? >> children who are more severely impacted will have greater deficits. now we're trying to adapt our tastasks to these games so theyn

be adapted to children with lower and lower functioning. >> did the children in your study know what you were doing and did they learn anything that helped them? >> i think they did. these are wonderful children after all, they are extraordinary reply brought, they are -- extraordinarily bright. they have a sense that they really want to help other children with autism. >> what about treatment? is there anything you can do to help the kids out? >> well, it's early right now. but our hope is that we can -- we have a pilot study right now where we're training children on these same video games where, rather than just playing the game, they're actually getting feedback or reward based on their performance on the game. and the hope there is by using this game by training their sense pri systems, we can -- sensory systems, our hope is that that will have cascading effects on language and communication and social

interactions. >> as the uncle of two children with autism, i can only hope your efforts do help so many of these kids who suffer from this. dr. mark wallace, thank you. >> appreciate the opportunity. >> switching topics, a sleepwalking man in underwear. wellesley ar college in boston. the plan is a work of art. here is what students said about it on thursday. >> i thought it was funny, oh was it real? like it didn't offend me. >> personally don't mind it. i know other students do. >> if we can't put clothes on it, i wish we could move it. i knew it was there but i was still bothered. >> i think it's weird.

>> hundreds of wellesley students signed a petition, about sleepwalker. asking that it be moved. >> sleepwalker and other works on display at wellesley, tony, hundreds asked that it be taken off the grounds, sleepwalker, an inappropriate harmfully dangerous portion of our community, sexual assault for some members of the community. were you surprised by the intensity of the response? >> i was totally prized. it was surprising to me and the davis museum itself. no one had expected this kind of reaction. and although i think all types of reaction to artwork is great, we wanted this kind of dialogue, but we were really surprised by the nature and if intensity of it for sure.

>> it was such a big reaction you had to meet with wellesley students today to discuss the rations to sleepwalker. what did they say? >> it was largely around the idea of it being a trigger for some intense memories. a trigger for those kind of traumatic memories. and i'm sensitive to that. i think it's important that we think about that. but artwork is subjective and we can't be -- i can't be totally responsible for what people bring to a particular sculpture. >> what's the resolution? is it going to stay? >> i think it's going to stay. i think after meeting with these students, they got to air their voices and they got to talk to us a little bit more about this. and i think with time, everyone is going to appreciate where it is, and i think now, after i had a chance to explain to these students the reason it's in that location, everybody is a little

more comfortable with it and let's see what happens in a few more days. i think everyone is going to have a little bit more time to think about it and hopefully this will come to a really calm conclusion. >> wellwellesley's president is backing you and they say that the very best works of art have the ability to stimulate emotions. this sculpture is no exception. is this what you're going for? >> i wasn't intending to make anything controversial. this is a really quiet sculpture. it is a sculpture of a man who is unconscious. he is passive, completely. and isolated in this landscape. a snowy landscape at that, one that's snowy and december late and he -- desolate and he is

lost. i thought people would have an empathic reaction to this sculpture and not such a hot reaction as they have. i wasn't intending to make something controversial. it has taken me by surprise. >> has any of your work caused this kind of controversy before? >> not in that way. some of my works are a little more visceral, some of the older works. this is part of a larger show, this is one sculpture in the context of a larger showing. one of my more conservative shows. in comparison to some of the earlier works, i thought it was surprising to have this type of reaction to something i thought was quite serene, let's say. >> what did you think when you heard some students went out there overnight and dressed the sleepwalker? >> you know i sort of expected that. i was told there was a rodin

sculpture on the campus for a while, called walking man, it was a naked man, it was dressed up with students with scarves and mats and whatnot and treated like a mass colt of sorts. i sort of expected that, i saw images taken on instagram, where people had put snow shoes on it and i was kind of prepared for that. and i think it's kind of cool, totally fine, the way people should interact to a sculpture like that. >> would you being up-- be upset if they moved it inside the museum? >> i don't think they will. if they want to move it inside, we will remove it from the are campus totally. it's the only spot that's

visible from the fifth floor gallery. when you are in in the window, the only window in that gallery, by the way, you look down on that gallery. it amplifies his isolation and the sense he is displaced and alone and wandering in almost sicinematically barren landscap. there's no question we won't bring him inside. >> tony, thank you. let's check with hermella. >> antonio, for the first time scientists have created a hand that gives an amputee the sense of touch. the week long experiment let dennis feel different objects, a

bottle, cotton, an orange. a baseball. he was able to tell if the objects were hard or soft, slim or round and intuitively adjust his grip. remarkably doctors emplanted tiny electrodes about the width of a hair strand inside his arm. when they accident happened with electrical figures, he felt his nerves were moving. years of more research and development before an artificial hand that feels is available to the public. you can read more at the website, america.aljazeera.com. >> thank you hermella. an oscar winning look at a nation that upended a revolution. and why have so many

squirrels disappeared? truth seeking... al jazeera america's breakthrough investigative documentary series. >> this is where colombia's war continues... >> decades of violence... familes driven from their land... >> we have to get out of here... >> now the people are fighting back. >> they don't wanna show what's really going on >> fault lines columbia: the fight for land only on al jazeera america

>> no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives. opening doors ... opening possibilities. taking the impossible from lab ... to life. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. on al jazeera america >> start with one issue education... gun control...

the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america revolutions are defined by courage and strength against the >> revolutions are defined by courage and strength against the most insurmountable odds. but the costs are unbelievably high. the short subject, karama has no walls. it follows the attack of government forces, on a peaceful town in yemen that took 55

lives. the results are chilling. [ shots fired ] >> sara ashak directed the film. karama has no walls is playing in select cities across the country with a program showing the other oscar nominated short subjects, on itunes wednesday. sara, as you had cameras in yemen as part of that country's arab spring. how these peaceful people just started getting killed like they

were sitting ducks. why did this happen? >> no one really knows obviously why it happened. it came as a shock to everybody, myself included which is why you know i really felt the need to make a film about it. sort of, the willingness of this cameraman to stay steadfast and document, regardless of the danger they were putting themselves, it was nothing i had ever seemed before. what i sort of tried oshow in the film, the -- to show in the film was the peaceful setup, the sit-ins, the way that people buildinassembled and it was a pl setting. in yemen it was like a day out event they would take part in as a family. that's what i experienced and my

friend experienced and the cameramen i knew experienced and every friday there was a bigger gathering with the prayers. it was something -- one of the most peaceful thing you could do was go to a prayer gathering. and it was completely unexpected. it came as a complete shock, as well, because of the way -- the way it happened it was very systematic. walls suddenly appeared and then just after the prayers happened, tires that were piled up behind the walls were set on fire. and the smoke from the fire formed a smoke screen? so the people could go in the buildings and fire directly on the protestors. i didn't know the cameramen, i met them afterwards on snippets of them on youtube. i found the details of the events which were completely

hidden really, there was a complete blackout about what happened on the day. >> we see the fires as they started. everything was peaceful, the fires start and then the shooting begins. there are more weapons than people in yemen, virtually everyone was armed but the protestors were not. they couldn't fire back other than throwing a few stones. the courage of those two photographers was amazing. they were targeted and they had people die all around them. >> that's what was incredible. a very symbolic gesture by the yemeni protestors, they knew they wouldn't get credibility from the rest of the mil publict wasn't demonstrating. from the outside world they wanted to basically show that they were winning to ask for solak to stop down in 2011 without using the means which

and the methods that they're so used to using. which is you know use of weapons and warfare and violence. and because they knew that their image was tainted, internationally, you know by being associated with terrorism, and inside, you know, whatnot. they wanted to move away from those stereotypes and really show the world that they could go out and demonstrate without the use of weapons. so it was a conscious decision they made. and even if they had the weapons i don't think they would have retaliated with force. there are scenes where the gun fire sort of rained down on them. men were actually taking off their shirts and in front of the weapons -- >> defying the shooters. as you go through this you also tell just terrible images, just such sadness.

kids shot, one lost his eyes. did this help topple yemen's long time president. >> this was definitely the moment that really spurred a lot of people to the square. and it was a turning point for sure. i wouldn't say that it was the defining moment, was the moment that made him step down, it too many you know almost a year for that to actually happen. ministers resigned and you know hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the square, so the crowds multiplied. they were tenfold what they were benefit. suddenly, people had a responsibility towards their fellow citizens. they realized just how far the government was willing to go in order to thwart them and remain in power. i guess that was the wakeup power that yemen needed. >> but salla was almost

assassinated a year before. he is still in yemen in fact he or his son may run for president. so in the end, was anybody really held accountable? did the protest really accomplish anything? >> no, it really didn't accomplish anything, it was broken by the counsel giving him immuneacy for being tried. the details about the people they captured, where they are being held and whether they are being tried or not, all the information around the case and surrounding the case is very vague. surrounding the victims and their rights and people assassinated, there has been a lot of silencing about the case. >> the fact that a dictator was able to stay after a tragedy like this, who knows, he may

have power once again. it's a very powerful film, karama has no walls. it will be available on itunes on tuesday. best of luck at the oscars. >> thank you very much. >> do squirrels make good pets? what about alligators, and what's the electriccy of jay leno -- legacy of jay leno? we open up your world. >> here on america tonight, an opportunity for all of america to be heard. >> our shows explore the issues that shape our lives. >> new questions are raised about the american intervention. >> from unexpected viewpoints to

live changing innovations, dollars and cents to powerful storytelling. >> we are at a tipping point in america's history! >> al jazeera america. there's more to it.

>> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america consider this. the news of the day plus so much more. answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what.

♪ ♪ today's data dive gets a >> today's data dive gets a pet, a somewhat strange one. squirrels are disappearing from parks in moscow. apparently they are being stolen by russians because they become popular pets. can be resold for $140, but they face a fine of $600 if they are caught in the act. thousands are americans keep alligaitigators. john quincy adams kept one. small foxes are a common pet

even though they have sharp teeth. not considered to be dangerous. there are dozens of videos like these on youtube. wallabes are very cute. gloria esteefan used to have on. pigs have become pets for celebrities, among them paris hilton and david beckham. the strangest pet, to nicholas cage, he once owned an octopus and a cobra. i think i'll stick with my dog. coming up. jay leno says good-bye to late night. we'll have a look at his legacy, next.

call obama care. it could change costs coverage and pretty much all of health care in america. well, my show sorts this all out. in fact, my staff has read the entire thing. which is probably more then most members of congress can claim. we'll separate politics from policy and just prescribe the facts. lk at news.

>> a decades long era of television is coming to an end, as jay leno will be saying good-bye to his late night television station. tonight. editor bill wyman, glad to have you with us. this is not the first time we've seen jay leno's last episode. this time, is it for real? >> we'll find out. it's up to the ratings and the affiliates and basically what happened last time four years ago is all the cbs -- consume all the nbc affiliates basically revolted about the ratings that

conan o'brien got. here we are four years later and we'll see if fallon can keep them happy. >> leno is going out on top. he was on top for most of his tenure there. but late night, is not just on the broadcast networks but cable, dvr, streaming, digital entertainment. the ratings are nothing compared to whatson had in his prime. do late night ratings matter like they used to? >> they don't really, matter. in the middle of the country, i don't think they matter. the big change of course has been social media, fallon, kimmel, how they buzz around in people's immediate. david letterman is still in his saddle, but when david letterman

leaves it will definitely be the end of late night. as you said, these guys i don't think everyone we're talking about together gets ratings equalling half of what carson did. a viewer audience that's very small. >> when carson made some comments, it went viral. big picture, do you see significant leno legacy or a man who amused us for years, that is certainly not a bad thing. >> no it isn't, he stayed on top for many decades. the fabled sequel to johnny carson show should be a big deal. leno's legacy is going to be a small one, not many footprints. he has left a bad legacy among the comedian community. jimmy kimmel, fallon, none of

them had much respect for him. didn't help conan o'brien that much. do you think the viewers will be loyal to him or the show? will jim fallon be able to hold on to the audience? >> it's jimmy's to take on. his thing with bruce springsteen about chris christie, it's a great late-night, you can do amazing things with it. the sad thing is, the audience isn't there. on the other hand, as we saw in the whole leno -- fallon, carson legacy, the guy behind saturday

night live, lorn michaels, this is always going to be the lorn michaels era at nbc going forward. >> social media, hermella? >> i wish i could talk about leno's last week on the tonight show but haven't we been there, done that already? pretty muted compared to carson's. do you think it's because people have said good-bye once before? >> yes, i do, he does have a loyal audience and i'm sure they're going to miss him. it is a mainstream audience that doesn't have that social influence anymore. you're not seeing the sort of mourning that went into a seinfeld leaving or johnny himself leaving. there isn't quite as much drama around it. we wish him a happy retirement.

he is an indefatiguable worker. >> one era to days away from the 50th anniversary of the beginning of another one. the beatles were on the ed sullivan show three weeks in a row, that kicked off beatle-mania, and we haven't seen anything like it, have we, bill? >> nothing in the 20th century had quite the effect believe it or not that the beatles had. maybe birth of a nation in 1917 or so. the songs that were number 1 hits before them were dominique by the singing nun. they veanl hol veanl sold half a

billion or more. and they created the hippie movement. the rock movement. i don't think we'll see anything like that for sure. >> we are still celebrating these guys again five decades later. back in the '60s i'm sure we weren't celebrating stars from 1910. >> wait, isn't it true? >> celebrating these guys 50 years from now? >> part of the resilience of the boomer generation, they can go buy the beatles greatest mitts records. interesting our younger viewers might not quite realize, the beatles were had the most popular songwriter, paul mccartney, both among the most handsome men of the 20th century and they happened to come together at a time when there was a new middle class in america, looking for something

to do, the country was still reeling from the jfk assassination, and they rocked over in just the right time. >> we only have 30 seconds left. the best selling album of the first decade of this century. and when their library finely got on itunes, 11 of the top albums and 60 of the top songs were by the beatles. are they unique? >> absolutely. but again, that is the boomers. they were leap to buy those things over and over -- generations of kids -- >> but my kids too. >> what? >> my kids too. >> combined with song writing skills. the songs they wrote are going to be with us for years since. >> letterman talking about late night, big stars, playing their music. bill good as always to have you

with us. we'll have larry cane with us, the only. >> the show may be over but the conversation continues. facebook google plus pages. you can also find us on twitter. we'll see you next time. are check check >> winter weather from coast to coast as the north-east cleans up from the pacific north-west. >> a diplomatic dust up over the uprising in ukraine. a diplomat reported using colourful language about the i uni-european union. >> we need water, soil and sunlight to grow seed. if you are missing one of those, it