project. >> it saved our community money and saved our school district money in a time in which we desperately need it. and it also helps us to reduce the carbon footprint. in our name, this is a no brainer. >> casey wian, cnn, los angeles. if your choice didn't win or you want to check out the runners up, facebook.com/cnn. hi, randi. >> thank you very much. for 18 years it was military policy born of political compromise. >> the joint chiefs of staff have agreed to remove the question regarding one's sexual orientation from future versions of the enlistment application and it will not be asked in the interim. >> that was president clinton announcing don't ask, don't tell in 1993. it opened military service to gay men and women so long as nobody knew they were gay and it was problematic from the start.

13,000 gay troops were kicked out after their secrets leaked out and the taxpayers spent more than $100 million replacing them. today don't ask, don't tell is no more. repeal took effect at 12:01 a.m., nine months after signing the measure from the waining days of a lame duck congress. gays can now serve openly in every branch of service and all of those discharged service members can try to reenlist. key word, try. turns out repeal is one thing but reality is much different. more on that in our next segment moments from now. more than 22 years after former army ranger and offduty police officer was shot to death in savannah, georgia, the man convicted of killing him is once again set to die. the georgia board of pardons and paroles rejected the last ditch

appeal for clemency. the state relied almost entirely on witness testimony and seven out of nine witnesses who implicated davis have since recanted or changed their stories. amnesty international is one of several groups that has lobbied and rallied and collected hundreds and thousands of signatures on davis's behalf. allowing a man to be set to death under an enormous cloud of doubt about his guilty is an outrageous affront to justice. a father of two was killed trying to protect a homeless man from attackers who wanted his beer. over the years mark macphail have watched him avoid execution three times and they say enough is enough. >> it has been held because i would like to have some peace. i would like to have the situation over with.

we are the victims. and those people that recanted, why did they wait 17 years before they recanted? they should have done it if they felt that way earlier, not when the final time has come. >> and cnn's david mattingly joins me now with the fallout. is his execution now inevitable? >> probably yes. we heard from his supporters, they still have a couple of wild cards to play. they are going to put pressure on the da where the case came from. they are wanting him to go to a county judge there who signed the order for the execution to rescind that order for the execution, that's a big long shot. they are also looking at the possibility of trying to get the board, the prison board to reverse its decision, something they've never done before, another long shot, the head of the naacp also said that they might even ask the president to

get involved, another long shot. again, it's looking like this fourth appointment with the death penalty for davis is the one that's going to be the most certain for him. >> anyone who looks at this could say it's a case study in death penalty appeals but did come down to the final hours of testimony yesterday. what do we know that was said? >> well, both sides came out of that hearing feeling like they got their points across. they were actually very enthusiastic thinking the board was listening to them, asking good questions. they -- the board heard about the arguments about the seven out of the nine witnesses who have changed or recanted their stories, the board also heard about other witnesses coming forward saying another man did this crime. in the end, it was the family who had the final say before the board, the family of mark macphail, they came out feeling that their point was heard from their heart and they expressed

that to the press afterward. >> i know his daughter spoke so let's listen to that. >> in a few weeks i'm going to be 24 and so in three years i will be older than my father and a couple of years after that so will my little brother. in a matter of five years, my dad's children are going to be older than he is. he is forever frozen at 27. and it's just it's hard. it was a future, it was a life we never got to experience and life tafs taken. >> that was macphail's daughter, just a toddler when he was killed. >> still on the flip side so many that believe in his innocence, there sne point in continuing the fight at this point? >> they haven't stopped. there's going to be a demonstration tonight, planning demonstrations tomorrow. you heard about what sort of avenues they are pursuing now, however much of a long shot that may be, they are not prepared to

give up just yet. if they fail and the execution goes forward, they are also saying they are going to go to the justice department to ask for an investigation into how that county investigates murder cases. >> when we talked earlier last week you had given me the record of this parole board, i think what in 30 years they've had about eight reverses, granted clemency eight times. >> they never reversed a decision on clemency. every time they said no as they did to davis in 2008, they have never ever gone back on that decision. >> and this track record is still intact. >> david mattingly, appreciate that. checking other developing stories the pressing issues of libya and palestinian bid for statehood topped president obama's agenda at the united nations today. first up, talks with the chairman of the new libyan government. he praised the libyan community

for liberating the country from gadhafi. a former president of afghanistan and key player in talks with the taliban was assassinated today. rabbani was meeting with members of the taliban at his home in kabul when a suicide bomber blew himself up. one of top advisers was wounded. rabbani was the chairman of the afghan high peace council in charge of finding a end to the war with the taliban. officials have identified seven of the ten people killed last week when a vintage airplane crashed an an air show in reno, they include the 74-year-old pilot, jimmy leeward. we have new video of that crash and we have to warn you, it is disturbing. the world war ii era plane crashed into the vip seating section and some 70 people were injured. the plane was equipped with data

and video recording devices, investigators hope they'll shed some light on what caused that horrible crash. it is a good day for gays and lesbians in the military but for thousands kicked out under the don't ask, don't tell policy, their futures not so certain. up next, we'll tell you about their difficult road back. al ca. ♪ it works in six different ways to restore enamel... strengthen teeth... freshen breath... help prevent cavities... and kill bad breath germs for a whole mouth clean. so go beyond the brush with listerine® total care, the most complete mouthwash. now get all the benefits... without the alcohol. new listerine® total care zero. now get all the benefits... without the alcohol. somewhere in america, a city comes to life. it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city

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(rawhen an investmentrsation) lacks discipline, log on to lungusa.org and tell washington: it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. the end of the pentagon's don't ask, don't tell policy is welcome news for those serving in the military but for many kicked out under the policy, the end is bitter sweet, they can apply to reenlist but as chris lawrence reports, there's no guarantee that they'll get back in. >> reporter: hundreds of american troops who got kicked

out of the military for being gay or lesbian are about to get hit again with a reality check. >> if i was trying to go back in active duty right now versus very serve, the navy wouldn't take me in the job i was doing before. >> reporter: jeremy johnson was discharged in 2007. >> you wrote a letter to your commanding officer outing yourself. >> i did. it wasn't something that i wanted to do. it was something that deep down i felt i was forced to do in order to kind of maintain my sanity. >> reporter: mikalmy finished a tour in iraq and recommends for promotion then outed by another officer and kicked out of the air force. >> i had a five-year gap at this point in my career so nothing will fully repair the damage done to my career. i'm hoping i can at least get back in there where i left off and resume my career. >> reporter: both are applying to get back in but the repeal of don't ask, don't tell is no guarantee.

>> i'll be honest, i've talked to people who wanted to back in and started to make the phone call to recruiters and found their set of circumstances wouldn't allow it. and there's letdown. you can hear it in their voice. >> reporter: some are too old and their specialties are no longer needed or jobs are fully staffed. the military is getting smaller and more people are staying in. in the pentagon says service members who separated under don't ask, don't tell will be ee val waited according to the same criteria aapplicable to all others seeking reentry, in other words, there's no waiver. >> i think it would be awesome if that could happen but i know the hard truth is is that it's not practical -- >> and chris lawrence joins me now from the pentagon. talk to me here a little bit about this tremendous sense of loyalty among the military members. so many of them have been kicked out for being gay or being lesbian and now they still want

back in. >> you're right, in one sense if you think of them as a grieved employees, you would think they would be upset with their former employer but a lot of them do want to get back in. they say, this wasn't just a job, they felt they were part of something bigger than themselves, on an emotional level and have told us that the jobs they've had in the civilian world just haven't measured up. you have to take into account, a lot of these people were pushed out against their will. in a practical sense, a lot of them careerwise had planned to do a full 20 years to retire, to get the pension, to sort of retire at a certain rank. we talked to one man who was at a rank then even as the military was sort of filings had paperwork and pushing him out, at the same time he was being recommends for a promotion. so a lot of them feel like they have unfinished business and would like to get back in and finish what they started. >> when you talk about those who

want reentry, how does it work? they can start today and sign up and don't have to disclosure sexual orientation. >> they don't have to but if they do, they can walk in and say, i'm gay or lesbian and the recruiter would awe sentenceably thanks for the information, fill out this paperwork. the young man in the piece we just did, jeremy johnson, we just got an e-mail from him a couple minutes ago, he put in his paperwork like a lot of other people did, the military has been sitting on it for a couple of weeks until today. he just found out the military is now starting to process his paperwork to get back in. >> how does it work in terms of the numbers? how many are usually allowed reentry? is there a chance budget might affect this. >> budget is a huge part of this. if you look at the year engineerny got out of the military, the military was taking in around 15,000 prior service troops. last year that number dropped to

less than 5,000. more troops want to stay in because the economy is pretty horrible right now. there's not a lot of jobs in the civilian world, more people are staying in and recruiting levels at an all time high, there are not that many open slots to go around. >> now we know don't ask, don't tell is behind us, there's still thorny issues for the military when it comes to these issues. >> gay and lesbians will be able to designate anyone as the beneficiary for life insurance or say a caregiver in the wounded warrior program but the federal government does not recognize gay marriage so the military can't recognize gay marriage. you'll have situations where perhaps partners won't be -- have access to health care plans or partner's pensions, don't the road you may have a situation where say, a couple that is a gay couple that is married legally in one state gets transferred to another state which happens a lot in the military, where their union is

not recognized. these are some big thorny issues that the military and really the federal government as a whole will have to sort through and figure out over the next few months and years. >> this certainly isn't the end of it. chris lawrence at the pentagon. chris, thank you. >> coming up a typhoon heading straight for japan, millions being told to evacuate and that crippled nuclear plant right in its path. we'll have an update on that for you next. and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. that's good for our country's energy security met an old man at the top asked him if he had a secret and the old man stopped and thought and said: free 'cause that's how it ought to be my brother

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more than a million people in central japan are being asked

to evacuate as a typhoon moves closer to shore. chad myers is all over this story which we think has been undercovered in fact. >> the latest is this is the storm that irene was supposed to be for new york city and this is the storm that tokyo is going to get. yoek ham ma will get. 25 or so million people in the way of this, a million people already being told to get out of the way for flooding. does that sound like vermont, new hampshire, from the last ire irene? it's called a tie phone. cyclones and typhoons and hurricanes are all the same thing, they are in different oceans so they are called different things, typhoon roke heading to tokyo harbor, i'm sure ships are leaving town, over yokohama and makes landfall tonight south of tokyo.

the fukushima day chi nuclear plant right here. this is a huge mountain range. if you pile water with rain up along that spine, all of that water has to drain back to the ocean. there will be massive flooding and massive mudslides with the storm as it runs to the north and northeast. keeps on going and moves away from but not until wednesday, moves away from the state and country, all the way up to the northeast. it is a significant storm and will be a rain maker, this purple and white areas from tokyo, mount fuji. it all has to rundown hill at some point in time. here's the harbor, here's japan, the length here north to southeast. here we go right up here from tokyo into yoek ham ma, very populated area. shipping containers all through here, all the way towards chiba. in wind speeds here -- 110 right now. if they were 95 to 100, this is the storm that irene was

supposed ton make for new york city and has no chance at all at this point in time of losing any significant threat here or wind speed. here's video right now of people being evacuated. this is from people -- days and days away from what happened. here's the water splashing onshore. this storm doesn't make landfall for another 16 to 20 hours but it's been raining for a couple of days, now everything is saturated. that saturated ground will only run off and the flooding will get worse, literally millions if not tens of millions of people in the way of this category 2 hurricane slash typhoon. that is terrible to see chad, heading their way after all they've been through. thanks for keeping an eye on it. coming up, another trial this week and horrifying home invasion that ended with the deaths of a mother and her two daughters, one man has been sentenced to death, now his alleged accomplice is on trial. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker...

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tha's what it feelse ke to be member.y. crime and consequence, in new haven, connecticut, the trial of a second defendant of a gruesome murder case got under way today. it is heartbreaking as terrifying, joshua komisarjevsky is charged with killing jennifer hawke-petit and her two

daughters during a home invasion. she was strangled and her daughters tied to their beds died of smoke inhalation. steven hayes was sentenced to death last year. both men already had long criminal histories when their paths kroogsed. now a look at komisarjevsky and what brought him to the petit's home on the morning of july 23rd. >> a hint of violence, a disturbing prediction of what might come, buried in in letter from prison. >> i need someone like you to keepmy grounded in the future when my criminal demon starts to wander. >> reporter: joshua komisarjevsky accused of killing jennifer hawke-petit and her two daughters was worried about his criminal demon. days after the attack we interviewed this woman who told us she was a close friend. she asked us not to show her face but shared the letters she says he sent her from prison years before. >> prison was a hard pill for me

to swallow, there isn't a day that goes by that i don't get angry or feel the pain of being taken from my daughter. >> reporter: he writes about his dreams of becoming a real estate developer. >> my daughter needs me and can't ak kplish my goals when i'm locked up. he is now behind bars on charges including sexual assault and murder. komisarjevsky followed mrs. hawke-petit and one of her daughters home from the grocery store and chose them as his next victims. if that's true and these men did kill the three family members it doesn't fit their m.o. neither suspect has ever been arrested for murder before, though they are hardly strangers to crime. in fact, between the two of them, they've been arrested nearly 50 times. on hayes' rap sheet, 27 arrests, including illegal possession of a firearm and burglary and forgery. komisarjevsky's past is just as ugly. 20 arrests for burglary and

larceny. he sometimes used night vision goggles. both served time in prison but it was here in hartford, con where they first met. they were roommates for months. what might have driven them to strangle jennifer hawke-petit and leave her two beautiful daughters to die in a fire they set. forensic pathologist examined cases like this. >> they was enraged with the unfairness of his life. >> reporter: he was adopted as an infant and his grandfather was a leading theatrical actor and grandmother a well known modern dancer. his parents, born again christians had trouble controlling him. his friend told us just five days before the murders komisarjevsky was disstraugt over a break-up. >> he was really depressed.

>> reporter: she said if he did kill jennifer hawke-petit and girls, something snapped. >> he put the terror into these poor girls' hearts and he was the person that they spent their last hours in fear for their lives. and he left them to burn. >> a senseless act, not even a history of crime can explain. komisarjevsky wrote about the gruesome details of the crime in a diary from prison and shared that's diary with a book about the crime and interviewed komisarjevsky numerous times. in that diary, he portrays himself as the ring leader in this case. the words could come back to bite him. if convicted, he could be sentenced to death. netflix rebrands one of their services in their haste, they forgot to secure one very important piece of real estate, that is up next. only& suonline.s®. on your phone. or in the book. go to superpages®.

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callod foa fr home an revie we'll offer free android artphone to you! hit i♪ [ laughs here's one for theast coast. now that's se detroit magi rit th male annncer ] one re way quicken loans is engineered amaze [♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. the pentagon has officially ended his don't ask, don't tell policy in place since 1993 and welcomes gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military. the estimated 13,000 service members kicked out under the old policy can now apply to reenlist.

the georgia board of pardons and paroles denied clemency for troy davis, the decision came one day after a last minute appeal by davis since his conviction in 1991, seven of nine witnesses have recanted their testimony, sparking a worldwide clemency campaign. davis is now set to die by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of police officer mark macphail his execution delayed three times now scheduled for tomorrow. charlie sheen's character was laid to rest on the season premiere of "two and a half men." a new character played by ashton kutcher arrived to replace him. sheen was fired last month by warner brothers which produces the series, the los angeles times reports the studio is finalizing a settlement deal that would pay sheen $25 million. warmer brothers is owned by time warner which also owns cnn. you've probably heard that netflix announced rebranding over the weekend.

the by mail service is called qwikster. there's a slight problem, someone also owns the twitter handle. if netflix wants control of the qwikster handle it will have to pay. castillo won't turn it over until in his words he is making bank. president obama defending his record on israel. the issue becoming red meat for hungry republicans. how important is that jewish vote? it's fair game next.

time to go beyond partisan

talking points, today the jewish vote and the impact on the 2012 presidential campaign. president obama visited the united nations where mahmoud abass is expected to push for statehood. the u.s. promises a veto. that hasn't stopped the criticism when it comes to relations with israel. rick perry says mr. obama has made unfortunate errors andmy shl bachmann says he isn't standing by israel and mitt romney says he threw israel under the bus. how important is that jewish vote in joining me now is democratic strategist car donna and clifford may, welcome, john, let me start with you. how critical is the jewish vote? >> it is incredibly important coalition but every constituency is important. president obama's approval rating among jewish americans is still 50% higher than any other

group. we hear every election cycle there's an idea that republicans claim the jewish vote, it never happens. is it going to less support than initially? probably. will he come close to losing the jewish vote? doubt that will happen. >> he got 78% of the jewish vote in 2008. will he get the same? he'll certainly try. what he needs to do to do that is continue to underscore that there's been no administration that has done more to solidify and strengthen the military cooperation, which is the basis of our relationship with israel than this administration. don't take my word for it or even president obama's take prime minister netanyahu who has stated that the relationship and cooperation between israel and the united states under this administration is unprecedented. let me share this with you, new york magazine dubbed president obama the first jewish president. is he really? when you look at this cover, is

he really as anti-israel as his critics say? >> i don't think he's anti-israel, i think he has to a great extent misperceived the situation in the middle east. he doesn't seem to get what has happened in the middle east is that when israel gave up gaza it was taken over by hamas, which is a client terrorist organization of iran. when israel withdrew from a buffer zone in lebanon, it was taken over by hezbollah, a terrorist organization, instructed by iran. he doesn't understand i'm afraid the gesh tal. one other important point, israel is not just an issue for jewish voters, it's a issue for millions of other voters who worry that america's most reliableally is under attack and we need to stand up for it. if obama does veet to the security council revolution, that's important. what he says about why he vetoes it, that will be very consequential as well. >> is this whole issue of

statehood for the palestinians going to be a big wedge issue do you think, john, for 2012? >> no, because there's broad agreement. t they are expected to veto that bid through the u.n. israel is america's closestal lie in the middle east. and the obama administration is standing up for the increased military aide to israel. i appreciate cliff not taking the talking point that he's anti-israel. nothing could be further from the truth. previous republicans administrations have been in favor of a two-party solution. let's take a deep breath and realize all of this rhetoric doesn't comport with reality. >> there are knows, maria, this one to you, there are jews that feel neglected because of oba obama's stance, how does he get around that? i know they are sending e-mails trying to hold on to them and

maybe even bring more into the fray. how does he get around that? >> first of all, the jewish vote is not unlike every other demographic in the country which is nonmonolivic. as a whole, they still strongly support president obama and he's going to continue to talk to them very closely about everything that his administration has done to strengthen that relationship with israel. i would give a warning to the gop presidential candidates, this issue is so important it should be beyond partisan politics. the fact that they are bashing this president so much, says to me two things, i think they are actually strengthening the palestinian position and number two, it tells me they are not ready for prime time. >> all right, we'll have to leave it there. maria car doen that, and clifford may, gate to have yrea on. libya, its future and government are critical but still open ended issues.

united nations will have to carefully tackle in the coming days. the outcome could have a big impact on washington and the middle east. president obama met with the chairman of libya's new governing group, the national transitional council and announced the u.s. ambassador will return to tripoli to reopen the embassy. how involved the u.s. will be in shaping libya's future. the president em if a sised the u.n.'s role and suggested a limited role for the u.s. >> this is how the international community should work in the 21st century. more nations bearing the responsibility and the costs of meeting global challenges. in fact, this is the very purpose of this united nations. >> in the meantime, troops loyal to libya's new leaders are gaining ground on gadhafi strongholds including in sabha, where ben is standing by.

you were the only crew actually when the troops took over the town, when this all went down. what happened? >> reporter: well, the troops were expecting really a lot of resistance but what happened was we essentially just drove right into town and rather than being met by rpgs and bullets there were people by the side of the roads, rebel fighters went in, even the rebel fighters were shocked by the fact there was so little resistance as the day proceeded however, there were clashes to the north of the city in the northern part of the city where about 12 fighters were killed and three gadhafi loyalists, but it is critical because all of the people from the old regime who want to flee from other parts of libya, if they are going south, they have to pass through sabha now they

are under the control of the rebels, if moammar gadhafi is somewhere in libya, he's possibly the door has been shut for him to exit. so one of missions of these fighters is to look for moammar gadhafi, those of his sons still on the loose and people like sanusi his notorious intelligence chief. this is a major victory for the rebel fighters and it certainly does seem to be the beginning of the end for moammar gadhafi in libya. >> you mentioned there was very little resistance so what do you think that says about gadhafi's forces there. >> well, you know, i spent a lot of time talking to people about what happened because everyone was expecting this to be the biggest, bloodiest battle since the fall of tripoli. and what they told me was that

very almost i am per septemberively, police interfered and army slowly sort of disappeared off the streets as well to the point that essentially they work up this morning and saw the rebels come in and all of the green flags went down and rebel flags went up. the suspicion is they

we are introduced to mary bates. >> reporter: mary bates doesn't show up on government statistics in poverty. it's 7:00 a.m. >> i come to work an hour and a half early and give that to the district so i can get my clerical work done. >> reporter: she earns $16 an hour. she does the job of a librarian. >> this is my ichblttory, plus the ones on the other side that i'm currently working on. we have approximately 14,000 books. >> reporter: bates says she works eight to ten 0 hours a a by r but is only paid for six hours. with time off for summer, she earns about $20,000 a year. she recently received a notice from the school district that later this month her paid hours will be cut in half three per day. >> i was stunned. i didn't think that it would happen. you can't maintain a library flooe hours. it's impossible.

>> reporter: for students that means fewered reading opportunities. >> if they don't read, they won't succeed. >> reporter: this will put her below the poverty threshold. >> you think about that, $16.37 an hour, gases is $4 a gallon, milk $5, a box of cereal is $5, clothes to put on people's back. you've got utility bills that every other month we're raising water or this or that. i won't be able to pay my bills. i can't live on three hours. >> reporter: live already is complicated. bates has diabetes and could eventually lose her health insurance because of the impending reduction in work hours. >> if i had no medical insurance bei i don't think i could afford the $1400 a month for the pills and insulin. >> reporter: she also cares part time for her had two granddaughters, 6-year-old natalie and 12-year-old amber.

>> i'd work whenever i have to work. have to make a way for my grandkids and myself. >> reporter: state budget cuts also will force her to a new school farther from home so she's looking for other work. >> i can't imagine doing any other job. those kids are like my extended family. >> reporter: living on the edge of poverty doesn't allow much planning ahead. where do you think you'll be a year from now? >> oh, i don't know. i couldn't answer that question because every month is a challenge. >> reporter: casey wnn, los ang >> she is now taking care of her grandchildren and right now 22% of all children in this country live below the poverty line. up next, how a video game could help find t a cure for ai. could help find t a cure for ai. we'll be right back. i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go see your doctor now.

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the 42 mile per gallon ct hybrid from lexus. ♪ break free of the status quo. ♪ you may think all video games are about violence, guns and brutality and for good or bad, those games do make millions of dollars but my next guest is taking video games to a whole new level. he is one of the developers of an online game called fold it which challenges players to solve real-world scientific puzzles. i'm not talking simple stuff,

big things like alzheimer's and cancer research. just this week, an enzyme was discovered that could lead to aids fighting research. it's important to know they worked on monkeys not humans. it's amazing gamers have solved a puzzle that's stumped scientists and others for decades. joining me is associate professor of computer science at the university of washington. first, professor, how could a bunch of gamers solve something that computers and experts have been been able to? >> yeah, well, there are several reasons for that. one is that by the time they play the game for an extended period of time, they're not just a bunch of gamers. they've developed a level of expertise that matches that of the scientist. also, they're able to collaborate and share the individual skills together toward a joint problem in the

way that potentially scientists don't currently do. >> so who exactly are these gamer snz. >> they're actually people from all walks of life. we have sort of retired grandmothers, 13-year-old boys, lawyers, unemployed people, anybody who actually has heard about the game and turns out to have a particular propensity toward spatial reasoning problems and has gotten better and better over a long period of time of playing the game. >> so can you tell us, in really understandable terms for the laymen like myself, how this worked, how they were able to discover this? >> yes. so basically they are presented with a challenge and the challenge is a little bit like tetris only in 3d and a lot more complicated. it's basically -- think of it sort of as a necklaces that has instead of beads a lot of weird

shapes on it, and the problem is actually trying to make that bead sort of -- necklace be as tight as possible. so that's the actual problem. so what they do is actually interact with the protein through a game by pulling it from many different directions. they can attach rubber bands, apply special power tools like wiggle and shake, and then share those solutions with other people who are on their team, perhaps try many different hypotheses between them. then over time look at their score, directly related to the actual energy function of how well the protein woshs. >> did they know what they were on to once they discovered this? >> they know that their score is really, really good and sort of above the threshold of what scientists have been able to get, but of course to finally confirm it there were a number of scientists that actually

tested this protein in the laboratory. and lo and behold it actually was confirmed and that's actually the cause for the nature publication that came out this sunday. >> so where does it go from here? what might this lead to? i mean, how significant is it? >> yeah, so as you can imagine, anytime you know the shape of this protein, you know how to attack that virus. you can now start talking about, how do we design a particular drug or a vaccine that can actually neutralize the virus once you know its shape. we also basically are pushing this whole concept of scientific discovery games to other areas of science and biochemistry trying to find cures for diseases, et cetera. >> professor, thank you for your

time. for much more about fold it, check out my facebook page. it is a new hour in a new day for equalitity in the u.s. military. today a policy enacted by president clinton in 1993 is officially repealed. don't ask, don't tell is no more. gay men and women can noi now serve openly in every branch of service and thousands of service members who were kicked out when their secrets leaked out can try to re-enlist. as we heard last hour, there's really no guarantee they can pick right up where they left off. defense secretary leon panetta and joint chiefs mike mullen are briefing lawyers live right now at the pentagon. let's listen in. >> the secretary of defense committed to removing all of the barriers that would prevent americans from serving their country and from rising to the

highest level of responsibility that their talents and capabilities warrant. these are men and women who put their lives on the line in defense of this country. and that's what should matter the most. i want to thank the repeal implementation team and the service secretaries along with the service chiefs for all of their efforts to ensure that dod is ready to make this change consistent with standards of military readiness, with leon effectiveness, with unit cohesion, and with the recruiting and retention of the armed forces. all of the service chiefs have stated very clearly that all of these elements have been met in the review that they conducted. over 97% of our 2.3 million men and women in uniform have now received education and training

on repeal as a result of these efforts. i also want to thank the comprehensive review working group for the work they did on the report that laid the ground work for the change in this policy. and, above all, i'd like to single out a person who's next to me at this table, admirable mike mullen. his courageous it will and leadership on this issue i think were major factors in bringing us to this day. and he deserves a great deal of credit for what has occurred. let me also, if i can, give you a quick update on the defense budget, where that stands at this point. as you know, the department has been -- >> you've been listening there to defense secretary leon panetta, thanking those for their work to repeal don't ask, don't tell. in just a few minutes, you'll meet an iraq war vet and former congressman who made don't ask, don't tell a thing of the past.

patrick murphy joins me life at 10 past the hour. 20 years on death row, today troy davis looks all but certain to face lethal injection at 7:00 p.m. eastern time tomorrow. the georgia board of pardons and paroles is rejecting davis' last-ditch appeal for clemency despite a global campaign promoting doubt in the evidence against him. at trial, the state relied almost entirely on witness testimony and seven out of nine witnesses who implicated davis have since recanted or changed their stories. amnesty international is one of several groups that has lobbied, rallied and collected hundreds of thousands of signatures on davis' behalf. in light of today's decision, it says, and i quote, allowing a man to be sent to death under an enormous cloud of doubt about his guilt is an outrageous affront to justice. this much is certain -- a 27-year-old former army ranger and savannah police officer was killed while trying to protect a homeless man from attackers.

over the years, mark macphail's family has never wavered in believing davis is guilty and demanding his sentencing fulfilled. cnn's david mattingly was at the parole hearing yesterday. he joins me now. it looks like this is finally going to happen this time. >> the fourth time does seem to be the most certain. his followers have a couple of options they're going to try. they're trying to pressure the d.a. in county where this crime happened to go to the judge who signed the execution warrant to get the jung to try to rescind the order. a tremendous long shot. also going back to the board of pardon and patrols. >> what do you think was it -- i know a lot of people testified yesterday before this board -- that turned the board this way. >> they did have, at the very end -- the last word belonged to the family of mark macphail, the officer who was killed here.

they haieard from the prosecuto and macphail's family. that's probably what resonated with them most because they spent half of the day listening to the attorneys for davis go line by line every argue the they had. davis' attorneys came out of there thinking they got their points across. but in the end it was this board sticking with this prosecution that has lasted now for 20 years. >> and i know that, from what i understand, the murdered officer's daughter spoke with that board? >> yes. it was very emotional. the family all came out together, the wife, the two children, the mother. they all came out and said they were looking for justice. let's listen. >> no time is easy when you have to go before the pardons and parole board, but we feel like we said what we needed to said, they heard what we had to say, they heard the truth, which is the most important part, and i believe that they will probably favor in our favor. >> that was yesterday. this family's been through this now for 20 years. this is the fourth time.

they are predicting an execution. >> so supporters are still not giving up? >> they're not giving up. they're planning a public demonstration tonight, more demonstrations tomorrow. you've heard about their plans for appeal they can muster up. everything they can possibly do between now and 7:00 tomorrow night they'll do. >> david mattingly, thank you. let's check now on some other stories we're keeping an eye on here. president barack obama gathered with other world leaders at the united nations today to talk libya. the war in afghanistan and palestinian statehood. first the president met with the libya's transitional national council. president obama also met with afghan president hamid karzai. the two were expected to talk about obama's plan to withdraw u.s. troops next year. meanwhile, in kabul, afghanistan's former president was assassinated today. rabbani was heading the peace

council appointed to negotiate a reconciliation with taliban insur jints. a source said the killing occurred while rabbani was scheduled to be meeting with the talib taliban. his death is the latest in a wave of high-profile assassinations in recent months. up next, a combat vet of the iraq war and the spearhead of the effort in congress to repeal don't ask, don't tell. i'll speak with former congressman patrick murphy about the end of the military's controversial policy right after this break. in my heart i knew for the longest time that did not want to be a smoker. and the fact that i failed before. i think i was discouraged for a very long time. ♪ knowing that i could smoke during the first week was really important to me. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. [ jeff ] chantix reduced my urge to smoke, and personally that's what i knew i needed. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation,

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learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions helps defends against occasional justconstipation, diarrhea,alth probiotic cap a day gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. more now on one of our top stories, the end to one of the most controversial policies in u.s. military history, don't ask, don't tell forced thousands

of gays and lesbians out of the military since it was implemented in 1993. the man who led the congressionalest to repeal don't ask, don't tell is former democrat iks congressman patrick murphy, a combat veteran of the iraq war, currently running for the democratic nomination for pennsylvania attorney general. he joins us now from philadelphia. patrick murphy, thank you so much for coming on the show. start, if you will, by telling us what your reaction is to this historic day. >> well, thanks, randi, for having me on. today is an incredible step on a journey to end discrimination in our military and in our country. today is a testament to the hard work of heroes like lieutenant colonel victor furbok, notre dame graduate combat fighter pilot actually when i was in iraq in 2003-2004, second airborne division he was actually controlling the skies in baghdad. he's aan american hero, yet someone found out that he had a

loved one back at home, a man, and they turned him in and unfortunately he had desk duty. they took him off those sorties. and that's wrong. there are so many others that were thrown out just like victor fairnbalk. that's why we fought so hard to make today a reality. >> how do you expect this to go through? i mean, in terms of how will it be accepted and do you anticipate any problems in implementing the new policy? >> i don't expect any problems, randi. you know why? because we have the best military in the world. you know, these young heroes, these 18, 19, 20-year-old heroes who take an oath to support and defend that strugs, are willing to take a bullet in the defense of our nation, they are the most professional and lethal fighting force in the world. you know, there's 26 other countries that allow their members, countrymen, to serve openly. to say that the american military forces aren't as professional as those 26 other countries isn't true. and, you know, these heros --

when i steved in iraq when i was with the 82nd airborne division, randi, we didn't care what race you were, what religion you were, what sex you were, who you were writing letters home to. we cared whether or not you could handle your assault rifle, could you do your job so we could all come home alive? >> what do you say to those in the military who to this day are against this, concerned about their privacy, about what might happen, what do you want to say to them? >> let me be very clear. there's training that has already happened and i know earlier just about ten minutes ago you had secretary panetta on and the chairman joint chiefs of staff admirable mullen. 97% of these troops have been trained. if there's misconduct or wrong, doesn't matter if you're gay or separate, turn them in. that's why we have regulations. there's already rules in place. the fact is this --

there are folks that sense that they didn't necessarily agree with the policy, and i get that. that's america. no one is ever going to agree on everything. but there was a decision made by the commander in chief and now executed by the military leaders of our country. and i have all the full faith and confidence in these young heroes. >> i've got to say, though, i hear you talk about training, i mean, did we have to train our military members to fight alongside an african-american soldier, to fight alongside anybody else? i mean, doesn't it appear just so bizarre to you that we have to train our military to work alongside these folks? >> it's training meaning it's a briefing, blank frankly, randi. >> but still. >> i know. but you know what? some folks want the training to happen so they made it happen. it's really these proper briefings. but we had already had these briefings already when these young heroes come into the milita military, we're taught at an

early age, i joined at 19 in 1993, that we all wear the color green, that we all bleed red, that we do this to support and defend the constitution to win our nation's wars. we have put all our personal preferences aside, what part of the country you're from, what religion you are. it doesn't make a difference. what makes a difference is are you dog the job to protect the families in our great country. >> patrick murphy, appreciate your time. coming up, tyler perry's success has become a divisive t top topic. is there a problem with his message? we'll discuss that, next.

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tyler perry, he is the highest paid man in hollywood, according to "forbes," thanks to five movies he produced over the past two years and two tv series, perry earned $130 million between may 2010 and may 2011. he's known for producing movies primarily for black audiences. but a growing number of critics in the black community take issue with perry's work, including director spike lee. >> theeach artist should be alld to pursue the artistic endeavor, but i still think a lot of stuff that's on today is kuhnry buffoonery. i know it's making a lot of money, breaking records, but we can do better. >> perry defends his material saying that he shares a positive message. listen. >> all these characters are bait, disarming, charming, make you laugh bait.

so i can slap madeira in something, talk about love, faith, god, forgiveness, family, any of those things. >> so is tyler perry's success a win for black hollywood and does it have further implications for racial politics. joining us boyce watkins and tere. tere, let me start with you. you just wrote your book great book. you've been saying that perry doesn't really create a good product. i wanted to share a clip here along with our viewers from "madea goes to jail" and get your reaction to it. >> honey, you in jail for what you did. take responsibility for yourself. i can't folk want to be the victim. this person did this, that's why i'm this way. >> so you look at that scene, it seems kind of positive. >> i wasn't watching. is it done? is the clip done? look, tyler perry is one of if

not the worst director in hollywood. he's will fully ignorant of the craft and i can think of no aspect of the film making craft that he excels at, certainly not acting or writing or cinematography or directing or set design. he perhaps excels at marketing but that's not really a film making craft. but what is really dangerous about the product he puts out is that he's celebrating a certain victimhood. i see this especially in "for colored girl" which was a fantastic play but a horrible movie and celebrating this victimhood and sort of telling black women it's okay to feel like a victim and to wall low i the pain of your life. it's a horrible message, like cinematic malt liquor for the masses. >> let me get dr. watkins in here. i know you think perry actually has a pretty good message,

somewhere in there. >> i've never had malt liquor before, but i will say that tyler perry -- you have to be disturbed about any black man who makes that much money by putting on a dress. there's historical context that has to be thought of. but tyler perry is not lil wayne, giving prepacked message for destruction. at worst, tyler perry has been able to ride the flavor flaif model of economic empowerment, but if you look deeper at perry's message, you see that these characters really are bait, as tyler says. and when i analyze his movies -- remember, i started off as a huge critic of perry. he's using comedy to educate the masses. then you have to go further and realize that if you look at the country and we have 17% black unemployment and all these other things going on, tyler perry is in atlanta creating jobs, doing something that nobody else in black hollywood has been able to do. when we talk about victimhood,

look at black hollywood, actors and actresses complaining they can't find jobs. tyler perry is creating jobs. >> tuore -- >> i want to point out drug dealers also create jobs. we're not giving them credit for creating jobs. >> you he's not a drug dealer, come on. >> but you can't argue, toure, with iz his success. he's had films open up number one and two. why the successes? >> mcdonald's sells a lot of hamburgers. does that make it good or good for you? >> no. ti tyler perry is serving a group who aren't served in hollywood. when he's serving them movies where they appear to be in situations that are naturalistic and recognizable to them and definitely have that christian message, i absolutely understand why my grandmother, my mother, my aunt love this stuff.

and the family down south, why they love this stuff. i just can't watch it without cringing because i've actually seen good movies and i know these are poorly made films. >> i want to switch gears here because we have one other topic i want to talk about. toure in your book you talk about how blackness has many definitions. it can't be boiled down to one thing. then you have the congressional black caucus saying that obama isn't doing enough for the black community. so is blackness, do you think, being too narrowly defined here? >> well, i think there you see modern blackness -- disappointed in barack obama. they're not just going to support him or he's not just going to support their agenda. we have the right and the ability to disagree in public and it's not traitor otraitoric. the president zntd do the presidency in a black way.

he does the presidency as a human being with his ideas coming from where he comes from. he certainly can be doing something special for the black community. so in that way we kind of lose something with a barack obama presidency where a bill clinton or even a george bush who put two black people in the secretary of state chair, they can do things for black people he feels uncomfortable doing. >> dr. watkins, how much would you say the black community matters in the next election? and the president's relationship with the black community. >> the black community matters quite a bit. we gave president obama one-fifth of the votes he needed in order to be elected. i think what you see going on is huge political education. we're constantly talking about this at your black world. what i've seen is the momentum has shifted against the president, unfortunately. in the beginning you had a lot of people who put their picture of obama right next to martin luther king and jesus. now you have people wondering why the economic situation for african-americans has gotten worse while it's actually gotten

a little better for white america. everyone goes back to three years ago when the president said that the rising tide will lift all boats when it comes to solving the black joblessness problem. but the thing is, we can't get to a point where we're so afraid and ashamed of connecting to the black community we continue to neglect the black community. so i think that voices of dissent against the president are not traitors, simply democratic. but i think voices of support are simply saying, we love you so much, but we need you to do a good job. i think that's fine as well. >> thank you both for coming on. i do want to mention we invited tyler perry to come on for the discussion as well, but he declined our request. coming up, presidents have tried and failed on brokering peace between israel and the palestinians. wolf blitzer walks us through key historic moments when we come back.

the israeli/palestinian conflict is heating up on the diplomatic front in new york. the standoff shaping up at the united nations over the palestinian statehood has put a spotlight on president obama. remember this statement last

year? >> we come back here next year, we could have an agreement that could lead to a new member of the united nations, an independent sovereign state of palestine living in peace with israel. >> policies and such are being called into question, but efforts to broker peace between israel and the palestinians have a long, complicated history. past presidents have tackled the issue, but clearly their efforts filled as well. >> reporter: president bill clinton brings palestinian leader yasser arafat and the israeli leader for the signing of the oslo accords. there was a dramatic hand shake. at the time, nearly everyone was optimistic it wouldn't take all that long to resolve the israeli/palestine peace process, including refugees, borders and jerusalem. that optimism was miss placed.

november 4, 1995, ra bean is assassinated by a jewish extremist. >> i'm very sad and very shocked for this awful and terrible crime. >> reporter: early 1996 israel is struck by a series of palestinian terror attacks and suicide bombings and by may israelis elect a hardsliner as their prime minister, bet gentleman benjamin netanyahu. bill clinton invites both but progress is limited. >> there can be no success without principled compromise. the road to peace, as always, is a two-way street. >> reporter: just as he's wrapping up eight years in the white house, bill clinton gives it one more try. this time engaging ar afat and then-israeli prime minister ahood barack outside washington

at camp david. he was willing to give up gauze asaturday and most of the west bank, becoming the new palestinian state. clinton told me later ar afat rejected that, insisting on complete withdrawal. september 2000, all the key players exchange. in early 2001, george w. bush becomes president of the united states and sharon is xlekted prime minister of israel. in 2003, the road map to peace is proposed of the mideast quarterette, the united states, yainted nations, russia and the european union. november 2004, ar afat dies and mahmoud abbas becomes chairman of the plo. 2005, sha roen unilaterally exposes jewish settlers. >> translator: the world is

awaiting the palestinian response. we will respond to an outstretched hand with the olive branch. however, we will respond to terrorism forcefully. >> reporter: in 2006, hamas, which the u.s. and europeans consider a terrorist group, wins palestinian elections and takes over the gaza strip. abbas and the palestinian authority which control the west bank won't allow hamas to get involved in any peacemaking efforts or decisions. november 2008, america elects a new president who promises change. >> to those who seek peace and security, we support you. >> reporter: june 2009, barack obama pushes his vision for a more democratic middle east right in the heart of egypt. >> i do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things -- the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed. >> reporter: in 2011, the arab

spring begins transforming the middle east. may 2011, president obama publicly goes further than any american president before him, this pronouncement. >> we believe the borders israel and palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agr agreed swipes. >> reporter: prime minister natten hue calls the borders indefensible and relations are tested. >> president obama is expected to sit down with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu this week. palestinian mahmoud abbas will submit his membership request friday. the palestinians have the support of a majority of the countries but the u.s. has pledged to veto the measure. hln's nancy grace was among the performers last night in this year's premiere episode of "dancing with the stars." up next, we'll tell you about nancy's cha-cha.

now let's get you caught up on some of the stories you may have missed. the georgia board of pardons and paroles denied clemency for troy davis. the decision came one day after a last-minute appeal by davis. since his conviction in 1991, seven of nine witnesses have recanted their testimony, sparking a worldwide clemency campaign. davis is set to die by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of

police officer mark macphail. his execution, delayed three times, now scheduled for 7:00 p.m. tomorrow. the pentagon has officially ended its don't ask, don't tell policy in place since 1993. it now welcomes gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military. and the estimated 13,000 service members kicked out under the old policy can now apply to re-enlist. the 13th season of abc's "dancing with the stars" kicked off monday night. we got a chance to see our very own nancy grace -- there she is -- come from behind the anchor desk and do a pretty darn impressive cha-cha. after facing the judges, nancy said this about her routine. >> the main thing i feel is great that we got through the dance and tristan did such a great job. he really led me through it, which is wonderful. >> woo! look at her go. >> you can catch nancy and her all-star cast next week on "dancing with the stars." before oprah, there was

zern zernona clayton and members of the -- first african woman to have her own show. mrs. clayton, the founder, president and ceo was honored. zerona clayton began her career in 1967 and became the south's first black person to have her own television show. coming up -- bloodshed in the streets yemen. is this key u.s. ally in the fight against al qaeda on the verge of an all-all civil war? >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply.

human rights groups in yemen today accuse government troops of firing on peaceful antigovernment protestors. at least two people were killed in the capital sauna. the latest death toll is nearly 60. for months protestors have been trying to force the resignation of ali abdullah sul lay. mohammed, what's the latest on

the fighting and now a cease-fire may now be in place? >> reporter: randi, earlier in the day activists and eyewitnesss in sanaa and other cities were saying it was the third day of carnage, were concerned that the country -- fierce fighting. a cease-fire has been called amongst the warring parties. while i spoke to a yemeni government official who believes the factions are all in a gentlemen's agreement and the clashes have stopped for the most part, the residents i'm speaking to don't quite believe a cease-fire is in attack. they're still hearing shelling, loud explosions, not as fierce as earlier, but they worry it will pick up later this evening and get back in the overnight hours. >> who exactly is involved in this fighting? has this come down to rival

tribes? >> reporter: well, randi, we have had situations in the yemen the past few months where rifle tribes have clashed. this particular round of fight ing different military units. you have the republican guard, an elite military unit, they're fighting with military units loyal to a general who defected from the ranks of the president join the revolutionary movement a few months ago. his forces, the forces loyal to this general, have been out on the streets of the capital trying to protect the antigovernment nodemonstrators. so tess aa very volatile mix of groups in the streets of the capital. because these two factions with a lot of firepower between them are fighting each other, you have thousands and thousands of people caught in the middle, a lot of innocent bystanders, protestors, they're the ones that are really in harm's way right now. that's why you have such a high

casualty figure the past few days. >> i want to ask you about the president before i let you go. he's obviously still, as far as we know, in saudi arabia, recoughing from the assassination attempt. is there any word on his condition or when he might return to yemen? >> well, by most accounts, diplomats from nemen and other countries in the region they say president saw la's help, he looks better, his burns, wounds getting better. he's seen walking around. president saleh keeps vowing to return to yemen even though so many countries and groups are calling on him not to because they believe if he does return the situation will get even more chaotic. but just yesterday we saw president saleh meeting with saudi king abdullah, thanking the king for his help in his recovery and the saudi king was calling on all the different

yemeni factions to try to sign some sort of mediation agreement so the political crisis would come to an end. that being said, though, not a lot of hope that even if some kind of deal is signed it will resolve the crisis. it's gotten so bad, so many people on the streets vowing to keep continuing to come out on the streets. they don't believe president saleh signing any piece of paper will resolve this anytime soon. >> mohammed jamjoom, thank you. coming up, a hot button legal issue makes its way to a broadway stage. with an all-had star a-list cast, one of those stars, rob ry ryaner, joins us to talk about the play called "8." [ male announcer ] it's simple physics...

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the theater was jam-packed for last night's sold-out broadway premiere of "8," all about proposition 8, the california ban on gay marriage. written by dustin lance black, the play challenges the courtroom ban, a case deeming prop 8 unconstitutional. morgan freeman, rob reiner and others gathered together. rob, thank you so much for coming on the show. up until this play, no one really knew exactly what went on inside that courtroom. so tell me about "8" and why it was so important to you to tell this story. >> well, we feel that this is the last big piece of the civil rights puzzle that is being put into place. the gay community is the one with community in america that

is treated less under the law. we brought a federal lawsuit to proposition 8, which was the initiative that passed in california disallowing gays to marry, they had that right. we felt it was constitutional. we brought it to court with david boyce and ted olsen, the two guy that's opposed each other in bush versus gore. they teamed up and we won the case in a federal court. now, there were cameras in the court, but the supreme court said that we were not allowed to show those videotapes, nobody was allowed to see what happened in there. we felt that this is a very important case, along the lines of brown versus the board of education, and we felt it was important that people know what happened inside that courtroom and that the opposition, the proponents of prop 8, had no legal grounds, that the initiative was deemed unconstitutional. they presented into evidence, showed no reason why gays and lesbians should not be married,

not only in california but throughout the country. lance black put this play together so that we -- and he took a compilation of all of the evidence and the transcripts of the trial and we put it on on broadway to let people see what happened in that courtroom. >> and what was the reaction? how did the audience respond? >> oh, it was astounding. i mean, you know, we were obviously preaching in some degree to the choir, but there were standing ovations. ted olsen and david boyce were there, we brought them up on stage. the place went crazy. we hope that we can mount this play in schools across the country, high schools and colleges, to let people know what actually is going on. this may ultimately make itself to the -- this case may make its way to the supreme court. but until that time, we want people to know what happened in that district court in california. >> you've compared this case, as you just mentioned, to brown versus board of ed. do you really think it rises to

that? >> it does because in that case it was all about whether or not separate but equal was constitutional. thurgood marshall argued very passionately and correctly that there is no such thing as separate and equal. we are saying the same thing here, that there is a group of people who are being treated separately, who are, under the law, not given the same rights as everybody else. and until the gay community is allowed to be seen under the law as equal with everybody else, they are second-class citizens. that just is not american, and so we are bringing this as, like i say, the last big piece of the civil rights puzzle. >> let me ask you about don't ask, don't tell. you and i are speaking on a very historic day, officially repealed now, allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. what do you think about that? >> well, it's kind of

interesting when you think about it. you know, i was talking to your competitors the other day, and joe scarborough brought up a very interesting thing. the gay and lesbian community is basically fighting for some very conservative ideas, the right to get married and the light to serve -- right to serve in the military. so we've won one of those things, which absolutely should have been done a long time ago, and i think years from now we'll look back at this and say, what was all the fuss about? why were gays not allowed to have what everybody else has? just like women couldn't vote many years ago, blacks couldn't vote. we look at that as pretty silly right now. and i think in time we'll look back at this being silly but right now it's a very serious fight and we're taking the fight to the federal courts. >> let me share with you the most recent cnn polling of americans' view on same-sex marriage. 53 in support with 46 opposing

there, percentagewise. where do you think the country really is on this issue? >> that's just about right, and it's kind of interesting when you think about it because, back in 1967 there was a case loving versus virginia that was brought all the way to the supreme court, and that was a case about whether or not interracial couples could marry, whether a black person could marry a white person. at that time, almost 70% of the country was against interracial marriage. here we're presenting this case in a climate where we have over 50% in favor of gay marriage, and i think as time goes by you'll see that those numbers will rise. so it is definitely moving in the right direction, and we feel very good about our chances at the supreme court if it gets that far. >> and to those who just simply don't support it, for moral reasons they say or religious reasons, what would you say to them? >> i'd say you're entitled to your opinion and your feelings. we're not saying you shouldn't have those feelings. what we're saying, though, is

that, under the law -- and by the way, the government is the only one who grants the right to get married. it's not the churches. the churches get their right to marry people through the government. so you can continue to have your feelings, have whatever you feel your morality tells you to do. but you should not deny other people from having those same rights. that's all we're saying. >> and very quickly, what is your next project, or is this it? >> well, this politically is it. i just finished a film with morgan freeman and virginia manson called the summer of monty wildhorn. it comes out next year. i'm very excited about that. >> rob reiner, we really appreciate your time. such an important issue to give some time to. i look forward to seeing that play of yours all around the country. thank you. >> thanks for having me, randi. fired for all the wrong reasons. it's why one company is "face the music." y.

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every day on this show we call out someone to "face the music." today it is the decision makers at acme electric in wisconsin, the san francisco chronicle reports the electrical supply company has to pay a record $846,000 for firing a regional sales manager in a discrimination case. a supervisor gave charles wide aman a low performance rating saying he spent too much time close to home base. kuf turns out the guy was recovering from cancer surgery. the fair employment and housing commission ordered this payment, the biggest ever in a discrimination case, including a $25,000 fine for what the commission described as, quote, despicable conduct.

the company reportedly argued the ployee was let go because of work distinguishcys and the declining economy but that was shot down because acme electric immediately hired a replacement for him. gee, if you were recovering from a major cancer battle wouldn't you need some time near home to recover. for your decision to fire this man, it's your time acme electric to "face the music."

earlier today cnn's wolf blitzer sat down with president bill clinton to talk republican politics. that's right, the former democratic president shared his thoughts on some of the top gop candidates. take a listen. >> you said some of the republican candidates are more moderate than the others. let's talk about that for a second. who do you like and who are you concerned about? not from a political standpoint but from the standpoint of america's future. >> well, it appeared that governor huntsman and governor romney at least have not come out and just flat-out denial of climate change. it appears that governor huntsman said he supported the compromise to raise the debt ceiling because america couldn't afford the economic consequences. >> so what i hear you saying is

you'd be p happier if romney or huntsman got the nomination than rick perry. >> well, it's not up to me to -- they'll both lose if anybody thinks i've endorsed them. i'm just saying that i appreciate the fact that they are trying to navigate a landscape that bears almost no relationship to what's produced successful economies in the world. and there are lots of countries now doing better than we are in some areas because of the very ideas that apparently you have to support to get the nominat n nomination. >> for more of wolf's interview with former president clinton, tune in to "the situation room" today, 5:00 eastern right here on cnn. that will do it for me. "cnn newsroom" continues with brooke baldwin. >> randi, thank you very much. hello to all of you. i am brooke baldwin. we have new video, an angle we have not yet seen until today of that air race disaster in reno, nevada, from friday night.