>> reporter: how do you expect english-speaking tom hanks to do the weather at spanish speaking univision. they are rising and falling faster than the barometer. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. thanks for joining us. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." the news continues next on cnn. good evening. i'm john kingment tonight, vice president biden in the doghouse for going off script and forcing the president to speed up his announcement that he supports same-sex marriage. also, we grade the president's record on energy what he promised and how it could shape campaign 2012. complaints to leak the latest al qaeda terror plot for sending a double agent back inside for more valuable information about the terror group.

we begin this evening with two important political disputes. one of them a fascinating family feud. president obama out on the west coast fundraising. his team believes those efforts will be helped by the news he supports same-sex marriage. behind the scenes at the obama white house, a rift with the vice president for forcing the president to speed up that announcement. jessica yellin has just learned new details. the vice president just trying to make up by going into the oval office and saying, i'm sorry. >> that's right, john. i have learned from senior administration official, the vice president, went in and apologized not for the position he took but for putting the president in a tough position. the president with a very understanding rely as i'm told saying essentially that he knows the vice president is speaking from the heart. you can imagine that conversation. and in addition, the vice president's office has put out an official statement which fits inside a twitter response. the president has been a leader on this issue from day one.

the vice president never intended to distract from that. fewer than 140 characters, john. >> keep it short. when you are going to apologize, keep it short. in the sense that the president has been through this before where the vice president's tongue gets out ahead of the brain sometimes. assess where we are now, the fallout. did the president say apology accepted? what about the political team? >> this is one of the instances where sometimes the president is more forgiving than the president's aides sometimes. i think the staff has been somewhat bent out of shape because there was a thinking of a plan and a timeline. there was an intention to roll this out ahead of the democratic convention. the vice president's remarks got them ahead of that. so, it didn't throw something out there that was never going to happen. it didn't force the president to do something he never intended to do. it just forced the timeline up. in the end, alls well, as the president said, that ends well. this is not going to be a permanent rift. it is a temporary, if not deep,

announce. it will end. the vice president is hitting the campaign trail next week to ohio, a key state. he is not really in the doghouse, john. >> they will be watching him closely. i bet they will be. our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin. gloria is with me. the president sort of hinted that he wasn't so happy. let's put it that way. he did this abc interview with robin roberts. they did a walking interview outside the oval office. >> i had already made a decision that we were probably going to take this decision before the election and before the convention. it probably got out a little bit over its skis but out of generosity of spirit. >> i like that, a little bit out over his skis. that's a polite way to put it. you know, joe. he always does that. >> lasting damage? it is a big issue. i think these two men really like each other. i think the president values joe

biden's advice. he values his candor, which you don't often get when you are president of the united states. i think joe biden has has a real adjustment. he was used to be the master of his own universe in the united states senate. senior senator, staff around him. he spoke for one person. that was joe biden. he had to learn. he is learning it the hard way. when he speaks, people believe he is also speaking for the president of the united states. normally, the president should go first and then joe biden should follow. that's something that i think has been a really difficult adjustment. >> it has been more than three years. you would think he would have that more figured out by now. >> people learn slowly. >> stay with me for a second. tonight's second dispute is between the president and republican rival, mitt romney. speaking to abc, the president ridiculed romney's recent suggestion that he, governor romney, deserves some credit for the auto industry's rebound. >> i think this is one of his etch-a-sketch moments. i don't think anybody takes that

seriously. people remember his position, which was, let's let detroit go bankrupt. >> but, just a short time ago, governor romney stood his ground. >> this was back when george bush was president. i said, don't write them a check. they need to go through a managed bankruptcy. they have to get rid of the excess cost of the uaw and other excess costs and then the government can help support. don't write them a check. the head of the uaw, he said, that's absolutely wrong. these companies can go through bankruptcy. it would never work. you know what, that's finally what happened. the president finally came around. they went through a managed bankruptcy and they are back on their feet. >> can he win this argument? a new poll in ohio, a dead heat. a lot of auto workers in ohio. can romney win this argument or does he need to have a draw? >> he can't win the argument on the auto bailout in particular.

if he wants to make the argument the jobs haven't been created well enough, those are arguments he can win. the question of the auto bailout, however, i think is a very, very difficult case for him to make. i think he ought to get off of it, because it is too easy for president obama to say, wait a minute. you folks were all against the auto bailout. i was the one who put myself on the line for it. i think it strains cred due lit. i don't think it works for mitt romney. he needs to get on to talking about his economic message. >> a lot of obama will be spent on t vfv ads. new leaked details concerning the agent that foiled the latest al qaeda plot to bomb a u.s.-bound airliner. they are hurting efforts to discover more about the

terrorist intentions. >> so you think just so i understand, you think that the leak made now exposed this particular informant, the person who carried the bomb out? had the leak not happened, that person might have been able to try it again? >> correct. that's right. >> let's bring in fran townsend. fran, you heard senator lieberman. he said, you think if this word didn't leak, this guy could have gone back in? how does the mole go back? >> well, john. i think there is sort of a misconception here. when you have a deepen trags or a double agent like this, it is not as though you send him in and don't talk to him. this is somebody. i can't go into the details of how. it is someone with whom you communicate pretty regularly. you want to get ongoing information from him and you want to give him direction, things that you want him to do. so there would have been ongoing

communication. you then have this big event. he gets his hands on the potential bomb. he is going to get it out. so you want to know, can we send him back in? well, you would have developed what's called a cover story. he would have said something along the lines of, i don't know what the cover plan was in this case but he would have said something like, i want to cross the border to go into country "x." they were doing physical searches so i had to dump it. what he really did is went into country "x" and handed it over to the cia or some foreign intelligence service. you then, if it hadn't been revealed, would have sent him back in. that would have been very difficult and sensitive time. you would have been very alert to see if people were suspicious of him. you would have sent him back in to try and find out whether or not there were other potential suicide bombers and whether or not there were other devices. when this case became public, especially when it became public, the fbi had their hands on the device, there is no evidence that it was a cover

story. you have to get everybody out and do it quickly, called an ex filtration, to get them out of harm's way. there is a substantial loss to the investigation. that's why you hear congressmen and senators very angry about it. >> what's the impact of losing this valuable source? do you even know? >> you don't know. you don't know how long he could have been in there. the likelihood is, john, in all experience, that he wouldn't have been able to remain in country much longer. the questions he may have been able to answer if he had gone back, how did they reablhe reac loss of the bomb? that sort of thing, he might have been able to get that national detail. >> thanks so much for your help. a new low today in syria. the worst violence since the uprising began. the bloody reminder of the

failure of the cease-fire agreement. two suicide car bombs erupted killing at least 55 people, nearly 400 more wounded. those chunks of metal, barely recognizable. the power of the 2200 pounds of explosives used. the regime blames the rebels. more evidence of the crumbling peace plan. one u.n. source tells us that syrian president has invited him back to damascus and he is reportedly thinking about it. why would you think about it? either go or call the whole deal off. an unflattering portrait of mitt romney in high school. he denied one particular incident was homophobic. those grading him an u.s. energy secretary. >> i think the president is on his way to a comprehensive energy policy. we could use a little help from the congress. [ female announcer ] did you know the average person smiles

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let's focus on energy as we continue our focus on the major promi promises candidate obama made in 2008. this was a big one. the president promised to end our u.s. need from imported oil from unreliable and politically distasteful sources. >> as president, i will put the full resources the federal government and the full energy of the private sector behind a single, overarching goal. in ten years, we are going to eliminate the need for oil from the entire middle east and venezuela. >> that's one big promise candidate obama also promised to lower green louse gas emissions using an approach known as cap and trade, tough limits on those emissions. >> as president, i will set a hard cap on all carbon emissions at a level that scientists say is necessary to curb global warming. to ensure this isn't just talk, i will also commit to interim targets towards this goal.

in 2020, 2030, and 2040. >> candidate obama also promised this, a green jobs revolution. >> i will invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy. wind power, solar power. an investment that will lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced. >> the question now, in the re-election campaign, has he kept those promises. since he said ten years, with he would have to say in the works to be fair when it comes to ending all oil imports. it is a work in progress. pretty hard to see that happening. the president did say within ten years. we will say within the works. we would have to say broken promise when it comes to the cap and trade. democrats controlled congress for the first two years. they did not enact cap and trade. became a lost cause once republicans took control of the

house. since the president's timeline was ten years, we would have to say in the works is the verdict when it comes to creating 5 million green jobs. stimulus programs have failed to produce as many jobs as supporters even in the white house had hoped. the president's critics say his approach has failed. the president insists when it comes to energy, he is on the right track. >> as long as i am president, we will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. we are calling on all of the above energy strategy. all of the above. a strategy that relies on producing more oil and gas here in america but also more biofuels, more fuel-efficient cars, more wind power and, as you can see, a whole lot more solar power. >> let's assess the president's record on enj i as we head into the re-election campaign with the former energy secretary and former governor, bill richardson

and bill talent. >> i want to start with you, governor richardson. the president said within ten years, no more oil from the middle east or venezuela, because we don't like the chavez government. is that at all a realistic goal? >> it is a realistic goal. there has been substantial progress, john. the president has lowered our dependence on oil imports, under 50% for the first time when i was energy secretary. we were close to 61.1 billion barrels a day less. he has implemented fuel economy standards, double that, which is going to reduce our addiction to imported oil. green energy jobs. he has doubled solar wind, biofuels since 2008. which is going to be another step forward. he has created thousands of new green jobs from the stimulus in my state, which is an energy state, an oil and gas state, renewable energy state. thousands of new jobs were

created. i think the president is on his way to a comprehensive energy policy. we could use a little help from the congress. the congress has not passed climate change legislation, the renewable portfolio standard mandating a certain percentage by every state to have clean energy. we could use a little bipartisan help. >> governor richardson says the president is right. anything he hasn't accomplished is the congress's fault. >> jim talent. >> i know he thinks it is a shame congress haven't given him everything he wanted. they did give him too much of what he wanted the first two years. yes, the press wants cap and trade. his cap and trade plan would skyrocket electricity prices. he talks about all of the above but it is really none of the above, john. the administration's energy

policies have suppressed energy. production of oil on federal lands is down. the only reason we are importing less is the economy is off. that's like saying, you know, a sick person can save on their food budget because they don't eat so much. that is not the way you ought to do it. what we need to do and what governor romney wants to do is to produce the energy this nation needs to grow and create jobs. without prosperity, we can't do anything. we need to streamline permitting and leasing, not stone walling it, we need to build the keystone pipeline, which the president stopped. we need to stream light permitting of nuclear power plants and open up offshore lands for exploration. it would be nice if we had a survey so we knew how much oil and natural gas we have in domestic land. the president's policies have been suppressing the production of energy, not creating it. >> what governor romney wants to do is keep the subsidies for big oil, $4 billion a year. the president is all of the

above, renewable energy, natural gas, biofuels, biodiesel, nuclear. you are right. the president is ready to proceed with nuclear power plants so long as they are safe. natural gas, he has just put forth a very sense i believe fracking policy that says we are going to do natural gas and fracking. we are going to be careful about protecting the environment, making sure chemicals are disclosed, that we protect groundwater and find ways to make sure there is no leakage. this is a president who has committed an awful lot on a comprehensive energy pol sichlt he wants a little help from the congress and wants to have a debate on this issue with governor romney who just says, no, no, no on every alternative. >> you hear the governor, senator. jim? >> look, john, the production of oil is up because the production on private lands is up. the production on federally controlled lands is down. leasing is down.

permitting is down. those are the administration's numbers, not governor romney's. in the stimulus package, this he had $60 million in grants. grants to companies like solyndra, evergreen solar, that have gone bankrupt. $400 million for basic research that will produce the technological breakthroughs we need. that's what governor romney wants to do. we c we need a policy and can get it on a bipartisan basis where we are producing and not suppressing the energy we have. then, we will have job growth. we can create millions of jobs in the energy industry. bill mentioned green jobs. when the administration counts the number of green jobs it has created, it includes, for example, people working in the mass transit sector. it includes bus drivers and people working in wastewater treatment. those aren't green energy jobs. those are, they say, since it is mass transit, it has to be

green. it is not a green energy job. those are the figures that are incorrect. >> senator talent, governor richardson, we appreciate you coming in. this is president obama's report card. we will get to governor romney's as well. thanks for your time. >> ahead here, remember those calls to boycott arizona after it passed a tough immigration law. now, some democrats say the party should move out of north carolina, because that state just adopted a very tough ban, not only on same-sex marriages but also civil unions. we will talk to the mayor who will serve as the civil chairman. the renewal of an ancient tradition in this summer's game. . ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives...

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welcome back. here is kate bolduan with the latest news you need to know right now. hello. >> hello, john. hello, everyone. let's get you caught up. here is something you haven't heard in more than three years. washington made more money than it paid out that month. that's right. there was a monthly budget surplus of $59 in april, the last time the federal government was in the black was for a month was september, 2008. good news. it comes with the bad. they are expecting a $1.3 billion deficit for the year. what to hit the brakes on the pentagon spending cuts and instead cut more spending from domestic programs like medicaid and food stamps. the gop house passed the bill

today. not one democrat supported the measure. it has no chance of clearing the democratic controlled senate. it does set the stage for a campaign year showdown over where the government should be spending its or your money. the greek god was beckoned in a tradition dating back. actresses in flowing togas and braided hair lit the olympic torch in a ceremony held at an ancient temple where the games began. the torch will be carried 8,000 miles throughout britain before entering the lon ton stadium for the 2012 olympic games. that would be fun to be one offer those runners. >> that's why i wore gold today? >> that's your toga. >> it is not a toga. up next, mitt romney apologizes for a high school incident he says he can't even remember. we will talk to the reporter who

can't remember that. i will ask the man in charge of that about that and whether president obama is pushing hard enough on the issue of same-sex marriage. by strengthening its moisture barrier, for improved texture and elasticity in 2 weeks. reveal healthy, supple skin. aveeno skin strengthening. mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪

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president obama says he personally believes in same-sex marriage. details that has governor romney apologizing for an

incident 50 years after the fact. >> they say he is too busy to meet with president obama next week. he has time to strap on some skates and hit the ice. north carolina's vote to ban same-sex marriage has some rethinking their travel plans. they are asking the democratic commit t committee to move out of charlotte. will it follow president obama and endorse same-sex marriage. mr. mayor, it is good to see you. should the convention move after arizona passed sb-1070, a lot of democrats said boycott. north carolina just passed a very tough, no the only saying no to same-sex marriages but no civil unions. should the party picks up and move the convention? >> i don't think so. we are already far down the way

in terms of planning for this convention. it is going to be the most open and accessible. north carolina is an important state. we are going to work to win the hearts and minds and votes of the voters there. we are going to go ahead with the convention in september. >> you a long time ago went on the record saying it was time to change the democratic platform to have an endorsement of same-sex marriage. now that the president is out. will that happen. even back then. i have been supporting marriage equality since 1994. even back then, i said that we have to go through a process. the platform committee will be sol solis itting opinions and viewpoints from all over the country. we want it to be an open and accessible convention, the most open and accessible ever. we will then have to vote on the platform. now that the president is

supportive, i expect there will be something to that effect in the platform. >> as you know, there was resistance from the obama political team when this idea was first floated, when it was discussed by yourself and others. >> did you get any heads up that the president was about to have this dramatic change of heart? >> first of all, i got no resistance from the campaign. they knew where i was. they were supportive of me saying where i have been for a very long time on this issue. there was no resistance from that campaign with respect to me. i can't speak for others. as the chairman of the democratic party convention, i would think that they would have said something to that effect. yes, i did know a couple of weeks ago that something would be said soon. on this issue. >> what did they tell you? >> just that the president would be making a statement soon on

the issue. >> were you told it was going ton a change that he was fully evolving to use his language? >> look, i think the president has been very clear on this issue. because this issue isn't an issue that stands alone. when you look at discrimination against gays and lesbians and the lgbt community and hate crimes legislation, don't ask, don't tell, denying the legal defense of doma, this is a president that's done more for this community, and for civil rights for this community, than any president in our history. now, because his position on marriage equality has evolved, he has taken a position of conscience. i think it was a courageous decision on his part and one that i support 100%. i am very proud of our president. we had asked this of the white

house for some time. i am wondering whether the president has this. have you had any latino folks come to you saying he promised to introduce immigration and hasn't done that? has anyone come forward and said, it's our turn, mr. mayor? >> well, look. there is no question there is a great deal of support, not just in the latino community but across the state and city in support of comprehensive immigration reform, securing our borders but providing a pathway for citizenship for the undocumented and for the dream act as well. i think people know that the president doesn't have a vote in the congress that there hasn't been any cooperation on the other side of the aisle in support of that. when there is, and i believe when the president is reelected, he will make this an absolute priority. i think people will take him at his word. >> let me return to the same-sex marriage debate. a lot of people say there could be a negative political fallout in some key states. they say, for example, a lot of

african-american ministers in conservative churches say homosexuality is evil. a lot of people say latinos go into the catholic church and hear the priest say homosexuality is evil. do you think in a very close election, not a sweeping loss for the president but a very close election, could this hurt the president? >> i am not a pundit but ile say this. when i said it was a courageous decision and it was. there are people that are against it. i am hoping that those people will go with the president based on his economic policies, based on the many things he has done. most people aren't single issue voters. they vote on a broad range of the character of the candidate. this is a man with the courage of his convictions. >> mayor, it is good to see you

tonight. you have a busy summer ahead. >> thank you. look forward to it. mitt romney's prep school classmate says the man who wants to be the next president of the united states was known as a prankster during his years at the cran book school. they talked about one incident when romney and his friends tackled a long-haired bleach blonde classmate and cut off some of his hair. a few hours after the story was published, governor romney was asked about the incident during the radio interview? >> i don't remember that incident. i'll tell you, i certainly don't believe that i, i can't speak for other people, of course, but that i thought the fellow was homosexual. that was the furthest thing from my mind back in 1960s. back in high school, i did some dumb things. and if anybody was hurt by that or offended, of wfusly, i

apologize. >> now, the author of "the washington post" article, a little of a chuckle. some say it goes beyond silly. in your conversations with your sources, was it a prank or was it bullying? >> the way they saw it, it was something that went beyond a prank. they saw something that brothered them a bothered them and stuck with them. some of them even participated in it and felt a good deal of regret about that. >> from your article, it was a hack job, vicious, philip maxwell, said one of the students. to this day, it troubles me, thomas buford said. he was just easy pickens, said matthew freedman, another student involved. clearly, they have vivid memories. when governor romney says at the beginning, i don't remember that. he was allegedly the guy with the scissors. >> we can only take governor romney at his word but the people participating remember it

vividly and remember him there vividly. >> how did they describe the governor as a high school student? it is a long time ago. people change. people say when he met his now wife, he changed considerably. at this point, when they described him, he used some words we use in high school, as a jerk, as a bully, as a prankster or a clown? >> i think clown was the one most thought of. he stayed up late and would ride mops up and down the hallway with his buddy. a lot of people liked that about him. a good deal of people found him to be charming and funny. sometimes those pranks seemed to cross a line. when they crossed the line, that's what bothered people. >> jason horowitz, appreciate it. great article. thank you. coming up, the truth about same-sex marriage and how it will play in this year's campaign. if there was a pill

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if you thought republicans would welcome the return of the culture wars and look to play up president obama's new found support of same-sex marriage, think again. >> the president and the democrats can talk about all this all they want. the fact is the american people are focused on our economy and are asking a question, where are the jobs? >> the one opening some republicans do see is a chance to turn the tables and use the

flip-flop label the democrats pin on mitt romney. >> the president was for same-sex marriage before he was against it and now he is for it again. people forget that back in 1997, 1998 when he ran for the state senate he was in favor of same-sex marriage. then, when decided to run for the presidency, he was against it. now, he is for it. it will help with his base and hurt a little bit showing these shifting positions. >> help some, hurt some. you just heard the former new york city mayor say there. they won't like this comparison at obama headquarters. his re-election strategy more and more mirrors that of george w. bush. motivate your base and do a better job on election date of turning it out to vote. any steps president obama takes to energize his base can give energy to the republican base. >> the president has handed to mitt romney the one missing

piece in his campaign, the intensity and motivation he needs among social conservatives to win this election. >> they say the president's embrace of same-sex marriage makes it harder to keep 2008 states, north carolina, virginia, ohio, older voters are more reluctant to back same-sex marriages. what's fascinating, most smart republicans are urging caution, almost silence. that's a lesson learned more recently when the president handed the gop a gift. a fight with catholic institutions over covering contraception in the health insurance plans. it became a much bigger problem for republicans. they veered into a debate over contraception and worse. >> what does it say about the college coed, susan fluke? who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex. what does that make her?

it makes her a slut, right? >> now, not long after the president's announcement wednesday, that same booming voice on the right had this to say. >> it's official, obama has announced he supports gay marriage after talks with his wife and daughters, gay service members and others. pink smoke coming from the white house chimney. >> now, smart republicans hope comments like that are the exception, not the rule. as one veteran republican strategy told me today, quote, on the social fights, my party seems incapable of taking a win and shutting up. we go way too far. he ended the exchange this way. we will see what happens here. here tonight to talk truth, michael crowley, democratic strategy, paul mcgou wa and republican strategist, nancy fotenauer. >> is that about right, your party too often on these social issues, takes a gift and turns it into a disaster?

>> i do thing both parties have had moments they can't take yes for an answer. i believe the obama campaign netted this probably correctly sints they know their own base better. they need to ener joiz the cool youth voice that doesn't turn out. >> democrats see mitt romney flips and flops. the president says it is an evolution and he changed his position. >> not only did mayor juli mayg made that case. >> i said i believe marriage should be a relationship between a man and a woman. >> what you couldn't see there

was below that shot, the secret service was putting his pants out because they were on fire. it is nuts for mitt romney to get into a flip-flop argument. this is clearly a flip-flop to president obama. i like at the came to my position. when they flip-flop to where you are, it is evolution and growth. when they flip-flop away the way romney has, that's terrible. you can't, if you are mitt romney, you can't engage the flip flot issue. i have great regard for rudy giuliani. for mitt romney to be talking about flip-flops, it is like taking on blake griffin in a slam-dunk contest. you don't want to go there. >> do we know the political impact? in 2004, republicans thought this was an energizing issue. you have a very split country now. the nbc wall street journal says

are you more or less likely to vote for an opponent? are you more likely to vote for a supporter of same-sex marriage ar an opponent? makes no difference, 54%. >> that inning ares true with me. i think it is probably close toa wash. i think nancy made an important point which is older voters are less supportive of gay marriage. traditionally you'll have more turnout from older voters. one of the uncertainties is whether the excitement over this civil rights breakthrough will bring younger voters who are very supportive in and raise the turnpikeout from the base. theton thing i think jewel ya g has the facts about right. the country has evolved, opinions have evolved so it seems less strange to me to say society is changing and our understanding of same-sex relationships is changing and

i've come to realize it's a moral and just thing as opposed to changing your mind about abortion. there's nothing to learn, nothing to evolve, there's no social norm. so i think he's not going to suffer the damage on this issue mitt romney might suffer on something like abortion. >> let me ask an observation from each of you. the washington post story about mitt romney's high school days. we all say stupid things in high school. the question here was he a prankster, a bully and the next question does it matter what happened in the 1960s, and is running for president now. does it? >> well, i think it depends on what he says and what he said and did today was exactly what he should have done, which is step forward and said i did a stupid thing. and apologize. i mean obviously you can look back at president obama's description in his book where he basically said i -- booze helped, pot helped, you know, scored some blow when i could but never smack. >> did you just read that?

pot helped and booze. maybe a little blow when you could afford it. not smack, though. that's what he wrote. that's a memory. >> i have teenagers. and i remember when that came out saying oh, my heavens. even if it's true, please don't hold this up as the standard of someone who wants to hold the highest office in the land. >> does it matter? >> yes, as a general rule we should have a statute of limitations for any stupid thing in college, certainly in high school. the reason it didn't hurt president obama, first he didn't lie about it. second, it didn't go to the master narrative of what they were worried about with obama. they weren't worried he's a pothead, he's a very sober guy. with romney, i would be very worried about this linking up to a larger master narrative that he's a cold-blooded ceo who laid people off to make money for himself. if he's the kind of guy who would walk a blind man into a closed door or pin down a kid with five other people and hack off his hair, that's a very long time ago.

kids do mean things. if you can link it up to today and say, by the way, tomorrow if he becomes president he's going to cut taxes for himself and medicare as we know it, then you've got something. >> these things happen in every campaign. we always learn something new. >> i think he handled it right. it was a pretty forthright response. he's not going to get into the details of it within the limits of political reality. i think that's the most he would say. he basically seemed to apologize. i think his response seemed credible. and i think people are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. >> he said he didn't remember it. the other guys all remember it. >> but i think he's apologized. >> that was the hard part for me. paul knows this. we had a very smart candidate, a guy named bill clinton who would walk into taco bell and say i saw you, judy, seven years ago, it was raining, you had the taco with chicken. >> that's because it was judy. >> then he couldn't remember other things. >> if you read between the lines, i think he's saying --

>> i don't think mean mitt has any traction. i think he's a nice guy, they may disagree with him on policy. he's got a lovely family and is apparently a wonderful man. >> you used to be against obama. >> we've got to get going here. the new world trade center was designed to be america's tallest building but it may not make the cut. what? what's behind the possible design shift. and vladimir putin celebrates his inauguration by hitting the ice. hear how many goals he racked up right after this. what happens when classroom teachers get the training... ...and support they need? schools flourish and students blossom. that's why programs like... ...the mickelson exxonmobil teachers academy... ...and astronaut sally ride's science academy are helping our educators improve student success in math and science. let's shoot for the stars.

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welcome back. here's kate bolduan with the latest news you need to know. >> hello again, everyone. a mississippi fugitive who allegely abducted two tennessee girls may believe they are his own daughters. according to his mother-in-law, adam mayes is accused of killing the mother and sister of alexandria and kyliyah bain before kidnapping the girls who are 12 and 8 years old. the wife of adam mayes believes they may still be alive. he has been added to the fbi's most wanted list. the man known as america's toughest sheriff is being sued for sizzle rights violations. the justice department accuses joe arpaio of racial profiling and sloppy police work. the arizona sheriff made a name for himself for his tough stance on illegal immigration but the lawsuit says he goes too far. back in march he said he was overhauling his office but it was apparently too little too late to stop the legal action.

one world trade center may be a bit shorter than originally planned. we talked a lot about this, folks. the developers of the 104-story building are biting with the architects over what should cover the antenna at the top of the to yower. the design covers it with a $20 million spire. if the antenna stays uncovered, keep following me here, people, the tower will only be the third tallest building in the u.s., not the tallest in new york city, as was hoped. we will stay on top of that. >> of the spire. spire-gate. russian president vladimir putin says he's so busy setting up his new government he can't make it to the united states next week. had a chance to meet with president obama. nope, he's not going to do that. well, maybe he is swamped, but somehow he managed to find the time to squeeze in a game of ice ho a