coordinating a medevac rescue. >> i thought, okay, everything i'm training for is for this moment right here. >> reporter: he was awarded the bronze star with valor for his bravery. ♪ here we go again >> just doing what we're supposed to do and just try to help everyone. >> reporter: brooke baldwin, cnn. >> our thanks to specialist dunigan and all our brave men and women that serve this nation in uniform. up next, rick sanchez in for up next, rick sanchez in for campbell brown. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com tonight, here the questions we want answered. the president shocks the press corps with a surprise appearance to back off his earlier comment that a white police officer acted stupidly in arresting a black harvard professor. >> cambridge police are not stupid. >> i could have calibrated those words differently. >> is that enough? and who really prejudged who? did the cop prejudge the black

professor, or did the black professor repprejudge? is it enough to calm the police officers? we'll ask them. and the sergeant in the middle of it all speaks again. >> i really didn't want to have to take such a drastic action. >> is it even fair to suggest that america's new surgeon general is overweight? late-night comics think it is. >> her food pyramid calls for three to five servings of mcribs. >> a judge that's fit for the job. you'll hear from both sides. they are cheering in the streets because evangelist tony alamo was found guilty after women say they were forced to marry him as young as age 8. what i learned from my conversation with this guy. and hello again, everybody.

i'm rick sanchez. those are our "big questions" tonight, but we start with our "mash-up." a look at the stories that are making an impact right now, and the moments that you may have missed. we're watching it all so you don't have to. and we're going to begin with this. the president of the united states. did you see what he did today? he shows up at a white house briefing and makes a comment that's completely different from what he had said wednesday night. remember that? all right, here's what he said then. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly. in arresting somebody when there was already proof that were in their own home. >> all right, now, here's what he said today. it almost sounds -- you decide, but it almost sounds an awful like a mea culpa. here's the crib sheet. >> in my choice of words, i think, i unfortunately gave an impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department

or sergeant crowley specifically. and i could have calibrated those words differently. i continue to believe, based on what i have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling professor gates out of his home to the station. i also continue to believe, based on what i heard, that professor gates probably overreacted as well. my hope is that as a consequence of this event, this ends up being what's called a teachable moment, where all of us, instead of pumping up the volume, spend a little more time listening to each other. there's some who say that as president i shouldn't have stepped into this at all, because it's a local issue. i have to tell you that thing --

that part of it i disagree with. >> and why does he disagree? well, this is a fact. this is a story that has detoured his health plan, and you'll be hearing more about what he said in a just a moment. this question, though, was it right for the president to pick sides, period? depends on who you ask. >> i wasn't at the press conference last night. i also don't have all the facts, but i think it's fair to say that obama handled that question, oh, what's the word i'm looking for? stupidly? >> let's face it, president obama's black, and i think he's got a chip on his shoulder. >> he views these kind of incidents out of the glasses of an african-american man, who knows what it's like probably to go through some misunderstood circumstances. >> i think he had an unfortunate choice of words there? >> well, that would be up to him to decide. but the fact is it was an unfortunate incident. >> he made a mistake.

it took him two days to realize it was a big mistake. >> i don't know why people thought that suddenly we had a black president it was going to suddenly make everything okay? >> well, we're also going to have this reaction. a man in the middle of it all, that sergeant right there, that's crowley. my colleague, don lemon, has talked to those who were there the night of the arrest. you'll hear from crowley. you'll hear from other officers. and you may be surprised, in fact, in what you hear tonight. also this, there's amazing pictures that have been coming out of honduras, ousted president, manuel zelaya trying to cross back into the country that just kicked him out about a month ago. >> we've got some intriguing news breaking in honduras, manuel zelaya defiantly marched up to the immigration office at the border in nicaragua and attempted to re-enter the country. >> it's high drama and it's a real situation if i've ever seen one, the ousted president of honduras has made his way to the border area between nicaragua

and honduras. >> president of honduras, manuel zelaya, who was recently deposed in the bloody coup and recently crossed the border back into honduras, then reversed course and returned to nicaragua. >> president's zelaya's effort to reach the border is reckless. it does not contribute to the broader efforts to restore democratic and constitutional order in the honduras crisis. >> it was bizarre to watch. zelaya says he hopes to negotiate an understanding that respects, quote, the will of all the people involved. all week we've been bringing you powerful reporting from cnn's ivan watson. he's embedded with the marines in afghanistan. have you seen some of this stuff? well, today he filed a real moving story of sacrifice. >> reporter: in an all-but-forgotten corner of afghanistan, u.s. marines have taken residence in a centuries-old mud/brick fort they call the castle. they captured the fortress from

the taliban earlier this month, but the insurgents have not given up. on thursday, they attacked the castle with mortars, mortally wounding this man, sergeant ryan lane. >> we nicknamed sergeant lane the little guy. he's a little guy. always talking about his heighth. >> reporter: before shipping out on this tour, lane studied dari and pashto better communicate with the locals. it's been a bloody summer for delta company. he's the third marine from the cass toll be killed in just two weeks. >> what great reporting from cnn's ivan watson in afghanis n afghanistan. world's away in los angeles, a blazing scene and a good samaritan. what a great story. check this out it's from abc's "good morning america." >> would you jump into a burning car to save a child? that's exactly what a man does

in los angeles. john mcdonald climbs into an suv engulfed in flames and carries out a 3-year-old little girl after her grandmother couldn't get her out. he said instincts took over, but he did admit both were going to die. >> it's kind of embarrassing. the attention is nice, but that's not obviously why anybody does this. and it could have been a lot worse. obviously for both of us. >> the little girl, by the way, called the whole ordeal, quote, pretty scary. yeah! over in jackson world now. a crazy story tonight. crazy? get this, a few years ago michael jackson under siege by the media stops at a safeway for a snack. he's bought a magazine cover that's highlighting great places to live including the virginia home of a television anchor named dale walters who covered jackson's victory tour. before you know it, the king of pop had moved his family into walters' house. an unbelievable report from our affiliate wusa.

>> reporter: michael jackson had run of the house while the walters stayed in a hotel. 14 people in all, including jacksons children stayed here. >> each had a nanny, personal assistants, two chefs and his bodyguard. >> reporter: and they definitely made themselves at home. >> i think he took a liking to bill's cologne. >> reporter: jackson stayed in their master bedroom. >> you know, he slept in my bed. >> when you deal with michael jackson, they refer to him as the client and the principal. >> and we called him michael. >> reporter: michael signed various cds for them. the couple witnessed odd behavior. the windows were taped up and said jackson slept during the day and roamed the house at night. they asked if they suspected drug use back then? >> something helped him sleep during the day. i don't know if it was sleeping pills or drugs or whatever. but something was helping him to just kind of get off the world. >> wow, a little bizarre, huh? the walters said they wanted to give the pop star a moment of

peace. here's another one. it brings us to our "punch line." conan o'brien poking fun at president obama. he's kind of hard to miss these days. check it out. >> political experts are now saying that president obama is giving so many interviews and appearing on so many television shows that he's starting to dilute his own message. that's what they're saying, yeah. which i think is unfair, because i thought obama was pretty convincing last night on "ice road truckers." he was good. he was very good. >> conan o'brien, everybody. and that is "the mash-up." all right, i'd like to hear what you are talking about. chat now on the live blog at cnn.com/campbell. and, by the way, we are going to be checking our twitter page as well, and i'm going to be telling you throughout the show what's going on there. what you have to say. what happened in the white house briefing room today, it was nothing short of stunning, at least everyone who was there was describing it as such. we heard a little bit of it just moments ago. after the break, here's what i

want you to do. i want you to hear the rest of the president's comments, when he all but freaked out reporters by showing up at the briefing room. >> we're also going to be hearing from the policeman who arrested professor gates. he's a sergeant. there he is. cnn's don lemon in cambridge. he has talked to sergeant james crowley as well today. all this, and a whole lot more, as this thing heats up on a friday night. . to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. an keepsrws en toel batet announceit keeps my airways. all day long.eathe better and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid.

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i want to welcome you back. i'm rick sanchez filling in for campbell brown. i want you to listen now to what the president of the united states said today when he all but shocked reporters in the press room with a surprise visit. now, he originally said that cambridge sergeant james crowley acted stupidly in arresting his friend, harvard professor, henry louis gates jr. then last night when asked about it again -- that's last night -- he did not back down. essentially said the same thing. but today, surprisingly, he did. what happened?

now, i want you to listen to this, and then you tell me as you hear it if you think it's an apology. here it is -- >> i wanted to address you guys directly because over the last day and a half obviously there's been all sorts of controversy around the incident that happened in cambridge with professor gates and the police department there. i actually just had a conversation with sergeant jim crowley, the officer involved, and i have to tell you that, as i said yesterday, my impression of him was that he was an outstanding police officer and a good man, and that was confirmed in the phone conversation. and i told him that. and i -- because this has been ratcheting up, and i obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up, i wanted to make clear

that in my choice of words, i think, i unfortunately, i think, gave an impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department or sergeant crowley specifically. and i could have calibrated those words differently. and i told this to sergeant crowley. i continue to believe, based on what i have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling professor gates out of his home to the station. i also continue to believe, based on what i heard, that professor gates probably overreacted as well. my sense is you've got two good people in a circumstance in which neither of them were able to resolve the incident in the way that it should have been

resolved and the way they would have liked it to be resolved. the fact that it has garnered so much attention, i think, is a testimony to the fact that these are issues that are still very sensitive here in america. and, you know, so to the extent that my choice of words didn't illuminate, but, rather, contributed to more media frenzy, i think that was unfortunate. what i'd like to do, then, is make sure that everybody steps back for a moment, recognizes that these are two decent peo e people, not extrapolate too much from the facts, but as i said at the press conference, be mindful of the fact that because of our history, because of the difficulties of the past, you know, african-americans are sensitive to these issues. and even when you've got a

police officer who has a fine track record on racial sensitivity, interactions between police officers and the african-american community can sometimes be fraught with misunderstanding. my hope is, is that as a consequence of this event, this ends up being what's called a teachable moment, where all of us, instead of pumping up the volume, spends a little more time listening to each other and try to focus on how we can generally improve relations between police officers and minority communities and that instead of flinging accusations, we can all be a little more reflective in terms of what we can do to contribute to more unity. at the end of the conversation there was discussion about -- in my conversation with sergeant crowley, there was discussion

about he and i and professor gates having a beer here in the white house. we don't know if that's scheduled yet, but -- but we may put that together. he also did say, he wanted to find out if there was a way of getting the press off his launch. i am -- i informed him that i can't get the press off my lawn. he pointed out that my lawn is bigger than his lawn. but if anybody has any connections to the boston press as well as national press, sergeant crowley would be happy for you to stop trampling his grass, all right? thank you, guys. >> the president just then talked about his phone call with sergeant crowley. he also called professor gates this afternoon, we understand, and gates told cnn he's, quote, pleased the president proposed a meeting with sergeant crowley as

well at the white house. so, the president might actually share that beer, after all, that he talked about, not with just one guy, but with both them. we'll let you know. all right, we heard a lot of talk about what happened in professor gates' harvard house. only two men really know. we're going to hear from them, in their own words, later. have you heard about this one? president obama's pick for surgeon general. there are critics. they're not saying her credentials necessarily disqualify her. they're saying it's her weight. have arthritis pain, u you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day. right now 1.2 million people are on sprint mobile broadband. 31 are streaming a sales conference from the road. eight are wearing bathrobes. two... less. 154 people are tracking shipments on a train.

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i'm rick sanchez sitting in for

campbell brown. maybe it's because it was drowning out -- no. it was really more like inundating his health care push. or maybe it's because he just realized that he jumped to a conclusion that he probably shouldn't have reached. but to watch a president of the united states just suddenly pop up on tv to do what many would describe as a mea culpa was extremely, if nothing else, humanizing. but he's still left with the fact that he originally took sides in this case. he did! and by the way, many would argue this was not really an apology. so, listen, there's plenty of grist for the mill on this. babel buchanan is a republican strategist who is good enough to join us. proland martin is a cnn analyst, political analyst. he and i went around and around on this yesterday, and i think maybe he owes me an apology, but we'll leave it at that. >> oh, no i don't, you won't be hearing one. >> and here in new york is michael crowley who, by the way, is a senior editor for "the new

republic." he's not related to sergeant crowley. i got you riled up before it starts. let's start with this, guys, if any one of you would like to weigh in. maybe raise your hand and say yes or no. was it an adequate apology today from the president of the united states, bay, start us off? >> you know, i'm going to tell you, i think it was. because he said he spoke to the officer, and i'm absolutely certain that he probably apologized to the officer for any type of demeaning of his reputation whatsoever. and then he publicly walked away from the statement. saying that he misspoke. he really was out of line to have done what he'd done. i don't think the president has to apologize to us. i think he has to apologize to the man that was offended indirectly, the department, and he did so. >> but he is the one that really escalated this thing, roland. >> no question. >> so he has to apologize. >> first to your question, was it an an adequate apology, it was not an apology, so saying adequate is irrelevant. >> you're saying it's not an

apology. >> it wasn't. he reiterated his original position in terms of gates being arrested. part of the problem here, including, rick, and i had to correct you on the air -- >> yeah. >> -- when people talked about stupidly. he never called the officer stupid. >> hold on. i never once said that he called any -- that he called the officer stupid. >> i know. >> he said he acted, the key word, "acted" acted stupidly. >> but you left out the other half. arrested gates after he established proof. here's the reality -- >> you're parsing words. >> oh, no. i'm not parsing words, i'm stating facts. if you can't do the second half, don't ignore the first half. if they were a just arrest, why were charges dropped? >> you're saying the president shouldn't have apologized, you're saying the officer was wrong and gates was completely rig right? >> i'm asking a question. if it was a just arrest, why were the charges dropped? >> politics and media. >>ens at question. >> i just did. >> if it was a just arrest, they

would not have been dropped. >> can i jump in? >> go ahead, crowley. >> first of all, i think it's about time crowley was invited to the white house for beers. no relation. but i've been trying to get my own invite to the white house for beers. i think the argument we're seeing and the emotions it is raising is why obama thought he had to take control because it was spiraling out and becoming a whole bunch of things that the white house doesn't want the national conversation to be about right now. i think he's played it really well. he's essentially saying i went a little too far. i admitted i didn't know all the facts. i judged the guy harshly and it's not a total apology. because i think it's clear the officer overreacted at the end of the day. >> we're still stuck with a president of the united states it seems or maybe even admittedly prejudged a case without the facts. >> he didn't prejudge. he offered an opinion. >> no, listen to this. this is one -- >> but that's the officer. >> this is one of the officers in cambridge. let's see what he has to say,

roland, and you can perhaps dispute him. >> as far as the president's comments, the governor's comments and comments that i did not hear that our mayor made, i think when the time is right, they should make an apology to us. i think the president should make an apology to all law enforcement personnel throughout the entire country that took offense to this. >> oh, please. get a grip. he does not know all law enforcement an apology. he spoke specifically about the cambridge police who arrested gates. that is not -- >> you don't think the president of the united states prejudged this case before having the facts? >> rick, the president of the united states gave his opinion in terms of gates being arrested. >> yes. >> and he simply said he should not have been arrested after he established he was the owner of the home. that's what he said. >> you know -- you know what is key here, is that the president really was wrong, roland. it's time for you to have half the class that the president has. >> bay, don't talk about class with the buchanan family, come on. >> i will stand on that class any day of the week and take you

on. he -- he offended the law enforcement officers, because he irrationally judged. here's an incident we will say immediately it's the fault of the policemen. they are fighting and trying to protect americans. >> bay, if you know the facts, what did you think gates did to deserve being arrested on his own porch? he got loud with the police officer, that is not an arrestable offense. >> actually, if a police officer decides -- >> yes. >> -- if a police officer decides you have conducted disorderly conduct, it's the vaguest thing in the world. >> why were the charges dropped? >> he makes his argument -- either way when you look at it, we're still looking at a situation, what i'm arguing now, because we hear a lot about prejudice, maybe what this is pointing out is that in some measure we're all a little prejudiced sometimes, aren't we, roland? >> yeah, people have prejudices. people have views based upon how they grew up. people have different interactions. bay can sit here on television

how officers protect us and they do. but from when where i come from, i know officers who beaten us down unnecessarily. >> that's not fair. we all know cases and anecdotes that we can bring in. >> rick -- >> that doesn't mean. here's the point -- here's the point, and this, i think, is important. is racial profiling so rooted in us as latinos and as african-americans that it can even cause a president to prejudge? i mean, that's actually an interesting question. >> i'm sorry, no, no, no is racial profiling so prevalent that it can cause a president who happens to be black who probably has experienced, who sponsored a bill to confront it? >> to do what? >> maybe he's also experienced it, rick. you have to ask. >> remember, that he was also talking about a friend. he was friends with gates which adds an extra layer of complications. he will have an extra layer of sympathies. >> it doesn't make it right or wrong. >> it goes back to the race speech that obama gave during the campaign, the beautiful speech in philadelphia. >> it was one of the greatest

speeches i ever heard. >> i understand there's a lot of good reason why black americans have frustrations and white americans do, and it's the dialogue he promised in the campaign. >> bay, take us out. you get the last word. >> the key is when a police officer does abuse his power, all of us, white, black, hispanic, outrage. >> nail him. >> when the white policeman -- >> very rare. >> oh, come on, now, that's an outrageous statement. when they do as in this case, it's time for black america to step back and say this time that police officer did everything correct and maybe the black professor really made some mistakes here. >> why were charges -- >> maybe. >> don't arrest him. >> they are going to yell in my ear again. he already told me three times we need to end this thing. roland, you and i are still best friends, okay? >> i'm good. but if the arrest was just, they wouldn't have dropped charges. >> all right, everybody's entitled. all right, thanks, guys, excellent conversation. remember a couple of days ago when we saw the picture of an angry professor gates being

arrested on hissen front porch? remember this picture, keep looking, keep looking, keep looking, keep looking. that guy right there. the black police officer. a lot of wru wondering and twittering and i wonder what he said, i wonder what he saw, and i wonder what he's now saying. well, guess what? don lemon just talked to him and he'll share with us what he had to say about this case when we come back. and other nutrients that help protect the health of your heart, eyes and bones. age-adjusted centrum silver. and now get centrum silver in a new smaller tablet formula. rways open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid.

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president obama admits he didn't know all the facts surrounding the arrest of harvard professor henry louis gates, so the story has, for the most part, been told to us as a he said and a he said. the two people that were there. the two people that were principally involved, a renowned professor and a very serious-minded cop. i want to examine both of their

stories for you now. here's how we have prepared it for you. take a listen. >> i came from new york to boston, and my driver picked me up. we got to my house at harvard square, and the door was jammed. the door wouldn't open. and to make a long story short, i asked my driver just sort of to push the door through. i gave him his tip. he left. >> when i first encountered the professor, i really wasn't sure exactly what i was dealing with. >> he said i'm investigating a breaking-an-entering charge. i said, this is my house. i'm a harvard professor. i live here. he said, can you prove it? i turned around to go to my kitchen to get my harvard i.d. and my massachusetts driver's license. he followed me without permission. i gave him my two i.d.s. i demanded to know his name and his badge number. >> he said, i live here. when i asked for i.d. to verify that, because i would be irresponsible if i didn't, he asked for my i.d. but he walked into his kitchen and supplied me with a harvard

university i.d., not his driver's license that had his stated address. >> he wouldn't say anything. he was just very upset. he was trying to figure out who i was. he was looking at the i.d. he did not say anything. he said, why are you not responding to me? are you not responding to me because you are a white police officer and i'm a black man. >> i was koptiously telling him to calm down during this exchange because i didn't want it either. nonetheless, that's how far professor gates pushed it and provoked and just wouldn't stop. >> and this officer said thank you for accommodating my earlier request. you are under arrest. and he slapped handcuffs on me, and they took me to jail. >> all right, now i want you to take look at this image, all right? you've probably seen it a few times this week. but take a closer look. it was one of the officers who was there when gates was led away, himself african-american. he is one of two african-american officers, we have learned, who have talked, by the way, to our don lemon this afternoon. i want you to take a listen to what he said. >> from when i was seen -- and i

was there -- he did nothing wrong. this situation right here was not a racial motivated situation. >> reporter: and you know people, obviously, they will pay closer to attention to you because you're an african-american man, i want to be honest. you're supporting this white officer, it was put out there that he was racially profiling dr. gates. they are going to pay attention to you. >> i hope they would. i heard one of the comments, rogue cop. there's nothing rogue about him. he was doing his job. >> there has been a tremendous rush to judgment. and i think the thing to be learned first and foremost from this is to look at all of the evidence. to consider all, to weigh all. i think professor gates has done a very good job of throwing up a very effective smokescreen, calling race in to this. it had nothing to do with it. >> reporter: and the president? >> it's unfortunate. i supported him. i voted for him. i will not again. >> reporter: what do you want people around the country to know, who may have already made

up their mind about sergeant jimmie crowley? >> keep their minds open. and realize that we would not support someone that we felt wronged someone else. we took this job to do the right thing. we all took this job to do the right thing. we would not support anyone in blue doing the wrong thing. >> reporter: i know you can't respond. you can't talk. you can -- >> that's good stuff. don lemon joining us now live. do you know what is interesting about this case when we watch it, in the past when you and i have covered these kind of cases, we're lucky if we can get the cop who is accused, we are lucky if we can get the attorney to talk to us. and usually his peers don't come forward about this. there is something extraordinary about this case where they are all standing shoulder to shoulder and the officer himself is out there visibly talking to the media. that does count for something, doesn't it? >> reporter: it does. and, you know, i was going to

say, what do you say after that? i mean, do you and i really need to have a conversation. those words are so powerful, especially coming from two african-american officers, the first gentleman you saw there, leon lashly, 26-year veteran of this department. the young lady that you saw there, miss king, kelly king, she is an 11-year veteran of the department. so, she's been there for a long time. nine years, i should say. she's been at the department for a long time. but, yeah, it's tough. and it was tough to get those guys and girls or, you know, men and women, to talk. i had to earn their confidence. i had to talk to them, you know, tell them i'm going to be fair. i'm going to listen to your side. and they said to me, you know what, don, we've heard a lot about what professor gates had to say. we've heard a lot about him. but we want our story out. and as you heard, rick, they said we would not be supporting someone who we think would harm someone, and they said that sergeant crowley would never do that. and, by the way, i have to say

this, sergeant crowley was handpicked by a former african-american police commissioner here who is now retired, to teach classes on how not to racial -- racially profile suspects and people. >> and he's been -- >> reporter: so, it's tough. i will tell you, i did speak with the attorney, ogletree, he said he's happy the president intervened, and, again, i e-mailed professor gates and he said he's happy and they all want to work it out. >> amazing he's been teaching the class for five years. there's something about a story, we get all tuned in about this, in the end it will probably make us all a little bit better if it opens up a discussion. don lemon is all over this. >> reporter: good will come out of this, rick. good will come out of this. >> i think so. i think so. thank you, my friend. we're getting disturbing images out of iran. but this time, it's not from political evil. look at this picture. the deadly jetliner crash and the sad coincidence that comes with it. anun k maiayen. hathe betl day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways.

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prominent evangelist tony alamo guilty of sex charges in a big way. that's the guy right there. a jury in arkansas today convicted him on ten counts of transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes. ala alamo, who calls himself a minister, claims he has a biblical right to cohabit tate with any girl who has begun men true wa menustrating. even 8. i talked to this guy one time. listen to what he told me. you told the associated press that you're not guilty, but then you went on to say that according to you the age of consent is puberty. puberty. what do you mean by that? >> that's not according to me. that's according to bible. that means where a woman is able to conceive and have a child, she is an adult. and she could be married, but we don't do that at our church, we never have. >> well, guess what, he does do that.

tony alamo in 2008, as of today, though, he has been convicted of doing just what he told me he didn't do. ten counts, each one carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. one woman stood in there in front of the judge and said when i was 8 years old, i was forced to marry him. he's 74 years old. yuck! all right, a look at some of the must-see stories of the story and here's erica hill to bring them to you. >> always good to see you, my friend. we begin in iran with a second deadly plane crash in at least two weeks. a plane carrying 150 passengers skidded off a runway and burst into flames. it happened in a northeast city. 168 passengers aboard a caspian airplane were killed when that plane went down on july 15th. janet napolitano vowing to hunt down the killers of the u.s. border patrol agent. robert rosas' body was discovered near the border fence near san diego last night. he had been shot several times. today authorities say it's more

than likely more than one person was involved in the killing and one of them may have been injured as well. rosas is the ninth border patrol agent killed on duty tins 2006. and president obama will soon perform one of the most solemn duties a president faces, awarding the medal of honor to the family of a soldier killed in combat. the parents of 33-year-old army staff sergeant gerald moncierge received a medal on july 16th. the reyna, massachusetts, native sacrificed his own life in afghanistan to save another wounded soldier. >> some of the assignments are too tough, huh? unbelievable. thank you very much. always good to see you. here's a question i never thought i'd be asking, but lots of others are asking it. is the woman nominated to be the surgeon general of the united states too big? and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long.

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now it's time to take care of yourself.

this is a bit of jaw-dropper. president obama's nominee for surgeon general is cranking up the heat over the problem of fat americans, and not just because obesity has been called the nation's number one health crisis, oh, no, this is all about her, or at least other

people's take on her. take a listen to some of the chatter. >> anyway, dr. regine that m. benjamin has been picked as our new surgeon general, but critics are saying the fact that he's slightly overweight sends the wrong message. >> she's cute. >> about being healthy in america. now, you do remember c. everett koop, he was also our surgeon general. this is not a skinny man. >> no, absolutely. >> but no one mentioned that he had a little waistline. >> what about the beard could get caught in an -- >> did you see the announcement? we have it here, take a look. >> president obama is being criticized by those who say his pick for surgeon general is overweight. the president is ignoring the controversy, however, and instead focusing his energies on getting congressional approval for his new drug czar. >> joining me now to talk about this is melissa johnson, who is director -- was the director, i

should say, of the president's council on physical fitness in the bush administration. she believes weight should not be a factor in the selection of a surgeon general. and mimi roth is here with us. she's the president of the group of national action against obesity. she said the obama administration made a mistake by hiring regina benjamin. is that a fair argument to make, mimi, given the fact that we really don't know whether she's fit or not? all we're looking at is somebody who is perhaps genetically predisposed to be a little bit bigger than the rest of us. >> genetics does not explain obesity, mostly 9 times out of 10 it's a result of lifestyle choices. i'm sure you're aware of that. and it's been a big blunder on the behalf of the obama administration if it simply checked with the surgeon general's office they would know there actually is a weight requirement before you can even apply to work in the surgeon general's office. it's really unfortunate. >> isn't she talking like one of the skinny people who can probably eat all day long and never gain a pound and she looks at somebody like me who is a

little bit barrel-chested, i'll admit, and saying you know what, you're beinger responsible? >> actually weight -- >> did i address you properly, by the way? >> actually, weight should be just one issue. i think we need to look at the whole picture of her qualifications, her background, her experience. i mean, weight is important. i mean, we are facing an epidemic in our country. two-thirds of americans are either overweight or obese. but in terms of the office of the surgeon general -- >> my argument is, and what i want to get you guys to focus on, should this even be talked about at all? i mean, seriously. >> rick, how can it not be -- >> because it wasn't talked about with c. everett koop. >> it should have been. but we have to look at the now. right now we are faced with one of the biggest public health crises of our time, the twin crises of diabetes and obesity. you have a prospective surgeon general and you should absolutely question her credibility. and she has no track record. >> what a coincidence, when the man is big, oh, he's just proper, he's the right guy.

>> no, no. >> he's stately. he looks grand fatherly, when the woman is a little bit, oh, well, forget it, she can't handle the job. >> i think this is gender neutral. >> you do? >> i don't think it's an issue of male versus female. >> no. >> i don't. i really do think we need to focus on her qualifications. >> i'm sorry, i interrupted you, finish the thought. >> i think we need to look at the whole picture of her qualifications and her background. he's an m.d. and an mba, she worked in a small thown in alabama. >> unfortunately she has no professional track record with reducing obesity or diabetes in her community or the state of alabama. we know she has no professional track record and no personal track record. and you look at the state of alabama -- >> maybe that's a fair argument to make against her. but let me tell you about my old friend. he moved into my neighborhood in hialeah when i was a kid. he was chubby and big and everybody assumed he was slower than everybody in the block. it turned out that henry maldonado, he was bigger than some of us, some even called him

fat, he could run and jump higher and had more endurance than every single one of us but we looked at him and assumed he was something that he wasn't. >> i think that's a fabulous point. a lot of people that are ov overweight, we don't know how physically fit they are. we need to look at glucose le l levels. >> she's made jokes about why she is overweight, that her patients pay her in food and fried food. this is because of lifestyle choices. this is the surgeon general. this is one of the biggest health crises that we're facing. we're talking about $700 billion in unnecessary medical costs. and we need to drive down those costs in health care. >> got it. >> we've got to do something -- we've got to have a surgeon general who can demonstrate decent lifestyle choices. >> point well made. touche. >> i agree with mimi on that wholeheartedly. >> we're out of time. >> but anyway, the office of the surgeon general should focus and always has on healthy lifestyle.

>> i appreciate both of your points of view. this was a healthy conversation, i'm glad we had it. thank you. i want thousand meet a man who a challenging inner city kids to dream big. he's a hollywood filmmaker who is focusing children on making films. it's called "training day."

there are no doubt a million excuses for failure, and you've probably heard just about every single one of them. so what happens when somebody comes along and tries to work with kids who, by the way, kids who really could have legitimate excuses, maybe more than you and me. these are kids from the projects that we're talking about. the man you're about to meet gave them a camera, and then gave them a task and then told them, tell a story. and whatever you do, don't quit! check this out. >> this is your camera. no more excuses. go make your movie, all right? you got a camera. you got film? >> yes.

>> and you got video. >> thanks a lot. >> what else you need? congratulations. >> joining us now is film director antwaan fuqua who directed the award-winning "training day" among other outstanding movies. here you are, a guy that has already been bestowed and choir rished with all the awards and being told -- and you can just continue to build yourself, but instead, you decide to do what, go back to the projects and find kids and teach them what you know? >> yeah. i wanted to give them a chance, you know, to take their destiny into their own hands and make a film and learn. >> but that's so selfless. what you're doing is a wonderful thing because it's selfless and we don't see a lot of that in our society these days. >> yeah, well, you know, when i go and make a movie, the worst thing to do is to leave and not leave anything behind that gives them a chance or gives them a tool to, you know, continue on with everything they experienced

in the filmmaking process. >> well, you're giving them a tool. you're giving them a task. you're giving them a task, you're giving them a job, you're giving them a tool. that's a great way to start. but on top of that you're teaching them this is the real deal. you can't quit. that's your big pitch, don't quit, don't quit, don't quit. that's really not just about the project, is it, it's about life? >> it's about life. you can't give up. you got to keep going. like einstein said, you got to stay on the bike and pedalinging. you can't give up. no matter what happens, you got to keep living. and if you have a specific task, you can achieve it if you keep moving forward, if you keep going at it, and that's what i try to teach these kids. >> an idle mind is the devil's workshop. which we've heard so many times. people say don't retire whatever you do. here's another clip from what you were doing. we want to take a look at this. let's look at it. >> i'm doing movies. i'm doing music. i'm going to school. within, like, two years i want to be out of here. i should have my botch

bachelor's degree already, if that's the first way to get out, i want to get out. >> the camera makes you cool, but there may be other people out there that want to do what you do. what would you say to them with the ten seconds we got left? >> what would i say other than film making? >> other people that want to help kids like you do. >> you got to roll up your sleeves with the kids and find out what their interests are and help them achieve their goals. you can't talk about it. you got to go out and do it. >> i tell you, something, you're a hell of a man pap bravo. well done. i salute you. >> thank you, sir. >> there are so many more snapshots. across the country people are talking about cnn's "black in america 2." and, oh, so many are watching. if you missed even a minute of this remarkable documentary. you can see it again in its entirety. this weekend, we'll play the whole darn thing for you, cnn presents "black in america 2," airing on saturday and sunday nights at 8:00 eastern. that's it for us. campbell will be back on monday.

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