>> he wore the suit during a state visit back in 1989. i guess if it got lost, there is no doubt who owned the suit. that's where most of that money went. >> how much does that cost? he has a lot of money, maybe it doesn't matter. >> maybe not so much now that his assets have been frozen. >> reminds me of when you put a marker and tag your name on clothes for summer camp. see you soon. happy friday. i want to get you up to speed. it is march 4th. the economy turned out 192,000 new jobs in february. the labor department says the hiring spree pushed the unemployment rate down just a notch to 8.9%. today's jobs report wasn't enough to excite investors. let's look at the stock market. looking live there, dow jones down 46 points right now. blue chips surged almost 200

points on thursday, making it the best day of 2011 so far. wisconsin plans layoff notices today for 1,500 state workers. that's because the legislature has not approved governor scott walker's budget repair bill. walker says that a curb on collective bargaining rights will ease the deficit but every democratic senator left the state to block a vote on that bill. indiana's following wisconsin's lead and fining its missing lawmakers. the penalty $250 a day for each absent democrat, 35 house democrats left the state, stahling a measure to restrict collective bargaining for state workers. libyans spilled into the streets after friday prayers today demanding that moammar gadhafi step down. protests are reported in several cities. gadhafi forces confronted

protesters in tip poly. in eastern libya, the protesters are driving westward, the goal? to capture tripoli. an american c-130 transport plane is due to land to carry water, tents, blankets and other humanitarian supplies for refugees. libyan state tv is showing off a massive amount of seized drugs. now, the regime links these pill tolles al qaeda. moammar gadhafi claims that al qaeda triggered the protests by giving libyan teens hallucinogens. these pills appear to be pain killers. talks between the nfl and the players union are in overtime today. they extended their deadline 24 hours. owners want a bigger share of the $9 billion the nfl takes in

every year or they lock out the players. president obama says he's not going to interfere. he's too busy. >> i am a big football fan, but i also think that for an industry that's making $9 billion a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way. harvard university will allow u.s. navy recruiters back on campus. harvard barred the rotc during the vietnam war. it kept the ban because gays and lesbians were not allowed to serve openly, but congress repealed don't ask, don't tell in december. i'm going to speak live with the harvard president in the next hour. president obama and the secretary of education head to florida today. the president's going to deliver a speech from the miami middle school discussing his thoughts on improving the country's

education system, but, how is the administration faring? that is the focus of today's talk back. carol costello joins us with more. carol, you notice the president not getting involved in nfl dispute. but, we're going to get into the education dispute. >> that's an important part of his job. many of our schools are failing. you can't deny that, but what's the answer? more and more republicans think it's the federal government that's to blame. some want to abolish the entire department of education. >> we used to say as republicans that we thought education was for the states and the localities, and we have a department of education that is consuming $100 billion and it's time we go back to the republican roots, it says, we believe in abolishing the department of education. >> well, the department of education's budget is about $70 billion, a big chunk of that, 23.2 billion goes towards pell

grants for low-income college students and 25 billion towards no child left behind. it's that bush era program for disadvantaged students that steams republicans. education arne duncan says these programs are violate and is asking for an 11% increase in next year's budget. duncan says at the end of the day, i believe we have to invest in education. duncan's spokesperson adds that if the department of education is abolished, the people most at risk are the 20 million disadvantaged students served by the department's programs. so, talk back. what is the answer to america's education crisis? facebook.com/carolcnn. and i'll read some of your comments later in the hour. >> thank you, carol. look forward to it. we are following breaking news out of libya. a place, a town call ed zawiyah.

we know from the latest reports, according to a doctor in a hospital in zawiyah are there are 15 people who have been killed, that have been taken. over 200 now wounded. the hospital now saying that most of these are gunshot wounds, and the hospital is running out of medical supplies. our nic robertson, he is covering this major story making breaking news. he is out of tripoli. nic, what do we know about the very latest here, obviously a hospital that's been inundated, according to one official saying there's a river of blood here in the hospital, the situation is very bad? >> reporter: well, this is zawiyah, of course, 40 minutes drive from here. we were amidst the anti-government protests there last weekend and they told us they feared a government crackdown, and government told us they wanted to avoid a

crackdown. we were in zawiyah yesterday when the government took us there. they didn't take us into the center of the city. we could see there was a heavy army presence around the city and a very heavy presence as we passed by there very late last night. what we understand from state television here is that they characterize the situation in zawiyah this way, that the terrorist armed elements in the center of the city have been defeated and the terrorist leaders that been defeated and the others have surrendered their weapons and they have now captured 31 tanks, 19 armored personnel carriers and 45 anti-aircraft guns, a figure that belies belief, i have to say, because we were there and saw several tanks, several anti-aircraft guns, rpg, rocket propelled grenades, and nothing like what the government is talking about. those accounts coming from the hospital, 15 dead, 200 wounded,

rivers of blood. it's a situation we are trying to get clarification on with officials in tripoli, something we would like to go out to zawiyah and report on further. the restrictions have been on us and we may not be able to do that. >> a very basic question, who do we believe is responsible for these killings? >> reporter: from what we saw, the anti-government forces would not have had the strength to break out of the lock that they were in. had they broken out of the government forces surrounding the city. the government has said that it didn't want to lead operations in there because it wasn'ted to avoid bloodshed. we know that the government was bracing all across the country that it controls for these anti-government protests expected after friday prayers. it would appear at this stage, and this is an appearance, it would appear that there had been violent clashes. what triggered them, we don't

know. we know over a week ago, 16 people can killed in the same wear when government forces went in and quote unquote opened fire on innocent civilians. how the events unfolded on this day, we it's not clear but what we are learning now is that the dynamic in that city has changed, the government saying they can control it, and source frs obviously sympathetic with the opposition telling us there has been a blood bath in essence. >> we believe this could have been a battle from both sides, but, essentially, it is the government, the libyan forces, those that are on gadhafi's side, who attacked these people and who have been killed and are arriving at that hospital? >> reporter: it would appear to be the case. there was a report earlier in the week that we were unable to confirm ourselves that the government had tried to send

forces into the center of the city to take control of it and they were defeated. it would be quite within the bounds of reality to believe that some of the forces involved in the fight would have been civilians, sort of following the leadership, because there's a strong tribal attitude here, that they may have been in the fight here. it may not just have been government forces against the anti-government protesters. there may have been civilian elements in there as well. it's not clear. it's going to be very important to find out what triggered this and brought it about but last week, the two sides were separated by a large no-man's-land. there was no doubt about it that the anti-government forces were well-armed, did have heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and very clear that a couple of miles away the government had tanks and equally heavy forces. in that area as late as almost

midnight last night, about 12 hours before these events happened, we saw well-trained government forces with bayonets fixed on their weapons. they appeared well coordinated. from what we understood from one of the superior, perhaps elite is too strong a word but a superior army brigade operating in that area. it is just not clear. we don't have enough information now to get into the granular details. >> nic, we will get back to you but it sounds like a blood bath as one doctor from the hospital described it. 15 people killed, more than 200 wounded. we are not sure, still trying to sort out which side actually suffered, but clearly a battle that ensued in that area, and a lot of carnage. thank you, nic. here is a look at what's ahead on the rundown. first, we're going to break down the new jobless number with a georgia tech economist.

also, we're going to take a look at a nasa rocket launch that ends in failure. and mike huckabee. he has a problem with actress natalie portman's pregnancy, plus, is oprah heading to egypt? one of the stories that is trending today. and, finally, it suits him. mubarak's name in pinstripes. >> it is not like they had a spool. fabric. they created a fabric that has his name woven into it. well-being.

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time to go cross country and check out stories our affiliates are covering. berkeley, california, first stop -- angry students protesting at the university of california. several hundred students rallied against cuts in state education funds. some even chained themselves to an antenna on the ledge of a campus building. i've always known somewhere i had a family, and in turn, i just couldn't locate them. >> we'd been away a long time. but thank god we're back together. >> wow. in tennessee, an emotional father and son reunion. alvin miller sr. and junior hadn't seen each other for 57 years. the elder miller was able to

track down his son through facebook. in vandenberg air force base, a failure for nasa. a satellite and the rocket crashed into the pacific shortly after liftoff. a protective shell on the rocket did not separate as planned. there's some encouraging news this morning about the job market. the unemployment rate fell again last no to its lowest level in almost two years. the labor department says the jobless rate for february dipped to 8.9%. now, that is from 9% in january. the economy added 192,000 jobs. that's what's in line with what economists had predicted. we have the professor of economics from georgia tech to break down these numbers. great to see you. >> my pleasure. good to be back with you. >> i understand there is a certain number, significant number of jobs that have to be

created in order to have any type of meaningful dip in the unemployment level. what are we hoping for? >> we would like to have in the neighborhood of 250,000 jobs. 150,000 would do if we were only in normal circumstances but we have such a high rate of existing unemployment that we need to elevate the number a lot more. >> now, the economy has actually raised the number of jobs, created jobs significantly over the last five months. what does that say to you? is that good news? >> it's good news. it says to me as an economist we can put a fork in the concern about economic growth. we don't have to worry about that anymore. it has taken hold across the board, but it hasn't been accompanied by significant increases in employment, and we thought that that would be the case early on. >> and so if the job numbers inwe crease, the mark increases, what does that say about the federal interest rate? is there a fear that the fed

would raise the interest rate? >> yes, that's the big problem. we are entering an entirely new phase in economic performance and policy. the new phase is this. the economy is growing very, very rapidly, and at its current rate it will probably exceed 4%. the unemployment rate, however,very stubborn. it's not going down, but this economic growth is also going to encourage the fed to increase the interest rate in order to contain inflation. and so we have this dilemma. there is going to be pressure to contain inflation and at the same time the economy has not generated enough jobs. so that's a real problem and a new balancing act that the fed and the administration is going to have to deal with. >> all right, danny boston, very nice to see you again. >> my pleasure. the great recession, hasn't stopped americans from swiping their credit cards and racking up debt. credit reporting agency

ex-peerian puts of average amount at more than $42,000. which cities have the most debt? dallas rounds off the top five, number four honolulu at a little more than $4,900, and atlanta comes in third. the top two cities in just a minute. hint, they're both in the south. i have clients say it's really hard to save for the future and they've come to a point where it's overwhelming. oh gee, i'm scared to tell you i've got this amount of credit card debt or i've got a 15-year-old and we never got around to saving for their college. that's when i go to work. we talk, we start planning. we can fix this. when clients walk out of my office they feel confident about their retirement. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. i can't reach the remote. ♪ [ male announcer ] thankfully, it even works on the man-cold. vicks dayquil relieves 5 cold and flu symptoms, aches, fever, sore throat, nasal congestion, cough.

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before the break, we learned

that dallas, honolulu, and atlanta are among the top five cities with the most credit card debt. which two cities top the list? jacksonville, florida, comes in at number two, and san antonio, texas, is the city with the most credit card debt. the average amount owed there is slows to $5,200. let's see how the marks react to the february jobs report out. alison kosic is on the floor of the new york stock exchange. alison, watts going on with investors into the markets today going into the weekend? >> i think we've gotten all of the gains we can get out of the jobs report. yesterday, the markets had a really good day, the dow up 200 points almost, and it was on the expectation we would have a strong jobs report today, and we did. the problem is it didn't blow it out of the water. wall street expected better. that's why the markets are lower. the dow down 68 points and the

nasdaq off by 12. you see investors take profits off the table not only because of the missed expectations but also oil prices, they're up over $103 a barrel. if we look at the market overall, especially the s&p 500, we are up 5% for the year, and we like to look at the s&p 500 because it is the broadest measure of what's going on and mirrors our 401(k). it also tells us what investors are feeling like and we look at trend. this trend is on an upward trend and what happens now is those expectations are up a little more, and that goes for wall street as well. now whenever economic reports come out, wall street is going to expect to see even better than the expectations. so that's the trend we're seeing. it is not necessarily bad but show we are in the middle of an economic recovery. >> thank you. we hope that's good news for all of us. have a great weekend. following two breaking news stories. we want to update you on them.

this out of the middle east, zawiy zawiyah. we are getting reports that 15 people have been killed and 200 wounded according to a doctor at a local hospital there. he says there is a river of blood at the hospital where these injured are being treated, that there was attacks that happened earlier in the morning that people started arriving just hours ago and they believe that these attacks came from armed terrorists elements. the doctor and says many there are in critical condition, wounds to the head as well as the chest and that that hospital is now running out of medical supplies, a situation he describes as dire and very, very bad. a lot of people trying to get out of libya. they have fled to tunisia where we are following another breaking news story. a c-130 from the united states, a u.s. flag, just landed at the

a local airport in tunisia. ivan watson is there covering that aspect of the story. this is a huge u.s. military humanitarian effort to aid those who fled libya, and this starts with two e-150 military planes that are carrying, we are told, about 4,000 blankets, 40 rolls of sheeting, and 9,600 water cans. you can imagine what is taking place on the border is people flee the crisis in labia to tunisia, now u.s. aid arriving at that critical airport to try to help those people who are suffering. well, almost 2 million children in south africa have been orphaned by aids, left without a parent or mentor. this week's cnn hero is redefining the word family through the internet. >> in 2003, my husband and i

went to johannesburg and adopted our son. hiv/aids has really decimated some of these communities. seeing all of the children and so few adults to help them grow up. with none of the adults you care about has ever lived past 35, why would you think you can? why would you stay in school? why would you invest in yourself? tell me something that happened in school this week. i had to find a way to bring the caring nurturing effect of other adults for that child to invest in themselves. i'm amy stokes, and i used the internet to create a global village where the mentors and kids were interact on a regular basis. >> how was your day in school? did you work in the garden? >> that mentor shows up every week. it starts between one person here and one person there and

that relationship expands. >> my mentor is so good. i like him very much. >> because they want to connect with that special someone, they're going to learn keyboard skills, the skills they will need to have jobs and be able to do whatever they need in the future. >> at first i was nervous. okay, i love you. >> love you, too. >> jill is part of my family and also part of my life. >> it's a bite-sized opportunity to change a world, and there's no commute. ♪ you're the one ♪ who's born to care this life was protected... ♪ seems you've always been right there ♪ this life was saved... ♪ soothing sadness ♪ healing pain and this life was made easier... ♪ making smiles appear again because of this life. nursing. at johnson & johnson,

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here's what's ahead on the rundown, refugees trapped at the libyan border. in new york, smashed licker bolts everywhere. police are looking for the woman who did it. also, oprah winfrey gets invited to egypt. we are paying a close eye on zawiyah, the number of refugees fleeing there, but that place is where 15 people killed and more than 200 wounded according to a local doctor at a hospital. the violence has jumped to 200,000 in libya. that is according to the international organize of migration. there are refugees amassing on the border with tunds.

the cluster of white dots shows a sprawling tent city on the border with thousands of refugees stung there. beckry anderson is there. she is on the tunisian side, is that right >> reporter: that's right. we are three miles down from the border at exactly what you have been looking at on that satellite image. as far as the eye can see behind me, a sea of tents, an emergency tented camp, set up by the u.n. there are about 20,000 refugees on this side of the libyan border, and the majority of those today here at the tent are bangladeshis. more than 40,000 egyptians who have been served through this tented accommodation and thankfully for them have been evacuated out of the airport about 100 miles away from here, so today what the u.n. are focusing on is the plight of 10,000 bangladeshis, and their

stories are some of the most painful that we have heard since we have been here. many of them say about eight days ago, having not been paid by the companies they work for in labia for about two months, they just started fearing for their lives, so they started walking for the tunisian border, and on the way they were robbed of their mobile phones and any money they still had by the libyan police. they got to the border three days ago and were literally left there. their governments have given them absolutely no help at all. so those here, the aid staff and the tunisian army are trying to do something for them. they walked the three miles which i guess is nothing given where they have come from of late and now they're being set up here. they're quite optimistic. many with smiles on their faces because they say at this point, they want to go home. there have been a couple of flights that have left to dubai

with these guys and we are hoping that the international community can help them out. >> we learned one of the american c-130s has landed in tunisian, not sure if that's close to where you are, but they have blankets and water bolts. how desperately do the people you have been talking to need those supplies? >> reporter: you are absolutely right. it is about 100 miles or so from here, and the buses from here will slowly but surely get them to the airport where the plane just landed. it's desperate here but certainly not the humanitarian catastrophe that the u.n. were fearing in the last couple of days. they've got some water here and gave got food. they are queueing for food. they are poor and dirty and hungry, but they are being served there. that aid coming in on those flights, which we hope the flights will take these guys out, that aid will be incredibly important for the guys here. not just bangladeshis, guys from

somalia and vietnamese, migrant men from places whose governments are struggling to help them out. it is down to the international community to help them out at this stage. >> thank you so much. the spreading chaos across the middle east has us asking the question, when should the u.s. and our military make a foreign crisis our business? we asked you to weigh in yesterday and recent polls say the americans want the u.s. to mind its own business and more than half favor cuts to military spending and foreign aid. daniel hart on facebook, never, we don't have the family resources thanks to iraq and afghanistan. the billions of dollars being spent there can be a better use here at home. moses in uganda posted this on facebook, the rest of the world has seen the u.s. as the settler of disputes and the way they are

perceived is enough to convince them to get involved in every nation. ben, the u.s. should get involved when humans a trosties are being committed. michael says, only if it presents a confirmed threat to the u.s. soil. check this out, broken glass all over the place. a woman goes on a bolt-breaking binge at a licker store. the story in our guilty pleasures.

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someone would say this gives new meaning to the term getting smashed. check out this video in today's guilty pleasure. a woman goes through a liquor store in new york knocking bottles off the shelves. a scene recorded by a surveillance camera. police are trying to figure out who the woman is. >> i pulled a sled up them stairs. that's murder. i don't know how santa claus does it. >> i love it. "welcome back cotter," the tv show's cast are reunited at the tv land awards next month. the show is receiving the 35th anniversary award. how to dress like a dictator? you might want to check out hosni mubarak for pointers.

he likes his name in pinstripe, i understand. he's not alone. >> reporter: sure, any filthy rich dictator can have his name monogrammed on sheets, towels, shirts but look closely at the suit of egypt's former president, closer, closer -- this is no eye exam. hosni mubarak's pinstripes spell out his name over and over again. >> he strikes me as the type of man who is going to buy a suits with his name on it. >> reporter: you practically need a magnifying glass to see it. it is monogramming for m megalomaniacs worn by then president hosni mubarak to a state visit in slovenia. he knocked moammar gadhafi right off the fashion throne. his suit is being called dictator chic, it's actually kind of gangsta. >> it's not like they had a

spool of fabric and printed his name on it. they created a fabric with the name wove. into it. >> reporter: who made it? >> it looks like hours. >> stacy represents tom james clothing. while they have no report of creating the suit at their mill in scotland, they made plenty of others like it. for instance, the owner of the new orleans stants when they won the super bowl. >> northern saints. >> reporter: boxer evander holyfield ordered two. >> the first one says the champ in the stripe and the second one says the champ again. >> reporter: if you want to see your name in pinstripes, a suit like mubarak's will set you back about $15,000, unless you want it in cashmere, which costs about $25,000. mubarak did not misspell his suit. his first name can be spelled

with either an i or a y at the end. you don't have to worry about them mixing up your suit at dry cleaners. if you were mr. mubarak, how close would i have to get to know that his name was on the suit. >> about this distance. >> reporter: you could see it? >> yeah. >> reporter: maybe instead of his name he should have woven what one guy posted, if you're reading this, you're too close. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. here's your chance to choose the news. we're going to tell you about three stories and you vote by texting the one you want to see. first choose, women are far superior to men in just about everything, of course? we all knew that. we have research to back it up. or second story, royal wedding security. we will walk you through the route that they will travel when they tie the knot next month. you may be surprised bite possible threats along the way. finally, a woman honored for

standing up to a subway flasher. she was called a hero for making sure the offender was brought to justice. vote one for women do it better, two for royal wedding security or three for the she-ro who brought a subway flasher to justice. each week, we look at ordinary people, accomplishing extraordinary things. for a long time, being a successful long distance runner was the primary goal for toby tanzer but one particular run in africa changed his focus. >> reporter: toby tanzer was an elite runner, talented enough to keep up with the kenyans. >> an hour and 13 minutes. i did a half marathon at 4:49 pace. >> reporter: while running in

africa, this happened. >> two guys came run up to me and pulled out a machete and the other had a home made baseball bat and they robbed my shoe, my sun glasses and watch. >> reporter: he almost died but it was a chance for toby to find his calling. >> who is going to be number one? i believe in fate, and i think it happened to me for a purpose. >> reporter: they wanted to kill you for your shoes and you have taken that whole experience and said, you know what, if he want shoes, we'll give they will shoes. >> two years ago, we took 7,000 pairs to that island where i was robbed. >> reporter: his organization is called shoe for africa, and he donates running shoes to those living in africa. what he found is even one pair makes a difference. >> this boy took the shoes and started training. five years later, he won the world championships. >> reporter: gives me goose

bumps. in case you're curious, yes, toby is back to running. >> i thought, what is something that someone has never done, go from sea level to the top of the world's highest free-standing mountain as fast as possible. >> reporter: his main focus is giving everyone a chance to run. >> if you come in and buy a pair of sneakers, why not put the other pair into a box and send them over. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, new york. we have scathing remarks from mike huckabee against oscar winner natalie portman for being pregnant and not married. [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white check.

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are tailored to your needs and overseen by experts who seek to maximize opportunities while minimizing risk. after all, you don't climb a mountain just to sit at the top. you lookround for other mountains to climb. ♪ expertise matters. find it at northern trust. a top republican takes a swipe at the white house over spending cuts. candy crowley live from the political desk in washington. hey, good to see you. what's crossing? >> hey, suzanne. you remember that there was lots of bipartisanship yesterday. the vice president met with republican leadership and democratic leadership to try to figure out basically how they're going to fund the government from now until this october.

and we now have about two weeks for them to do it before we hit the next deadline. so in that meeting, according to a lot of folks that were there, the white house said, you know, we could cut another 6 billion out of this, and today mitch mcconnell reacted by calling it unacceptable and indefensible. so let's just say that, um, they need a little more talking. we knew when the vice president came out and said it was a good discussion and we'll meet again they seemed very far apart. because if you take the president's cuts, the 6 billion offered, and cuts the republicans have already gotten, 4 billion, you are still about 50 billion short of what republicans want. so far a no-go and we are looking at yet another deadline. also, mike huckabee has a book and he's making the rouns and making a lot of news, and the two you might know are connected. he was on a conservative radio talk show with michael medved,

and medved sort of led huckabee into a question by saying -- talking about natalie portman, the star of "black waswan" who n the oscar. medved said the best gift her fiance could give her is a wedding ring. this is how huckabee responded. >> one of the things that's troubling is people see a natalie portman or some other hollywood starlet who boasts that we're having children, we're not married, we're having these children and they're doing fine, but there aren't a lot of single moms out there making mills of dollars every year for making a movie, and i think it gives a distorted image that not everybody hires care takers and nannies and nurses. most single moms are very poor, uneducated and can't get a job, and if it weren't for government

assistance, their kids would be starving to death and wouldn't have health care. >> needless to say, this is the third headline quotation he has had out there out selling this book. somehow dan quayle and murphy brown come to mind. this was a fake figure whereas natalie portman is an leading his wife. >> you wonder if it was successful, the last go-round, if it worked, if he's trying to use that same tactic or get to that same group of people that dan quayle was trying to appeal to. i know you have some other news as well. the last world war, one veteran who passed away earlier this week, not likely to be honored in the u.s. capitol rotunda. can you tell us why? >> well, his name is frank buckles and he came from west virginia and there were those who wanted to use the capitol rotunda to honor him. now, mind you, this is a man who spent most of the rest of his

life, he was the oldest living world war i vet, so our last world war i vet, and he'd spent a lot of his elderly years trying to get a memorial for world war i veterans. surprising, i think, to a lot of people that there isn't one, considering that washington is pretty much a city full of memorials. nonetheless, senator rockefeller had asked that he be allowed to lie in state in the rotunda. it is apparently not going to happen. speaker boehner has said no. rockefeller kind of took a little hit about it at him saying, i'm really surprised why he wouldn't want to do this. and it was a decision by both boehner and democratic leader senator reid. so the exact rationale, i'm not sure of at this point, but it does not look like there will be an honoring of him on capitol hill, at least in the rotunda lying in state. but there will be one at

arlington national cemetery, suzanne. >> okay. candy, great to see you. look forward to "state of the union" this weekend. for the latest political news, you know, where to go, cnnpolitics.c cnnpolitics.com. a lot of people are sounding off on our "talk back" question today. what is the answer to america's education crisis. your responses are up next. you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds! yeah, that'll certainly stick with me. we'll take it. go, big money! i mean, go. it's your break, honey. same coverage, more savings. now, that's progressive. call or click today. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] introducing purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins and purify pores. and with natural willowbark

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we're getting new video in just now into cnn. this is out of tripoli, libya, and you can see, it's a deadly situation there as protesters, there are two sides that are clashing. those both for and against moammar gadhafi, as things heat up in several cities throughout the country in libya. let's take a listen. [ shouting ] >> what looks like kind of smoke bombs, explosives, emergency personnel that you saw just sped by on the street there. clearly, things heating up in tripoli. we also have information, we're keeping a very close eye, this out of zawiyah, libya, doctors

at a local hospital report that at least 15 people killed, more than 200 wounded. one doctor at that hospital calling it a bloodbath. we'll have a live report out of that town in just ten minutes. on another story, president obama and the secretary of education head to florida today. the president's going to deliver a speech from a miami middle school on improving the country's education system. so what is the answer to america's education crisis? that's the focus today of our "talk back" segment. our carol costello, she's here with your responses. i know people, you know, they're focusing on what's happening overseas, abroad, but a lot of people here say, look, you know what, there's a lot of serious issues we have to deal with. number one is education. >> a lot of thoughtful answers to our "talk back" question today. what is the answer to america's education crisis. this from brandon, "get rid of the bad teachers, utilize more technology in the schools, and quit leaning on the government." jim says, "first it's time we

get away from 19th century teaching practices and move into the 21st century with interest-based keeducation. second, get rid of the republicans." michael says, "it's time for internet education, home schooling study, and take your test over the internet and save the taxpayers and the schools money." nester says, "young, fresh teachers wanted. those old-fashioned teachers should get a retirement package. they are so annoying with their seniority and --" i can't say the last word, but you get the picture. >> thanks, carol. don't forget to choose the news, vote by texting 22360, vote one for proof that women are better in just about everything. vote two for a look at royal wedding security. or three for shero who was honored for bringing a subway flash tore justice. [ female announcer ] it can creep up on you. dry skin.

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man: no way! man: hey rick check this out! anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save 15% or more on car insurance. top of the hour. i'm suzanne malveaux. i want to get you up to speed. we are looking at these pictures just in, coming into cnn right now, on the ground, a chaotic scene there as doctors in the libyan town of zawiyah describe a bloodbath. 15 people dead and more than 200 wounded after gadhafi forces launch a crackdown. i just want to take a listen, if we could.

[ shouting and gunfire ] >> unbelievable scene that we are seeing play out there in zawiyah. one witness saying that these peaceful demonstrate eors were attacked with morters and machine guns. libyan state tv reports that zawiyah has been liberated from what they are saying are, quote, terrorist elements. and we have reports on the ground that innocent civilians, as you can see, protesters there being attacked, running for their lives as that chaos unfolds, and a doctor at a local hospital describing what he is calling a bloodbath. also, we are getting fresh video, fresh video of clashes out of tripoli in libya. this, too, where you have

opposition as well as pro-gadhafi fighting in the streets, explosions, smoke, chaos that is taking place. this is a country that is erupting in several cities as they struggle to remove moammar gadhafi and his supporters clamp down, crack down, and people are killed and wounded throughout. well, people are fleeing libya, that's clear. a u.s. military plane brought tents, blankets, water, other humanitarian supplies to eastern tunisia. that happened in the last hour or so, because that is where some 200,000 people are camped out, trying to get out of libya after fleeing libya. the u.s. operation is called odyssey dawn. >> colonel gadhafi needs to step down from power and leave. that is good for his country.

it is good for his people. it's the right thing to do. >> all this happens following the crisis that erupted and the revolution in egypt. egypt's new prime minister got a thunderous welcome in cairo's tahrir square today. he promised to be a prime minister of the people and promised to resign if he failed to deliver change to his country. well, american companies went on a bit of a hiring spree in february. that's good news. the labor department says the economy added 192,000 jobs last month. that was good enough to push the unemployment rate down just a smidge to 8.9%. today's jobs report wasn't enough, really, to excite investors, though. looking live at the big board there, the stocks down 100 points right now, as you can see. blue chips surge almost 200 points on thursday, making it the best day from 2011 so far. well, we told you about the encouraging news from the job

market. the economy is continuing to add jobs. that's a good thing, but christine romans joins us from new york with details. good, bad, should we be optimistic about what we're seeing? >> well, a lot of folks were optimistic about it, 192,000 jobs. it's the best we've seen since last may, and that jobless rate, suzanne has fallen more quickly than any other time in three years. it's gone down really fast to 8.9%. when you look at the trend for job growth, you say the last five months of jobs gains. you see a couple of those months revised higher. and you can see that it looks as though the mass firing is over and now the jobs creation begins. 192,000. that's enough to absorb people into the labor market. it's enough to account for new entrants in the labor market, but it's not enough to really keep eating at the jobless rate.

222,000 private sector jobs created. that's something that the white house really likes, because they like to see that business is creating jobs. at the same time, you lost jobs from state and local governments. that's because of those budget cuts on the state level. i also wanted to talk about the 99ers for a minute. you've heard of this phrase. these are the people that have expired their unemployment benefits, they've been out of work for 99 weeks or longer. assi it's a group of very restless, and i will say angry people, who have been having a hard time finding their way back into the labor market. people who are out of work, on average, are out of work for 37 weeks. that is a very long time in this economy. and what you're finding is this trend is that people who are newly out of work, suzanne, are having a better time finding a job now. things have been getting better for them. the people who have been out of work are having a hard time. >> tough, tough times.

thank you so much, christine. >> sure. president obama and the secretary of education are headed to florida today. the president's going to deliver a speech from a miami middle school on improving the country's education system. but how is the administration faring? that is the focus of today's "talk back." and our carol costello, she joins us. carol, a lot of people wondering. they send their kids to school, is it going to get any better? are we even competitive with a lot of those countries, you know, china, india that are doing so well? >> people are very concerned about the quality of the education their children are getting in this country, because it is true, many of our schools are failing. but what's the answer? more and more republicans think it's the federal government that's to blame. some even want to abolish the entire department of education. >> we used to say, as republicans, that we thought education was for the states and the localities and we have a department of education that is consuming $100 billion and it's time we go back to the

republican roots, it says, we believe in abolishing the department of education. >> the department of education's budget is actually about $70 billion, and a big chunk of that, $23 billion, goes toward pell grants for low-income college students, and an even bigger chunk, $25 billion, goes toward no child left behind. it's that bush-era program for disadvantaged students that really steams republicans. education secretary arne duncan says these programs are vital, though. he is actually asking for an 11% increase in next year's budget. duncan says at the end of the day, i believe we have to invest in education. duncan's spokesman adds, if the department of education adds, the people most at risk are the 20 million disadvantaged students served by the department's program. so talk back today, what is the answer to america's education crisis? is it abolishing the department of education or is it something else?

facebook.com/car facebook.co facebook.com/carolcnn and i'll read your comments later in the hour. here's a look at what's ahead on the run down. first, a mother and child reunion after mom finally makes it out of libya. also, rodney king, 20 years after the police beating caught on tape. and we're going to talk with the president of harvard about the return of the rotc to campus. plus, the army's new fitness tests, our undercovered story of the week. and finally, standing up to a flasher, one of the choose the news options. [ female announcer ] there's a new way to let go of some of the annoying symptoms menopause brings. it's one a day menopause formula. the only complete multivitamin with soy isoflavones to help address hot flashes and mild mood changes. one a day menopause formula.

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we're following breaking news. developments out of libya, and new video that is coming here. first, zawiyah. this is where there are reports now of 15 people who have been killed, more than 200 wounded. you are looking at fresh pictures there, video coming into cnn, really just moments ago as this tragedy, this story unfolds. a doctor at a local hospital saying it is a bloodbath, that there are protesters that are being attacked in the streets. you can see the chaos that is taking place. i want to just stop and take a look, take a listen for a moment. [ shouting and gunfire ] >> it is not just zawiyah where

this is happening. also in libya's capital of tripoli, already clashes there. new video, fresh video, pictures that we are seeing out of tripoli as people run, throw rocks, run, smoke bombs, chaos on the streets as protesters, those against moammar gadhafi and his forces battle it out on the streets. that is where our own senior international correspondent, nic robertson, is there. he is in tripoli. nic, you are watching what's unfolding on the streets there. you also came from zawiyah. give us a sense of what is taking place, how serious this is on the ground. >> reporter: well, what seems to be happening in zawiyah is very serious. it appears that the government is trying to retake control of the center of zawiyah that's

been held by armed rebels for over a week and a half now. we saw them in the center of the city. and the video we've been looking at now, that's where the battle has been taking place, what they call martyr square in the center of the city. sources tell us that now that 15 are dead, over 200 wounded. the hospital struggling to cope with the wounded. nine people buried so far. but we're getting very differing accounts now from our sources and from what the state media is reporting here. state media saying that the government has taken control of zawiyah. they say they've killed what they describe as a terrorist leader, captured 31 tanks, 45 anti-aircraft guns, numbers that belie what we saw with our own eye as last week when we saw a couple of tanks and a couple of anti-aircraft guns. but they say the battle there is still going on. they claim that the government has control is wrong, that the battle's still going on, zpand

it's the rebels that still have control of that city. >> nic, does it surprise you that it has gotten that serious, that dangerous, and that bloody? >> reporter: this was always in the cards. the government has said two things. one, that it didn't want bloodshed, two, that it could crush the rebels there. the rebels said they were afraid of just such an attack by the government. they have nowhere to go, nowhere to break out of the city and then join up with other forces. they were surrounded by the government on all sides, with significant elements of the army. so this was always a potential outcome. the government had said, and i spoke to very senior officials in the last couple of days, and moammar gadhafi, when he spoke to 2 1/2 hours on television here just two days ago said this situation couldn't last and this seems to be the government. we don't have the details yet of how this all began, but this seems to be the government not allowing it to stand and going in, according to the sources there. they say the protesters were attacked by heavy machine gun

fire and mortar rounds, small artillery rounds being fired on them. so this does seem to be one of the outcomes that was quite predictable. although no one knew when it could happen, suzanne. >> and this video looks like the demonstrators are just throwing things at the military forces. is this by any stretch of the imagination a fair fight? >> i think right now, what we're watching is the government use the level of force that it thinks it can get away, with what it knows is international scrutiny on the clampdown of demonstrations. we know over the past several weeks, they've fired on demonstrators and killed demonstrators here in this capital. they know even though they tried to control the journalists that are here and not allowed us to get into the area east of the capital, where these pictures were shot earlier today, when protesters came out of noontime

prayers friday, they know that journalists are going to get there. so by firing tear gas and rubber bullets, that's not an immediate escalation to lethal force. so it seems that the government is tamping down the way they're dealing with the protesters, but it's very clear that they will use whatever force is necessary to contain these demonstrations. and from what we've seen today, it does appear as if they've been able to contain the protests again and control and squash this anti-government movement in the capital. but what we've seen today is that movement, although it's losing the momentum, it is there and it is big. suzanne? >> and nic, real quickly here, there was a doctor from that hospital in zawiyah who was describing the situation as a bloodbath. how desperate are they for supplies, for relief, for help? >> reporter: it's very hard for us to tell. because we've had limited access

there. when we were there, we could see that they controlled the center of the city, the armed rebels controlled the center of the city, and that around them were the government forces. it wasn't like, let's say, an intense civil war, where you have a very clearly defined front line, where no one can really cross. this is what i would call a very soft, gray area of a front line, sort of an area where people could come and go either way. so it would have given the rebels a chance to perhaps get some medical supplies in. but without doubt, the government checked vehicles going into that area. so any wholesale resupply of medical equipment would have necessarily been very hard to -- it's quite possible to imagine any medical facilities there being short of equipment and short of supplies, suzanne. >> nic, please be safe. we appreciate your reports. obviously, we'll come back to you as we get more video and as those events on the ground warrant. thank you very much, nic. well, as you can imagine, you know, getting out of libya and the journey home from libya

finally over for a california woman. an incredible sense of relief. >> judy! >> there's the reunion. we brought you that story. the first stories of judith and dena jotar. dena was worried about her mom, judith, who was stuck in tripoli. she finally made it to los angeles yesterday. mom, daughter, joining us live here from l.a. we are so good to see both you. we talked earlier in the week when everything was very chaotic and very tense. what happened when the two of you -- we watched that reunion, what happened when the two of you embraced? what were you feeling? >> i was feeling a lot of relief and gratitude that she was home.

>> well, obviously, you know, i love my daughter very much, and so it was great to see her. i have a son in northern california, i talked to him as soon as i got home. it's wonderful to be with my family and friends. and, of course, having just heard all of this going on in tripoli, it's a very bittersweet feeling, because i've left a lot of friends behind. >> tell me about that, judith. >> oh, my gosh, i've just met some wonderful libyans in the four years that i've lived there. and i know that a lot of them are trying really hard to stay out of harm's way and, you know, i've known people from zawiyah and cities that keep coming up on the news and i just cringe every time i hear it.

you know, getting a group of us to the airport -- or to the ferry, we had to try to find somebody who had vans and when we got there, i offered to pay them and they wouldn't take any money. they say, you can pay us when you come back. and i said, well, i don't know when we're coming back. and they're like, we believe you will come back, and if you don't, this is our gift to you. they're very generous people. and, you know, my daughter actually came to visit last year and she -- >> i did, and i was actually really surprised. i thought the country was beautiful and the people were so sweet. and i feel very grateful to them for helping my mom get out. and i hope that there's something that i can do to help them. >> judith, do you think you could ever find it in your heart to go back to libya? i mean, it seems like it's a chaotic time for many people. do you see that that would be your calling again? >> you know, i'd go back in a

heartbeat, if it's a place where it's safe. i don't think my daughter and son would appreciate it. >> no. >> if i went back now. >> last week was enough. >> dena says, no, not allowed to happen. >> no, period. >> what do you do now? >> well, you know, i still -- i'm still responsible for a number of people. i came back and my mom, hi, mom, is in the hospital, so i need to go up and see her tomorrow. and it's just one step at a time. you know, i think to me, this wasn't an extraordinary thing. we just, you know, got through it the best we could. and i think what i feel now is, you know, i'm the first one to go to the grocery store and buy one of those weekly magazines that has all the stars' lives in there. but honestly, i've discovered that there's a piece of extraordinary in everybody and i've just met so many

extraordinary people that i would like to read about that aren't, you know, famous. but it's just been very wonderful. and my daughter has, you know, was able to get through to me from time to time. >> a new appreciation for life. >> her belief in me was, you know, empowering. >> well, judith, dena -- >> and all the prayers that we've had coming our way, right? >> yes. >> well, we appreciate your talking with us today. and the journey you took, we know, was very difficult, speaking with both of you, we know it's very emotional. we're so glad to have you back. thank you very much. >> thank you, very much. >> thank you. well, here's your chance to choose the news. we're going to tell you about three stories. you vote by texting for the one you'd like to see. your first choice, women, far superior to men, just about everything you can name. of course, we already know that, but we're going to show you research to back it up. or you can pick royal wedding security. we're going to walk you through the root that prince william and

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it's been an amazing couple of months. uprising, a revolution that's taking place in the arab world. the unrest started in tunisia, quickly spread to 16 other countries in north africa, as well as the middle east. so, where do things stand now? well, we thought we would ask our own michael holmes to get us up to speed, because a lot of moving parts over the last couple of weeks. >> that map's fascinating, isn't it. just how widespread it is. i know you covered libya with nic, but while that's going on, all these other things haven't stopped. they're still going on. let's take a look at tunisia which inspired all these other revolts. a very busy week there. first, the prime minister there quit on sunday after a weekend of bloody protests. now, he's the guy that took over after tunisia's president of 27 years was forced out. he fled the country. remember, it seems like so long ago, he went to saudi arabia.

at least three government officials have resigned since then. the country has a temporary prime minister, 84 years young, says he'll serve until elections in july. and street protests, you can see, continue there, to demand the suspension of tunisia's constitution. protesters still not happy. they want an assembly formed to lay out tunisia's transition to democracy. not over yet. >> next we saw egypt. what is the update with egypt? >> a lot still going on in egypt. a lot of uncertainty going on in egypt. but it does appear that things may be going the way of protesters. the prime minister tapped by mubarak to lead the country after he was forced out, remember, it was an old crony of his. he's quit. the military has appointed a new prime minister. he went out actually into tahrir square, spoke to the protesters, and said he was of the people. he said he would quit if he didn't live up to what they wanted. no definite date yet set for a referendum on constitutional

changes. there are meant to be elections in september. we'll see if that happens. >> in the meantime, where's hosni mubarak? >> he's still believed to be at his rather lovely house in sharm el sheik. if you've never been, you should go. it's a great place. you have been there. next week, he'll have to go to cairo, back to the capital, to be questioned in the corruption case that the government is building against him. now, we've got to talk about yemen. very important country. it's on the periphery economically and in the arab world, very important when it comes to al qaeda. the shiite protesters there won't accept anything other than their president's resignation. and as you can see, protests continuing there, including today. eyewitnesss, in fact, tell cnn several people were killed by security forces. aircraft also said to have been used against the people. now, the president there, he's ruled the country since '78. he promised not to run for president in the next round of elections, but that's not until

2014. wasn't good enough for the shiite people, who make up most of the presidenters there. the opposition says it is not going to take part in talks until the regime leaves altogether. very important country when it comes to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. now -- >> tell us about iraq. >> iraq, also, it's very easy to forget all these other countries. there's been weeks of demonstrations there. they're not after overthrow, they're after a change of conditions. things there are still horrible for local people. a water cannon used to disperse protesters in basra in the south. now, as i said, the protesters aren't going against the government so much, but the quality of basic services. we're talking about food shortages, still two hours of power a day, if you're lucky in baghdad. crumbling infrastructure. it's really bad. i was there most recently in august. it still is bad there. prime minister nuri al maliki gave the ministers 100 days to be eliminate corruption or be fired. we'll see what happens there. the security forces there

trained by the u.s. have been cracking down on people in the streets there. >> still, a lot to follow. >> yeah. that map said it all. >> you can talk about it to anybody this weekend. you've got the whole area covered. >> really, exactly. >> all right michael, thanks. have a good one. have a good weekend. >> you too. harvard invites military recruiters back to campus for the first time in 40 years. i'm going to speak live with harvard president drew foust in just a moment. well that's great. you haven't seen him... my other can is ringing. progresso. hey can you tell my wife to relax and enjoy the view? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources.

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the president of harvard and the navy secretary will sign an agreement today allowing the rotc to return to campus. the change will end decades of dispute over war and military policy. it was the height of the vietnam war. and on harvard university's brik and ivy campus in the heart of cambridge, massachusetts, the anti-war movement was celebrating a symbolic victory, the banning of rotc, the reserve officer's training corps from harvard yard. the students who received scholarship money for training in the military. when the vietnam war ended, another battle took its place, between harvard and the armed forces. this time, it was over the military's policy of banning gays from openly serving their country. that was fuel enough for harvard and other ivy league colleges to keep the rotc ban in place. shortly before the don't ask,

don't tell policy became law, then secretary of defense colin powell delivered harvard's commencement speech. i covered his 1993 visit to the campus, where he was met with protests. when i asked him how he justified don't ask, don't tell, he said, it was to maintain order. for years, university leaders, including former law school dean and current u.s. supreme court justice elena kagan continued to cite the military's policy as reason enough to continue to keep rotc off-campus. >> we were also trying to protect our own anti-discrimination policy. >> reporter: now with the ban abolished, harvard will lift its ban as well, allowing rotc students to train on its pristine campus. a symbolic bridge between two different worlds, education and defense. >> and we're going to be talking with the president of harvard university, drew faust, after this quick break. client comes in and they have a box.

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we're going to have the president of harvard university soon, drew faust. but first want to go to this week, marking 20 years since the rodney king beating. 20 years since a grainy videotape of white los angeles police officers beating a black man became news around the world. the eventually acquittal of

those police officers sparked widespread riots in l.a. and changed that city forever. our don lemon sat down with rodney king to talk about how the past two decades have changed him, and that is in this week's "what matters." >> reporter: in the 20 years since his life was turned upside down, rodney king has relocated to suburban rialto, california. he's 20 years older, and according to him, a lot wiser. he admits his past is riddles with bad decisions. if you could do it all over again, what would you do? would you go out that night? >> i think i would have stayed home. >> reporter: for years after the beating, rodney king continued to have run-ins with the law. in 1996, he was sentenced to 90 days for a hit-and-run involving his wife. he was also arrested several times on charges related to domestic abuse, drug

intoxication, and indecent exposure. why after all that, that's what people would say, especially black people, why after all that, rodney, are you still getting in trouble? >> i guess the trouble that they see me in is a part of my life that i'm working on. >> reporter: and 20 years later, rodney king still lives in fear. years after the beating, you wore a vest. do you still wear a vest? >> yeah, i do. i do. >> reporter: he wears a bullet-proof vest in large crowds because threats against his life were all too real. the fbi once infiltrated a white supremacist plot to assassinate king. >> are you constantly looking over your shoulder? >> i never feel safe, you know, just things that happen. >> when you are part of history and it changes for the better, you've got a lot of devilish people out there that don't like it. >> reporter: when rodney king had the blood on his face, that

mug shot of you with the blood on your face, who was he then? >> oh, man, a guy that was almost dead and just like happy to be able to still have that face, to be able to see that face. >> reporter: and rodney king now? all cleaned up, trimmed goatee, beads around his neck. who is rodney king now? >> i'm a -- i consider myself a decent, you know, good human bein being. >> to hear more about king's story, to find out whether he's forgiven the police officers who beat him 20 years ago, watch the "race and rage: the beating of rodney king." it's a special tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. [ female announcer ] it's lobsterfest.

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we've been telling you about it this hour. the president of harvard and the navy secretary will sign an agreement today, allowing the rotc return to campus. the change will end decades of dispute over war and military policy. drew faust, she is president of harvard university. she joins us to talk about the return of the rotc.

president faust, thank you for joining us this afternoon. >> thank you so much. >> you're welcome. tell us how you reached this decision. was there a tipping point? >> i thought about this decision a great deal during my initial years as president, and it seemed to me that the sentiment on campus really focused on the don't ask, don't tell law and how that inhibited opportunities for our students. and that that really was the barrier to the return of rotc. and i began saying that in public statements, and indicated that with the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, we would move forward in welcoming rotc back to campus. so that really was the element that was critical to this decision. >> and the rotc is recruiting the best, the brightest to receive education, military training. but, honestly, let's face it, very likely those young adults are going to end up going to wars in afghanistan and iraq. are you okay with that? do you feel okay with how this is going to play out?

>> i'm always impressed when i attend the commissioning ceremonies for our rotc students every year. at the kind of dedication that they display in taking on these responsibilities at such a critical time. and their willingness to sacrifice, their willingness to defend the nation and act in its service seems to me extraordinarily admirable. >> as president of this university, as a leader in your community, do you feel that this is the execution of the wars, is going well? >> this decision today is about making sure that the individuals in the military are ones that have had the opportunity to benefit from education and to take advantage of the resources of our universities. and that, to me, seems an important part of making sure that the individuals who are making decisions about war have been exposed to the widest range

of education. general petraeus was here a couple of years ago at our commissioning ceremony, and he has often spoken about the importance of ideas and the importance of soldier scholars in leading our military. and i feel that harvard has a real contribution to make in that regard. >> do you feel it's appropriate to offer your own position about how the wars are being executed? >> as an individual? >> as an individual. >> is that what you're asking? >> certainly. >> i speak out on public matters that relate to higher education and to the responsibilities that are mine as president. i feel that those are the places this my voice can matter. so i have spoken about rotc and about our students. but i don't make statements about broader issues that are, i believe, the responsibility and domain of others. >> okay. when i was on campus, there was certainly a feeling that there was a stigma around those students who participated in

rotc, that they somehow were warmongers or nonthinking individuals. you know, misperceptions, clearly, but how do you tackle that aspect, that the culture on campus, or people who feel that way or think that way about people in the military? >> i don't believe that this is the culture on our campus now. there's a student who was commissioned last year, a young woman named shawna sunot, and she wrote me a letter after her commission, and said she was a little fearful coming to harvard, thinking she might encounter a culture like the one you just described. and that is not, she said -- that was not her experience. instead, she felt she could play a vital part in this community, introducing many individuals in our student body who never will be part of the military to important issues that relate to the military. i've also spent time reaching out to these rotc students, inviting them to lunch, hearing their concerns, and for the most

part, they feel that they are an essential part of the harvard community. and that this has been an excellent environment for them. >> and president faust, i covered secretary colin powell's visit when he delivered the commencement speech back in 1993. i asked him, because there were protests, his visit was being protested, how he justified the don't ask, don't tell policy, and he said at the time, it was to maintain order. this reversal on the side of the military, the government, really a political and culture sea change. do you feel that harvard is also ready for a sea change of its own? beyond offering office space, access to classrooms and athletic fields for the rotc, but to establish a real rotc unit on campus? >> the sea change is one that it's important to note, and to celebrate today, with the repeal of don't ask, don't tell and the landmark. that is for inclusion in our society. so i just want to reinforce what

you said about that. our arrangements with the navy are those that the navy found most desirable. and so we have followed their guidance the particular set of policies and arrangements that we will follow for naval rotc and its return here to campus. >> all right. president faust, thank you so much for your time and good luck to you, as well as harvard alums and those on campus. appreciate it. >> thank you. thank you so much. well, don't forget to choose the news. vote by texting 22360 for the story you would like to see in detail. one for proof that women are better in just about everything. we know it, but there's proof now. vote two for a look at royal wedding security. or three for the shero who was honored for bringing a subway flash tore justice. the winning story will air in the next hour. [ female announcer ] there's a new way to let go

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time for a look at one of the underreported stories of the week. the army is overhauling its fitness test for the first time in 30 years. so push-ups will be replaced with the casualty drag, where soldiers drag the equivalent of a body's weight.

instead of sit-ups, the ammo can shuttle sprint. and instead of two-mile run, a 400-meter run with a rifle. joining us with his take on the undercovered stories, that is deen, cofounder of the arab american comedy festival. so, dean, what do you think here? we've heard the first lady say that most, you know, a lot of kids, a lot of young adults, they can't pass the fitness test to now serve in the army, to serve in the military. what's the change about, do you think? >> well, it's 30 years. i mean the last time they updated it were 30 years ago. people were wearing members only jacket and little ties with piano keys. i think it's time to update things. one thing i noticed, the casualty drag, where you drag a 180-pound bag, how come all the war movies i saw, remember forerest gump, he put the guy

over his shoulder. it's like, leave me, i don't want to be dragged by you. and also the obesity thing is a good point. secretary gates talked about that. maybe 180 pounds isn't the right weight. maybe supersize that bag, 250, 260, make it more representative of some of the people. >> you think with the change in these tests, do you think more people or less people will be able to do that? >> i think it's going to be much more challenging. from what i read, they were just doing little tests on it, and they had guys who were coming up from behind their desks and make them do this physical activity and they were sweating profusely. but you should add some other things, maybe yoga, and technology has been a big part of the military, have an eye/hand coordination. maybe they should do jumping jacks while twittering or running on a treadmill while doing nintendo. when you operate those drones or missiles or radars, you've got to be ready with that kind of stuff. take it for what they want, i'm just a comedian. but trying to help.

>> are you swayed in either way? do you think you'd like to jump in and try the test? >> me, i think i wouldn't make it -- i couldn't even put the uniform on. i'd start sweating. i'm in decent shape, but i couldn't do the things they're doing, dragging bags, running for miles. i do that really well in video games. i'm really good at "madden football." i can play for hours. >> and the uniforms only come in green, as goldie hawn had once sate. you don't want to sport green anyway. >> i'm more of a light blue type of a guy. >> thank you, dean. your votes are in. your winners for choose the news, that's up next. ordinary windshield wipers off the glass. so, did we build a slower car? or design wipers that could handle anything? what do you think? the cadillac cts-v, the world's fastest production sedan. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs

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well, you texted it, we're going to air it. the winning story for choose the news, it is the woman honored for bringing a subway flasher to justice. our derek dennis with affiliate wcbs has the story. >> i see his penis out. that's it! >> reporter: it's the youtube video that had all of new york city talking. subway rider nicholas briggs refusing to be victimized by a subway flasher, angrily calling for his arrest. >> i'm escorting you to the police station, okay? oh, yes. oh, [ bleep ] yes. >> reporter: her tough stand back in september honored by the women's democratic club of new york. briggs being called a shero, fittingly at the famous stonewall inn. briggs bringing attention to subway harassment against women.

>> i think it's courageous, i think it's beautiful, and i think it's inspiring for many women. >> at that moment, not one iota of fear. i knew what i needed to do. >> reporter: and she did. 51-year-old mario arrested, convicted, sentenced to four months in jail, and branded as a registered sex offender, a predator for life. >> that's what a predator is trying to do to you, shut your emotions down, to shock you and violate you to the point where you're immobilized. >> i know what i saw! >> reporter: you can tell from the video, briggs did see something. but what you can't tell from the video is how tiny she is. she's a feisty 5 feet tall. >> frankly, when you're petite, you've got to stand up for yourself. and i learned from a very early age not to take any guff from people. >> i'm escorting you to the police station! >> reporter: one woman's courage now an example for victims everywhere. >> wow, she is tough. briggs is a self-defense instructor, but says it was her