do, how do you explain it to the american people and if they give you permission, how do you implement it. so in that sense everything i've done has been a preparation for this. >> speaker, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> best of luck. missing at sea. new information on the italian cruise ship that tommed over after hitting shore. two americans among those still missing and the ship's captain under arrest. defending himself. >> translator: we shouldn't have had this contact. >> in syria, a city under siege. >> every day, every morning shooting. >> they are killing us! >> the damage, the cries for help, the claims their government is out to kill them. cnn's nic robertson with an exclusive story. >> what does this now mean now?

>> i'll able to pay my mortgage every month on time. >> solving the mortgage crisis from a very unlikely savior. could he help save your home? we find out this hour. that and more right here, right now on cnn. this is cnn breaking news. >> i'm don lemon. thank you so much for joining us. we're going to begin this newscast with breaking news tonight. a major shake-up in the republican battle for president. he said he had a ticket to ride after finishing third in new hampshire butt trip is now over for jon huntsman. huntsman is dropping out of the race for president. and he plans to endorse mitt romney. cnn pleas political reporter peter hamby broke this news for us. when is the official announcement? >> the official announcement

will be tomorrow they sheraton hotel where there's a big debate sponsored by the republican party. the official endorsement will be here. he is going to endorse governor romney. a campaign official tells me the reason they're getting behind governor romney is they believe he's the one true candidate who can fix the economy. of course jon huntsman is playing in the same lane in the republican primary as governor romney on that moderate side of the primary. so this makes a lot of sense. there's traditionally been a little bit of friction between the romney and huntsman family. they did not like each other at all but you see the establishment getting behind mitt romney with in endorsement. >> what's interesting, peter, is earlier today south carolina's largest newspaper said the editorial board called him the

essential values candidate, honor, decency and pragmatism. and now this. >> it's pretty interesting on the same day the state paper, the largest newspaper in south carolina endorsed him that he would do this, maybe wait an extra day after that. the symbolism is important. the entire republican universe will be here tomorrow. there will be tons of television cameras for huntsman to do this. after he finished third in the new hampshire primary, a lot of republicans in this state were surprised he would come down here and campaign. he doesn't have search support at all, has no television ads in this state and was kind of camped out along the coast where you have more moderate republican voters but he wasn't really catching on down here, don. so it probably makes a lot of sense for him to drop out. if he does want to run again in 2016, it made sense for him probably to come down here, possibly lay a little groundwork in south carolina to appeal to some vote that's he will need again if he does decide to run for president again down the

road. but again, dropping out of the republican presidential race tomorrow, a much ballyhooed entry into the race this year, barack obama's former ambassador to china. so this is a kind of wimper to end that campaign. >> i want to go to john king. you're hosting a cn this. republican debate in south carolina on thursday. guess who will not be at that podium. that certainly changes things there and in that race as well. >> it certainly does. the calculation in south carolina, let's look at the here and now, if jon huntsman is getting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5%, i'm going to call it to mitt romney's left, the establishment, mosh moderate republicans, you tend to find them along the coast in south carolina. when you have gingrich, santorum, maybe ron paul to

romney's right, he's a little more hard to characterize, jon huntsman made a basic calculation here. if he wants to run in 2016, this is is a chance to a man he's had a tough relationship with mitt romney, the staff has had even a tougher relationship, to try to get a little goodwill in the party, a little leverage and maybe take a very small slice, whatever jon huntsman was going to get in the south carolina primary, eight good bet that 70%, 80% of it comes out mitt romney. by endorsing him now and getting out of the race now, governor romney only has to worry about the votes coming out of the right. so it's a goodwill gesture by governor huntsman, a calculation he's about to be embarrassed next saturday, let's try to get something out of this and i think as peter notes more than anything else it's an effort if he comes back in 2016, establishment the republicans

will say the man did the right thing at the right time. >> thank you very much, john. remember to tune in to cnn thursday night. you're going to hear the candidates in their own word, the cnn southern republican debate comes your way. we want to go to our other major story tonight twoshs americans among the missing after their cruise ship ran aground on the italian coast. rescuers are working through the night to find them and more than a dozen others who may be trapped inside the world of the costa concordia. the cabins are a deadly tilted maze. conditions aren't making the search any easier. >> our operators are working in very, very bad conditions. it cold of course, it's dark during the day and the night, the same situation, it's always dark and they work with a small light on their helmets.

our men, they keep on working until we are sure that no person is missing and so on. so we will keep on working. >> the company that owns the ship is pointing the finger right at the ship's captain for allowing the giant boat to run aground on an island off the coast. cnn received a statement from costa cruises which reads in part, "while the investigation is on going, there may have been significant error on the ship's master captain, which resulted in these grave consequences. the captain suis under arrest b he is defending himself. first we want to tell you about the death toll. it now stand as at five after crews found two elderly people dead. rescuers did pull out a south korean couple who were trapped for more than 24 hours, newlywed

on perhaps the worst honeymoon of all time. here some of the closest images yet of the destruction. >> with an open gash, the costa concordia looks like it's been gutted. the cruiseliner is lying on the floor of isola del giglio. this is the rehe thinks the costa hit, one he swears is on every chart. >> is there is no chart on the chart. >> every rock is on the chart? >> every one. every one. >> only possibility should be that one. >> reporter: he's planning to dive to see if there are traces

of paint on the re. but the ship's captain who could face criminal charges insists he was not too close. >> translator: the nautical chart was marked just as water, 150 meters from the rock. we were about 300 meters from the short. we shouldn't have had this contact. >> reporter: but officials suggest the ship came too close as the crew wanted to wave to friends ashore. >> we know that the ship was close to the island. >> too close to the island? >> yes. >> reporter: as the frantic search for survivors goes on behind me, a picture is emerging of the chaos on board the costa concordia as panic spread through the passengers who were desperately trying to scramble ashore. the ship's u.s. owner, carnival corporation, says it's still trying to figure out what led to the accident. this was what it was like in the dark, cold chaos as passengers

fled in life jackets, battling against gravity to get out. >> translator: the life boats were upside down. they were actually slanted and that made it hard to get on them because of this. >> reporter: these photos were taken by amanda and brandon warric, as they tried to escape. >> we were wuchbt last ones. the chaos happened for everyone to get on the life boats first. we just didn't get there early enough and it was so crowded and there was no room for us and we just ended up waiting the last maybe few people, we were just holding on to the railing trying not to fall. >> reporter: these korean honeymooners were rescued after more than 24 hours trapped aboard. >> translator: at first we were very scared and as time went by our fear grew and grew. we lived with the hope of being able to survive this ugly thing

and above all with the strength of being near the one you love, we did not get hurt. >> reporter: even toe the search and rescue operation isn't over, it's clear this will result in prosecution. everyone is wondering how on earth this massive ship came so close to this treacherous shore and how many more bodies will be recovered from the wreck of the costa concordia. dan river, cnn, isola del giglio, italy. >> coming up, more on our breaking news, jon huntsman dropping out of the presidential race. >> and millions of americans trying to hold on to their homes. meet a man who is trying to change that one family at a time. it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card.

i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries.

no lwill be giving awayy rate. passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com.

. there are few things scarier than living in fear of losing your home. unfortunately many of those facing foreclosure who tried working with their lenders got nowhere. but in atlanta one man is changing the game and helping chang the lives of countless families. >> reporter: he's an unlikely rock star. >> thank you. >> welcome, bruce. >> reporter: and he's the man everyone here wants to meet. a crusader who has become a fierce advocate for struggling homeowners. >> everybody, thank you. >> thank you! >> thank you. >> you're the greatest thing ever hit this country. >> reporter: bruce morris is doing what people here thought was near impossible.

he's saving their holes from foreclosure. >> how many people here have tried and failed to work with your lender? that's about 100%. >> reporter: and he's doing it with the legally binding support of banks and lenders, getting them to modify existing loans. >> what built this country after world war ii? it was no down payment mortgages from the v.a. that were full doc underwriting and that people could determine what they could afford. we have to go back to base being underwriting. these mortgage products over the last ten years were structured to fail. it was a homeownership deceptive scheme. got to go back to the basics. >> reporter: thousands from the atlanta area waited long hours over several days armed with bank statements, income tax returns and hope. everyone here has a story. many are victims of predatory lending. there are those who have lost a job, others are facing foreclosure. the one thing they have in common is they all want to find

a way they can pay to stay in their homes. after her mortgage payments doubled to $1,200, this government worker came hoping to negotiate a 30-year fixed 3.75 rate, the average modified mortgage here. >> a lot of pressure. a lot of stress, you know, it just i can't sleep. >> reporter: his army of workers from the neighborhood assistance corporation of america processed the paperwork, sending completed packages electronically to some 500 lenders, less than 50 feet away. >> if they're paying a $2,000 mortgage payment and the budget shows they can only afford $1,300, then the bank has to do the restructuring of the mortgage to get to that $1,300 mortgage payment, bringing that interest rate down to as low as 2% or reduce the outstanding principle. bank pays all the closing costs

and fees, always 1% below market. you don't need perfect credit. >> reporter: what is in it for the banks? >> homeownership sustainability. >> reporter: angie is with bank of america. some people would say now basically the banks are giving loans to people that are reasonable, that people can actually afford. what happened? why wasn't that the case before? >> you know, we don't claim perfection and we can't harp on what has happened in the past. what we're doing now is putting our best foot forward to do what's right by our customer. >> reporter: did they just get a lon? the reality, it's good business. banks make much less on foreclosures. the reality for this woman, she was able to modify her mortgage down from 5.5 to 3.75 lowering her payment down to $480. >> what does this now mean for you? >> well, i'll be able to pay my

mortgage every month on time. so it means a great deal to me. >> and a great deal to bruce marks. >> so it's in your control, an ex-union activist who seems to be doing what nobody else has been able to do, get lenders to the table and fix the nation's mortgage mess. >> thanks a lot. >> thank you. jon huntsman may have dropped out of the race or be dropping out of the race tomorrow but it's not going to stop the tough talk on the political air wives and it's republicans going after each other. but is it possible the negative attacks are actually helping mitt romney? we'll discuss right after a quick break. totables. discreet, little tubes packed with big relief. from the brand doctors recommend most by name. preparation h totables. the anywhere preparation h.

when it comes to home insurance, surprises can be a little scary. and a little costly. that's why the best agents present their clients with a lot of options. because when it comes to what's covered and what's not, nobody likes surprises. [ click ] [ chuckles ] we totally thought -- [ all scream ] obscure space junk falling from the sky? we cover that. moving on. aah, aah, aah, aah. [ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪

as we reported to you first at the top of the hour, presidential hopeful jon huntsman will dropout of the race on monday and endorse mitt romney. romney's rivals are blanketing the state in search of votes. newt gingrich started at the cathedral of praise church. looking to shore up his support among evangelical voters. rick santorum who picked up the backing of some top evangelical leaders this weekend visited the same church on saturday. santorum and rick perry attended a faith and freedom prayer breakfast in myrtle beach. we expect democrats to go after republicans, but what about when

republicans go after each other. backing romney and gingrich, they are blasting the airwaves with negative ads. rick perry has gone after romney over his career. i asked if these attacks are helping president obama. >> what i think newt and rick perry have done is deliver a massive gift to mitt romney with a ribbon tied around it. it's just the sweetest thing they ever could have done. it gave mitt romney a voice. he positioned himself as the defender of capitalism and people like me who can muster simply marginal enthusiasm can amount enthusiasm for free markets. and one other thing this does is it threatens to exhaust that line of attack before it gets to obama. they see this as a dress rehearsal? by summertime this argument will be played out. >> not there hasn't been a whole lot of fun that has been made of these campaigns and some on their own volition, time for

some comic relief. leave it to stephen colbert to take the ads to the extreme. here's one that was released. >> as head of bain capital he carved them up and got rid of what he couldn't use. if mitt romney believes -- >> corporations are people, my friend. >> then mitt romney is a serial killer. he's mitt the ripper. >> is he showing the absurdity of some of this with satire, or what do you? is he making a mockery of the system? >> he's doing what he's always done is making a mockery of the entire system. this is absolutely ridiculous the level of drama that the super pacs are trying to build up on both sides. there is no way in which you can control how the message is delivered and make sure the information being shared is accurate.

before these things hit the air. i love the fact that he is poking fun not at any particular party, butt process in which the election is happening. i thought it was hilarious. >> listen to david axelrod, campaign adviser to president obama. he told candy crowley he is worried the super pacs will go after obama in the fall. >> the other thing that worries me with the super pacs with governor romney and others, there will be a ton of money aimed -- >> democratic too? >> not nearly of the scale on the republican side. they are talking upwards of a half billion in negative ads from interest group who is don't disclose and raise unlimited amounts of money. that is a very, very concerning thing. >> legit worry? >> that is complete and utter spin. let's just be honest about that. president obama is the warren buffett of fund-raising and he

attracts money and accumulates. he will be the $750 million. she throwing dinners at his $ 30d -- $30,000, $40,000 a plate. he will have super pacs and money all over the process. >> jon huntsman gets out on monday and endorses mitt romney. six days until the primary. stay with us for the most complete coverage. and straight ahead, could snow add time to your drive on monday? we will check in for answers for you. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] entune mobile technology.

♪ stronger! ♪ stand a little taller [ male announcer ] stay seamlessly connected to your smart phone. available on the reinvented 2012 camry. from toyota. ♪ you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number year-end closeout event. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. it calibrates precisely to your body and your comfort zone. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh yeah. it's really shaping to my body. it's the final days to save up to $800 on selected 2011 bed sets. plus, free standard shipping on all beds. you can adjust it however you want so you don't have to worry about buying the wrong mattress. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?"

hurry in to the final days of the year-end closeout event and save on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. only at the sleep number store, where queen bed sets now start at just $899. when it comes to home insurance, surprises can be a little scary. and a little costly. that's why the best agents present their clients with a lot of options. because when it comes to what's covered and what's not, nobody likes surprises. [ click ] [ chuckles ] we totally thought -- [ all scream ] obscure space junk falling from the sky? we cover that. moving on. aah, aah, aah, aah. [ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ our big story in the week ahead is jon huntsman set to drop out of the race on monday. there are other stories from the white house to wall street our

correspondents tell you what you need to know. we begin tonight with the presidenties plans for the week. >> this week president obama will continue making his economic push, even as he rakes in cash to help fuel his reelection campaign. on thursday he'll attend a high dollar event in new york at the home of movie director spike lee. 40 people are expected to attend what's being described as an intimate fund-raiser. the price tag, $38,500 per person. and before heading out of town, president obama will welcome to the world series champion st. louis cardinals to the white house. he'll honor them for their big victory last year. >> i'm barbara starr pe pentagon. defense secretary leon panetta will put the finishing touches on the new defense budget, billions in cuts, reduction in personnel, some of the most trimming in decades now that the wars in iraq or afghanistan are either wrapped up or wrapping

up. but the world stage is still intruding. tensions with iran remain sky high. we've learned the iranians harassed two u.s. ships in recent days in the persian gulf and tenses in pakistan remain high. the u.s. is watching that country 24/7 as there are concerns about a military coup with that critical u.s. ally that has nuclear weapons. >> wall street is gearing up for a slew of corporate earning reports of week. of particular interest the big banks. we'll hear from citigroup, bank of america, goldman sachs and morgan stanley following disappointing results from jp morgue a morgan on friday. the market will be closed on monday for martin luther king day. we'll track it all for you. >> i'm a.j. hammer. we are there on the red carpet for the golden globe. i'll have the wrapup of the

winners, the shockers and the fashion. the lovely jessica alba and dave navarro stopped by the show this week. >> thank you guys. so what will monday's weather bring as you head into work? wet roads, icy roads? jackie is in the severe weather center with tomorrow's commute tonight. >> a holiday tomorrow so a lot of people not going in. we'll talk about the day part and even the week ahead, don. we've got some big changes and it's all about the west tomorrow. our jet stream pattern has changed. look at that moisture moving into los angeles right now. and in seattle today, you've been dealing with snow. take a look at the video out of seattle. two inches. that caused a lot of problems on the roadways. this is the first real miserable snowfall you've been dealing with. and snow will remain in the forecast tomorrow and a big storm heading your way on wednesday. let's show you this jet stream header. all the snow across the west has

been kept at bay as our jet stream has been up to the north. well, it's taking a little visit here across the pacific northwest. throughout the week ahead, it going to meander up and down. now storms track within that jet stream so we're going to start to see heavy snow. all of the mountain chains across parts of the west by this time next weekend should have some snowfall. that is a nice change for a whole lot of those people. a little wet across parts of the east. that will be your weather story so wool e'll be watching the gr lakes. salt lake city looking for snow in that area. city number four, indianapolis with rain showers. chicago, you're coming in at number three with rain and blustery conditions for the afternoon. number two, portland with snow and rain mixing in and number one is seattle. they're still going to be dealing with snow showers. >> thank you very much. next, a cnn exclusive. a syrian town is under siege as

anti-government protests grow. right after the break we take you to the battleground in a story you'll only see on cnn. i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication,

astrazeneca may be able to help.

it's called a crackdown, but what happened in syria feels like a war. that's what nick robertson discovered when he traveled to the city for an exclusive look at the violence.

the syrian government tried to keep a lid on the unrest and now we know why. >> on the road it feels like we are entering a war. we see only army checkposts and then then, civilians, the first that we meet. what these people have told us is that they are fleeing. they are running away and haven't got any possessions with them and don't have a car either. just getting out of town as fast as they can. further on at the frontline, more people fleeing. we cross to the anti-government side. follow arab league monitors through twisting streets into the town center. little can prepare them or us for the welcome we receive.

thousands of anti-assad protesters. the crowd has gone absolutely wild. they arrived even carrying them on their shoulders here. they are treating them as if they are gods. they have been sent here to save them. bitter anger against the government is everywhere. >> translator: every day, every morning shooting. >> reporter: two or three people have been killed, she said. more than 60 wounded. and now for the last three days she adds water, electricity and phones have been cut off. >> they are striking anything. in the street. in the street kill people. isolation people. we don't need this regime. can you understand me? they are killing us! >> reporter: inside the nearby mosque, arab league monitors

used a calm to take down more details. this man tells us he was shot going out to get bread, has lost a finger. his brother, he says, killed. in this mountain town close to the border with lebanon, military defectors now with the free syrian army say they have 70 lightly armed fighters. we don't see them. but the monitors do. after more than an hour, the monitors inch their vehicles through the crowds, more and more press forward. they don't want the monitors to go telling them the soldiers will use the tanks to fire on the town as soon as they leave. in apparent desperation, the crowd turns on the monitors,

beats their car, begins to throw rocks, forcing them to drive a dangerous road towards frontline troops not expecting them. gunshot fired, monitors stop, wave their orange jacket to show who they are. half a mile, 800 meters ahead, the road is blocked. it is the syrian government front line. we are forced to stop. it is not a safe place to be. the monitors are trying to shout out to the soldiers on the other side of the front line there to clear the road, to clear the barricade. it's clear lay road that's not used often now. the soldiers over there seem to be very nervous. they won't let the monitors cross. as we wait, soldiers bring out one of their dead, say he's just been shot. they shout at the camera "film, film, is this the freedom you

want? is this what the world wants? is this the syria you're looking for?" around us the soldiers are edgy. occasional shots ring out. finally after an hour and a half in the danger zone, a digger is brought forward. two soldiers riding shotgun. they begin clearing the barricade. gunfire erupts. not clear who is shooting. soldiers reason for cover. the monitors race for safety. past plenty of armored vehicles with heavy machine guns. 20 seconds later they stop at

the front line army base. soldiers cheer the president, then this, an unprovoked attack on the monitors. as they drive out, they leave behind a city under siege. nick robertson, cnn, syria. >> all right, nick, thank you very much. remember that russian fuel tanker we've been telling you about heading to alaska? it's reached its destination but the work is far from over.

ask me... even if you think you can live with your old mattress... ask me how i've never slept better... why not talk to one of the 6 million people who've switched to the most highly recommended bed in america. it's not a sealy, a simmons, or a serta... ask me about my tempur-pedic. ask me how i can finally sleep all night. ask me how great my back feels every morning. did you know there's a tempur-pedic for every body? tempur-pedic beds now come insoft...firm...and everything in-between... ask me how i don't wake up anymore when he comes to bed...

these are real tempur-pedic owners...ask someone you know...check out twitter, or your friends on facebook... you'll hear it all...unedited! ask me how i wish i had done this sooner. ask me how this is the best investment i've ever made. tempur-pedic brand owners are more satisfied. than owners of any traditional mattress brand... to learn more, or find an authorized retailer near you visit tempur-pedic.com. tempur-pedic the most highly recommended bed in america.

bound for nome, alaska has arrived. the u.s. coast guard ship led the way breaking through 300 miles of ice. i'm joined on the phone by mayor denise michaels. mayor, how does it finally feel to have the fuel tanker in nome where you were running low on fuel? >> it's a good feeling. we're halfway there. our main concern of course was to have it -- the delivery and

the transfer done safely. now they're in the process of laying the hose down, working with state and federal compliance officials. they have a meeting tonight and hopefully tomorrow is when the -- hopefully it will start going through the lines. we're pretty excited. >> you mentioned the hose. i understand they're using it to get the fuel into the town. is weather a factor with that? >> yeah, weather is always a factor. right now we're finally above zero for the first time in a long time and so -- and the winds are calm so it looks pretty good. >> good, good. this is the first ever attempt to bring fuel to an arctic alaska settlement through sea ice. were you confident that it would even get through? >> you know, you're right. we had a little concern it was never done, there are no

policies or procedures. we had to create a whole bunch of -- work with different entities and expert to get it here. we're just very happy it's halfway here and the remaining other half is of course to get the renda and healy crew back home once the fuel is transferred effectively. >> we thank you very much. >> next, a report that could make you question your racial identity. a deals with the perm passing, something thousands of african-americans did during the jim crowe days. we'll also explain the meaning of the so-called one-drop rule right after a break. but first this. whether you have a little bit extra cash or no savings at all, there are steps can you take to make your money work for you in 2012 and you don't have to be a risk taker to get a good return. ali velshi talks with suze orman.

>> i might want to look into treasury inflation treasury securities and if you have a home that you have a mortgage on that you're going to stay in for the rest of your life, you're 45 years of age or older, take that money and pay down your mortgage because when your mortgage goes away, you don't need as much income to generate for thaeks pence. >> let's talk about credit ratings, how you get your credit score up and fix credit in a tough time. what should your priorities be? >> can you fix credit very simple by always if you have credit cards, not everybody does but if you have credit cards, pay your credit cards on time. never go over your credit limit. just really be there with them and pay down your credit. because the thing that counts most on fico scores, 30, 35% is your debt what you owe to your credit limit ratio. if you pay down your debt, your credit limit ratio goes down, your fico score goes up. >> we've been working down the ladder of people in their financial situations and now

talk about almost one in two americans who have virtually no money if none at all, can't get access to credit, they've lost a lot of stuff, can't even get a secured credit card. >> they can get a secured credit card obviously. but here is the problem can secured credit cards that people aren't understanding. you have to put a sum of money, $100, $500, $1,000 to secure the card. now you have a card and you can charge. you charge $200. they don't take the money from what you put down, they say now you owe me $200. the person says i don't have $200, i'm in poverty. they say, okay, you pay me $20 a month at 19% interest. so now here we have this person again getting themselves into trouble on a secure card. >> right. >> so i don't like secured cards. however, if it is your only alternative to build a credit score right here and right now because there aren't any other alternatives if you can't get a regular credit card, it's one for you to go.

>> in the years following the abolition of slavery, some feared a rise in interracial relationships. states began passing laws with to make sure that any child with a negro and white parent could be considered black and denied the rights of white people. in other words, a child with even one drop of negro blood would be classified as negro. this became known as the one drop rule, a standard ruled unconstitutional by the u.s. supreme court in 1967.

it caused african-americans to pass and pretend they were white without telling their families leaving a lot of families not knowing they had black blood. but some experts on race relations say the legacy of the one-drop rule still exists in today's culture. one expert is an african studies scholar who does research on skin color politics. >> explain the one drop rule. >> historically is the rule of hypodecent is meant to protect whiteness and it was a way for the white majority to be able to name and cite who was white. >> it was one drop, so 1/32 -- >> 1/32 would make that person negro or am at the time. whatever the classification was at the time. >> why do this project? what's the purpose? >> this is my father. >> a way for us to think about

identity and a way for people to define their blackness, if you will, above and beyond legality. we see blackness as a richer identity than one drop of blood. how do you quantify blood? >> that's my cultural, ethnic and racial background. >> when you read the contributor narratives, you understand how they see themselves as black or african-american. >> i am black. i am proud of it. >> why is that important? >> it's important for us to be able to see how people themselves identify. what's interesting is most people say they have this experience of people walking up to them and saying "what are you?" you could look at the web site and say you're black, you're black. she could pass. it's this idea of passing. it's not that they are trying to be anything other than what they are. >> everyone in my family is lighter than me. most people in my family on my mother's side. the people would mistake my mother for white when i was a kid. your mom wasn't here. that's my mom. i thought she was white. people want to categorize. what is it that makes people want to put you in a category.

so they know what to do with it? what difference does it make? >> the reality is america was founded on race and racial difference. and still race absolutely defines our experience. >> i hear people say we're in a postracial society. >> the reality is in order to get beyond something you have to understand it, right? and where in your education, where have you been required to learn about race? >> they don't teach it. >> no. it is the foundation of this country. we have to talk about race. we have to talk about racial difference. it is just a flat out lie for to us believe that we've moved beyond race. >> let's talk about colorism because have i a book and i write about colorism, about the difference between having light skin and dark skin. light skin you were a bit more privileged. and still in society people think that way. but it used to be worse. let's talk about the privileges of having light skin, even if you are a person of color. >> whiteness is normative.

it's come to define what is human, valuable and beautiful. the way you determine a woman's beauty is based on her proximity to the white beauty. and the same holds true for men. subconscious or otherwise, historically that has can'ted if you are of lighter skin, we can assume that you have white in your blood and to have white in your blood makes you less african, makes you less barbaric, makes you more civilized. >> the one drop is just a catalyst to have a discussion about race. why do you think people find it so hard to have a conversation about race? >> to discuss race is uncomfortable. historically white people have been associated with the oppressor. historically black people have been associated with being the oppress oppressed. some people don't want to deal with in a reality. i don't want to be associated with that, i'm not that kind of person, i'm not racist. to talk about race is not to name someone racist. it's to deal with the reality

we're in. >> every time there is a discussion we're in, people say race is only over if you guys on tv stop talking about it and i go, come on. >> where in history did silence change anything? silence doesn't make stuff go away. it just makes it silent. >> the conversation continues on line. logon to cnn.com/in america. you can go there and read my personal story on the one-drop rule, passing for white and colorism. growing up in the 60s and 70s. as the nation celebrates martin luther king junior's birthday, change is on the way for the new memorial in washington, d.c. we will explain that straight ahead. [ monica ] i'm away on a movie shoot and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. cut. cut!

[ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. ♪ tell me what you really mean ♪ do you know what you want? ♪ while beating up on yesterday ♪ ♪ rolling on, moving on [ female announcer ] the space of a small suv. and more ways to connect to your world. ♪ do you know what you are?

the all-new prius v from toyota. ♪ do you know? of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're left with more electric trucks. more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes... which still makes for a pretty enchanted tale. ♪ la la la [ man ] whoops, forgot one... [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter.

>> we are going to get caught up on your headlines. jon huntsman dropping out of the republican race for president. a senior official told us and the announcement will happen on monday. huntsman will endorse mitt romney. he was hoping for a boost after new hampshire but his third place finish just wasn't enough. two americans are among the missing in the concordia cruise ship disaster along the italian coast. 120 americans were reportedly on the ship but only 118 are accounted for now. the owner of the ship is blaming the captain saying that significant human error on his part led to the ship running aground. the captain sund arrest. he could be charged with

manslaughter and abandoning ship. the death toll now stands at five. the fbi is asking residents in two states to help find the body of a missing montana teacher. 43-year-old sherry arnold was last seen january 7th during an early morning jog. two men are being held in connection with her disappearance and authorities say evidence gathered indicates she may be dead. property owners in western north dakota and northeastern montana have been asked to look along treelines for signs of a grave. >> crowds gathered today to celebrate the birthday of dr. martin luther king, jr. for the first time at his memorial on the national mall. many were thrilled to hear the national park service will change a paraphrase yot "on the memorial. critics felt it made the icon appear arrogant. king would have been 83 years old on sunday. he was assassinated in 1968. that's it for us this evening.