rallying at georgetown university this morning accusing paul ryan of taking from the poor and giving to the rich. the congressman is speaking there and we're talking to the catholic group behind a protest happening there in an hour. traveler in chief and you're paying for it. president obama hitting three states in three days. the gop says that's campaigning. we've got fresh reaction this morning from the white house. >> a city wakes up over violent protest with tuition hikes. and rupert murdoch coming clean admitting there was a coverup in the news corp. hacking scandal. "newsroom" begins right now. good morning, everyone. it's thursday, april 26th. also coming your way this hour, inside the secret service, is there a culture within the ranks of using prostitutes while abroad? or was the colombia incident a

one-time occurrence? there's been a lot of debate this week. we'll talk to a former secret service agent who says the colombian scandal will not leave a black eye on the program. also this hour, global warming as a campaign issue. it's the president versus mitt romney this morning but with keystone, the chevy volt, should obama even go there? we'll talk with roland martin and will cain about that. we begin this morning with a collision of politics and faith and a catholic lawmaker about to get his knuckles rapped by dozens of catholic priests. paul ryan is about to speak at georgetown university, that's a catholic institution. faculty and administrators say they are upset with ryan for his misuse of catholic teaching in defending his budget cuts. in a letter signed by more th90 professors and administrators at georgetown say ryan's faith is not a free pass to dismantle

government programs and abandon the poor." >> welcome. >> thanks, carol. >> you are not protesting ryan speaking at georgetown? >> no. we're simply saying what catholic bishops have said. paul ryan's budget fails a basic moral test. asking our seniors and working class americans who live paycheck to paycheck to pay for the tax breaks for the super wealthy and not asking defense department to share in that sake nice isn't just unfair, it's unmoral and unchristian. >> let me tell our viewers what paul ryan said about his faith and as it applies to his budget. i'm going to quote him here. catholic social teaching means don't keep people poor, don't make people dependent on government so they stay stuck in at their station in life. help people get out of poverty, out into a life of

independence." >> if paul ryan and 1% allies in congress spend a day in poverty living paycheck to paycheck trying to decide whether to fill the gas tank up or put food on the table, we wouldn't be having this debate. >> where is the line? i think a lot of americans wonder -- the economy isn't great. a lot of people don't have jobs. where is the line? we're suffering from a huge deficit in this country and we got to do something. >> certainly deficit spending is an important concern. there's a moral and immoral way to do that. making our seniors or working class people pay for the tax cuts for the super wealthy isn't the solution. there's ways to make everyone share in that sacrifice. that's all we're asking for. >> so what do you want to hear from paul ryan? are you going to be inside the lecture or stay outside in protest? >> we'll be out there asking were you there when they

crucified the poor? i want to reach out across the aisle to find solutions and find working solutions that can actually reduce the deficit while not taxing working class people more than the super wealthy. >> thank you for joining us today. we appreciate it. also, i have this to pass along in an e-mailed statement. a spokesman for ryan said the congressman is looking forward to his visit to georgetown. chairman ryan remains grateful for georgetown's invitation to advance a thoughtful dialogue this week on efforts to avert a looming debt crisis that would hurt the poor the first and the worst. ryan looks forward to affirming our shared commitment to a preferential option for the poor, which of course does not mean a preferential option for bigger government. cnn affiliate kiro-tv in seattle interviewed a u.s. government subcontractor.

that source says he worked with the secret service advance team in el salvador before president obama visited that country last year. a dozen agents and u.s. military personnel got drunk at a strip club, paid extra for sexual favors in the vip room and bragged that they took strippers back to their hotel rooms all the time. cnn can't confirm the allegations. we've reached out to the secret service for more information. they have no comment at this time. as far as the colombian scandal goes, here's what homeland security secretary janet napolitano said about the investigation. >> the likelihood this is the first and only time that such behavior occurred, do you think that's great or not so great? >> i think part of our investigation is confirming that this was an aberration or not. i agree with you, senator. the secret service does a marvelous job. i've worked closely with them.

>> the only reason i suggest that maybe we need to look harder is because we're lucky to have found out about this. had there not been an argument between an agent and a prostitute for lack of a better word about money, we probably would never have known about this. >> nine secret service agents have been fired or have resigned since the colombian scandal went public. in just about 50 minutes, we'll talk to the seattle reporter who just got back from el salvador with the latest part of that story. he talked to the strip club owner who say agents partied at his club for three straight nights. the supreme court getting a full look this morning at arizona's controversial immigration law. that didn't stop scores of people in arizona from taking to the streets in protest. that's what it looked like in phoenix from demonstrators blocked traffic in several city streets. critics say the law could lead to racial profiling.

>> right off the bat, i was very grateful that chief justice roberts asked the government whether this piece of legislation and this hearing was about racial profiling and the government answered absolutely not. so for all of those people throughout our country that keep wanting to say this is a piece of legislation that is about racial profiling, it was discounted today. >> the supreme court is expected to issue a ruling on arizona's law in june. police in riot gear run through the streets of montreal to control violent crowds of o proteste protesters. the protests started after talks broke down between student leaders and government officials. students have been demanding that the government drop a planned tuition hike. charles taylor will now likely spend time in a british prison after an international

court found the former liberian president guilty of helping rebels during the civil war. taylor financed the war from blood diamonds. more than 50,000 people were killed in the decade long conflict. republicans this morning are accusing president obama of committing fraud. rnc officials say he's using taxpayer money, your money, to pay for campaign stops masked as official business trips and gop is now calling for an investigation. dan lothian is our man at the white house. tell us more, dan. >> reporter: you know, for weeks now we've been hearing this complaint from the republican national committee in particular because the president has made a lot of trips to battleground states and they believe that with the cost of air force one at about $180,000 per hour, these events that the white house said are official, they believe are mostly campaign sort of events and so you have the

head of the republican national committee writing a letter to the government accountability office saying "throughout his administration but particularly in recent weeks, president obama has been passing off campaign travel as official events allowing taxpayers rather than his campaign it pay for his re-election efforts." this is not the first time that we've heard this. there were complaints when president bush was in office and other presidents as well and the white house is making that clear saying that there is a formula for this. the campaign does reimburse the administration, the government, whenever they use the plane and travel on campaign events. and pushing back, eric schultz, a white house spokesman, saying this week's travel has been part of the president's official responsibility to get outside of washington, d.c. to meet with young people and talk about keeping those student loan rates low. he went on to say when there's political travel we follow all

rules and regulations that all other administrations have followed. carol? >> so, dan, i'm wondering, the republicans want an investigation. who would conduct that investigation? how much would it cost? >> reporter: well, that's unclear. what also is unclear, this is something that usually members of congress would have to call on the government accountability office to actually launch an investigation. so right now this is sort of the early stages of this. filing a complaint. again, more of what we've heard over the last several weeks because they believe even though the administration says that they are not using taxpayer money for campaign related events, they believe that this administration is sort of flaunting that rule and using air force one and other resources for official events that they believe are campaign events. >> dan lothian at the white house. fallon joked what it was like with the president in the house last night. >> we had the president of the

united states, barack obama on the show. obama hung out with me backstage. he slow jammed the news. he did a long interview. at one point i was, like, dude, don't you have a country to run? what are the priorities? >> the president's appearance struck a cord with people especially the slow jam the news segment which has become a hot topic online. >> coming up on "newsroom," a marine is discharged for criticizing president obama on his facebook page. among other things he called the president a liar. some critics are now saying the marine's punishment goes too far. and take a look at these violent protests. look at that. would you believe this is all over about $375? we'll explain. and later, oakland a's pitcher is no fan of kiss cam. he says the stadium segment is anti-gay. that's coming your way in sports.

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14 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now. republican congressman paul ryan is getting a chilly reception at georgetown university where he's set to speak in just about 45 minutes. more than 90 professors and administrators signed a letter accusing ryan of misusing catholic teachings to justify his cuts to social programs. this morning we're seeing more evidence that the foreclosure logjam is freeing up. filings have spiked. a billion dollar robo signing settlement has been settled causing more banks to pursue foreclosures again. in florida alone, many cities have reported jumps in

foreclosure filings in the first quarter according to realty track. rupert murdoch is admitting to a coverup at his newspaper but says news corporation was a victim. he wouldn't name people responsible saying they could face criminal charges but he did say he was sorry for not taking more control of the situation. >> i have to admit that some newspap newspapers are in my heart more than others but i failed. >> well, that may be. >> we want to bring in dan rivers outside of the court in london. mr. murdoch is known as a tough

guy. he seemed emotional there. >> reporter: well, he seemed it. we have kind of seen this sort of contrition before. this is the humblest day of my life was the famous phrase last summer before politicians. today admitting he was wrong and another key part of his testimony was admitting there was a coverup over the phone hacking scandal. so not only admitting phone hacking happened but more widespread than they initially said but also today admitting that some of his executives had sought to cover it up, which i think is one of the key take aways from his testimony here in london today and i'm sure will be emblazened across front pages. that's not something we heard him say before. that specific phrase. he was questioned closely about the kind of underhand practices

that his journalists are alleged to have used such as blackmailing people in order to give his papers a story. on all of those kind of issues he said i don't really know about that. i'm not aware of it. he was asked repeatedly about allegations of a bullying culture in his newspapers, pressure on journalists to bend the rules and break the law and do whatever it took to get the story. he says i'm not aware of that. i thought they were a happy crowd. so there are times it seemed almost naive that he seemed not to be aware of what was going on in his papers. other times when he was admitting there was a coverup and at one point he said he wished he got rid of the news of the world earlier than he did which was a damning blow for the people that worked on that paper. >> dan rivers live from london. he once worked for john edwards but now andrew young is testifying against his former

boss and defense attorneys are attacking young's credibility. the latest from the edwards trial next. find out why kim kardashian is invited to dinner at the white house. what the world wants to know and share is here. demand media expands on the big board. or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business, it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $6.4 billion in new credit to small businesses across the country last year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible.

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20 minutes past the hour. a former aide of john edwards faces another day of drilling from edwards' attorneys. andrew young was his top aide. joe johns is covering the trial in greensboro, north carolina.

>> reporter: carol, the cross examination of andrew young continued here today. it's been a brutal cross-examination so far in an attempt to destroy the credibility of this witness before the jury, defense attorney has been reading page by page line by line from the book that andrew young wrote about the edwards' case in an attempt to discredit him before the jury. at the end of the day the question will be whether the center of the prosecution's case holds and that will be the prosecution's contention that john edwards acted with specific intent to break campaign finance laws. andrew young is expected to remain on the stand throughout the day. carol, back to you. >> joe johns reporting. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning why is climate change such a hot button

issue? we haven't heard a lot this election cycle but that may change. in an interview with rolling stone magazine, president obama said this is a debate that will be part of the campaign and i'll be clear in voicing my belief that we're going to have to take further steps to deal with climate change in a serious way. why the slow jam on the climate issue, mr. president? mr. obama said with more people worried about jobs and the economy, the other side has been able to pour millions of dollars into debunking climate change science. his opponent, mitt romney, has expressed skepticism on climate change like in this video from an october fund-raiser posted on think progress.org. >> my view is we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet and the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce co2

emissions is not right for us. >> environmentalists oppose the pipeline because they say the use of fossil fuels adds to global warming but the president hasn't talked much about climate change. is it because republicans keep talking about the much needed jobs the pipeline would create or is it because the issue is just too hot to handle. the talk back question for you, why is climate change such a hot button issue? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. coming up, the u.s. postal service may get a lifeline after all worth $11 billion. we'll tell you about the effort to keep post offices open. [ male announcer ] while others are content to imitate, we'll continue to innovate. the lexus rx. why settle for a copy when you can own the original? see your lexus dealer.

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in just about half hour, republican paul ryan will defend his budget proposal at georgetown university, a catholic institution. faculty and administrators are upset with ryan saying he misused catholic social teaching to defend his proposed budget cuts. a new report suggests oversexed behavior in the secret service was not limited to colombia. a source cotold a cnn affiliatef an incident that happened in teel salvad salvador. cnn cannot independently confirm the report. the secret service has no comment. the senate will free up $11 billion to help keep the u.s. postal service from shutting down your neighborhood post office. the 62-37 vote saturday delivery would be safe for another two years and keep 100 mail

processing plants open. good news to tell you this morning. chrysler in bankruptcy just a few years ago is now making a lot of money. tell us how much. >> chrysler quadrupled what it made in the first quarter. it looks like chrysler has turned a corner making almost $500 million between january and march of this year. we haven't seen chrysler post numbers like that in 13 years. it's not a one-hit wonder. chrysler posted the first annual profit since 2005 and that's notable because chrysler relies heavily on truck sales. more so than rivals. trucks are a hard sell right now because of higher gas prices. even more good news, this is part of a bigger turnaround happening in auto industry as we

speak. as far as the overall mark goes in the next few seconds, the opening bell is going to ring. looks like stocks will open lower. wall street is worried about the european debt crisis again. this time italy had a weak bond option. doesn't appear investors are going to buy italy's debt. investors want to see jobless claims numbers improve and they just haven't been improving over the last several weeks. carol? >> alison kosik reporting from the new york stock exchange. critics say president obama was trying too hard to be hip and cool going places beneath the office of the president. they may not like this either. obama is on the cover of rolling stone magazine. the magazine's founder interviewed him. will cain and roland martin here

to talk about this. he was asked about climate change and the keystone pipeline and nasa's leading climate scientists and said it would mean game over for the planet. no response to that president obama said "part of the challenge is that people's number one priority is finding a job and paying the mortgage and dealing with high gas prices. that environment it's been easy for the other side to pour millions of dollars into a campaign to debunk climate change science. i suspect that over the next six months this is going to be a debate that will become part of the campaign and i will be very clear in voicing my belief that we'll have to take further steps to deal with climate change in a serious way." okay. liberals might be rejoicing, roland martin, but some may say it's always about the economy. >> there are conservatives that recognize the need to deal with our climate. keep in mind that newt gingrich

sat down with nancy pelosi to talk about this very issue. bottom line is we can try to deny the reality of our climate in this country having a problem but at some point it will catch up with us. the problem for americans, we are naturally reactionary. we wait for things to blow up. we wait for things to hit rock bottom before we go, now let's actually deal with it. that's always been our problem. same problem on this story well. >> it's a hot button issue and partisan issue. i'm wondering why? why can't we just talk about it? >> do you mind if i address the first question first? i'll come to that. it's a very interesting admission by president obama in that article that he recognizes the number one issue among voters is the economy. he won't forget or let you forget that he spent the first six months debating a cap and trade bill on carbon emissions and restructuring one-sixth of

the economy on health care. he'll double down this election cycle and talk about the climate again. where is this importance of the economy that he recognizes that voters see? i don't understand his dedication to that. carol, wilet me say this hot button issue because of this. there's no debate the climate is changing. it would be odd if it didn't. the debate is whether man is contributing to that change and we can do anything significant to affect that change and whether what we can do to affect possible man-made climate change is worth the cost. we won't have that elevated debate. we'll listen to critical thinkers like deborah wasserman schultz or chris matthews saying republicans don't believe in science and we'll be done. >> no. >> go ahead. i know what you're going to say. you're go to say republicans that once believed in climate change and that some of it was caused by man have now backtracked. why is that, roland? >> that's not what i was going to say. i'm not listening to political people. i'm listening to people who are

scientists. i'm listening to people who actually have taken the time to get educated on this issue and i listen to them. here's what we have to recognize in this country, carol. any time you talk about climate change, the natural reaction is my god, it's going to cost us jobs. that is the cryptonite to change in this country. is man contributing to it? efforts too late we can say, man, bummer. we should have done something. maybe some people say let's not wait until it's too late. >> what do you have to say to that? >> i want to be clear. that's talking about potential cost. >> any time you want to shut down any kind of conversation in this country when it comes to anything is jobs. when it comes to student loans cutting out the middle man, they say we can't do that. it's going to cost jobs.

that's always the natural reaction. can you deal -- here's the deal. i want to breathe, will. i can't go to a job if i'm having a problem breathing. if i'm having a problem when it comes to water. so, yeah, those things are important too. >> okay. so let me say this. if i accept the premise that man is causing climate change. >> i didn't say cause. having significant role. >> if i accept your premise that man is causing climate change and cost don't matter, let's say this. if we put every person in the united states and for that matter the world out of work and halt all economic growth but we could clean up the air, would it be worth it? >> that's nonsense when we this this debate. you want to go to the extreme. one second. when you say put everyone out of work, that's a nonsenseical statement. don't try to earn an academy award right now for acting. this is reality. >> i'm walking you through a logical process here.

>> no. >> let will have his say. one at a time. >> so we are on the same page on this debate. this is logic. when you say cost is cryptonite to a conversation i take you to the far end of that spectrum and see if you agree. would you be for that if you could fix the air and put everyone out of work. you would say that cost is too great. to not measure cost is nonsense. >> this is simple. can you have a balance? can you have some form of balance? >> balance between what? >> you have folks who don't want to have a climate discussion who don't want to achieve balance. they say -- >> balance between what? >> they say no to everything. balance between what is a cost but also how do you also save lives. >> we're going to have to leave it there. we'll have to leave it there.

we'll let you two continue the argument behind the scene. a fascinating conversation. thanks as always. >> thanks so much. america's favorite modern family is making a special musical appearance. our a.j. hammer will be here with where and when right after this break.

kim kardashian is on the guest list for the white house correspondents dinner. what's up with that? it's coming up this saturday. it's going to be a star studded event. fox news bringing along an entourage of celebs. every year this turns into more of a circus. i can't even remember what the purpose of that dinner was. it's changed so much.

a.j. hammer is here to talk more about this. why? why do stars want to go to listen to a bunch of politico speak any way? >> i'll tell you what's happening this year. i'll give you history. the correspondents dinner or nerd prom does have a fascinating guest list. maybe they don't like the term nerd prom anymore which is why they step it up with celebs. kim kardashian has been invited again. she's bringing her mom with her. the trend of celebrities attending the dinner which seems to peak during democratic administration and drop off when republicans are in office, this is going on for years. it started in 1987 during the iran-contra scandal when the document shredded secretary was invited and then dona rice attended as a guest and it was her affair with gary hart that ended his presidential bid. after those two pop culture figures attended, the floodgates were open to all sorts of

celebrities who could get a headline for the media organization that was inviting them. they are invited by the media tables that pay for the tables and not the white house. that's why we have seen ozzy osbourne and kim kardashian. this year looks star studded. george clooney is there. stevie wonder. martha stewart. kelly raipa. even lindsay lohan made the list. most of my cast from "modern family" is expected to be there as well. there will be a family of tv stars worth respecting. >> back in the day you just invited some boring congressman to go with you and today it's kim kardashian. >> yeah. >> so strange. let's talk about something good. the stars of "modern family." they are going to host some big music awards show, right? >> the billboard music award show. i'm thrilled with this choice.

they've been tapped to host. the show will be on abc may 20th. they'll be there as awards are handed out. it should be great night. billboard announced the news saying they were thrilled to have the award winning couple as host this year. count me and thousands of fans as being thrilled that they will host the show. it should be great. >> it will be great. a.j., thanks so much. a.j. will be back in the next hour to talk about the new york townhouse and how much money someone is forking over to buy it and it's connection to sex and the city. it's like nothing he has ever seen before is what one veteran says about the prostitution agency rocking the agency. after the break he will give you an inside look. also, oakland a's pitcher brandon mccarthy slams the kiss

cam. you know what i'm talking about. we've all seen it. he says the jumbotron segment is insensitive. we'll talk about that in sports.

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more than 90 professors and administrators signed a letter accusing ryan of misusing catholic teachings to justify his cuts to social programs. rupert murdoch is now admitting to a phone hacking coverup at his news of the world tabloid magazine. and a new report suggests oversexed behavior in the secret service was not limited to colombia. it might have happened in teel salvador last year ahead of president obama's visit. there is a claim a dozen agents and military personnel got drunk in a strip club and paid extra for sexual favors and bragged they took strippers back to their hotel rooms all the time. the secret service has no comment this morning. is that enough isolated incident or is it a sign of a bigger problem? here's what homeland security

secretary janet napolitano thinks. >> the actions were unacceptable and they were unacceptable taken by themselves. i think every mother of a teenager knows a common defense is everybody else was doing it. not everybody else was doing it. second this behavior is not part of the secret service way of doing business. they are very professional. but we are going to get to the bottom of this. >> joining me now is president and ceo of the atlanta police foundation and former secret service agent dave wilkinson. thank you for joining us this morning. >> my pleasure. >> did you get a chance to watch any of the hearings on this matter yesterday? >> i didn't. i have seen some of the news pieces from it. >> and your thoughts? >> well, as you can imagine it is a tough day for the secret service. tough couple weeks for any former or current secret service agent. i can tell you that secret service agents live by a code of

conduct. they have a culture of zero tolerance toward personal misconduct and from the day you become a secret service agent, this type of behavior is drilled into you that it's not acceptable. we're all just blown away by that. >> we hear that all the time. now this report surfaces from the seattle television station in a this 2011 in teel salvador secret service agents were getting drunk off their rockers and going to strip clubs and bringing girls back to their hotel rooms. >> the secret service takes this seriously. they'll turn over every stone to make sure they have the facts and punish those involved very harshly. there's no second chances. there's no excuses. you have an organization that's mission driven, team orientated and there's absolutely no excuses or no allowance for that sort of behavior. >> we hear that all the time. we hear it all the time. a lot of people are wondering is this part of the culture of the

secret service because we have incidents happening this year. maybe an incident happened in 2011. who knows how far back it goes. >> again, i think we should wait for the investigation to unfold. i think the investigation will show these are isolated incident or incident if you would. >> you can't say isolated if there's another one. >> i will tell you this. you will find that absolutely this is contrary to the culture of the secret service. any suggestion that there's a culture of partying and that sort of thing takes place in the secret service, absolutely not the case. i think that will show. there obviously are a few people that have acted out of line here and the secret service is paying for that with their image. absolute professional organization that in the end will show that this is basically an aberration. >> there are calls, some calls from one congressman, who says that director sullivan ought to step down because it happened on his watch. i mean, he's the guy.

why is he still in his job? >> well, i understand that. i will say mark sullivan is the ultimate public servant. he does a terrific job. he's dedicated. he's done a terrific job running the secret service. i'll say again that this type of behavior is drilled in the agents from the day they become secret service agents and i think the leadership of the secret service has done a terrific job responding to that and they'll continue to do that. i think it would be unfair to have calls for his job at this time. >> was it sort of like you say it's drilled into their heads. they are moral upright people. they don't talk much to the media because they're not allowed to. i mean, they really are protective of their image. there wasive of their image, but there was more than one secret service agent involved in this scandal. was it a mob mentality, one rogue agent that talked other people into joining him? was it -- what was it? what would do that? >> we don't know, and any secret service agent in this country

right now, they are probably all having that same conversation. what happened, how could this happen, with our culture, the way we're taught to behave in these situations, how could this possibly happen? so the answer is we don't know. we're surprised. i would say we're even shocked by it, current and former agents of the secret service that this has taken place, and it's been a bad couple of weeks. certainly the image of the secret service has been tarnished somewhat, but i think in the end they will deal with their investigation, they will weed out the bad apples and go on doing the great job they do protecting our world leaders. >> thank you very much for being with us. >> my pleasure. >> dave wilkinson, former secret service agent. appreciate it. still to come, don't forget our talk back question. we're asking you this question why is climate change such a hot button issue? i'll read your responses in just a minute. we're back in a minute. neutrogena® healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% saw improved skin. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics.

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and welcome back to "newsroom." are you watching us right now at the gym? burning up the treadmill and training for that big run? well, are you not alone because i'm a little crazy. i'm training for a mini triathlon, and i want to keep you motivated, along with myself. so i spent a day with a professional triathlete, and if you've ever wanted to get in shape for a big race, she's got some great advice. the goal is to get you moving. wenty is a professional triathlete who has simple tips to get you moving. >> never run a race before, like where should i start? >> feel with a goal you feel is attainable and break it up into manageable steps of, you know, okay this week i'm going to try to hit, you know, seven miles over the duration of the week. >> i was going to say. >> not in one day. >> crazy? >> a little bit. >> if i think i cannot run a

mile -- >> okay. >> -- i probably can't, so how do i get that out of my head? >> you can't hold yourself back because you're scared to start moving. you've got to do it, you know. how do you know what you can achieve until you've tried, you know, until you've pushed yourself to that point? >> if you want to get in shape with me every thursday, i'll have a tip on how can you get there as part of the 2012 fit nation triathlon challenge. of course, as you know, dr. sanjay gupta is leading that challenge because he is superman, but every thursday we'll bring a tip. so be sure to join us. we also asked you this morning to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning is why is climate change such a hot-button issue? this is from chris. because climate change is a joke and it's overblown. this is from another chris. it's a hot-button issue because those of us with brains don't want the earth to turn into a desert planet like mars. this from rob. because hoaxers like al gore and the liberal media keep fanning the flames of globull warming.

the reason they are doing this is to implement a new global tax on your carbon footprint. this from jess, with our culture of excess we are destroying this planet, not just for us now, but much more so for future generations. there is not enough profit for the government to even give a good try at fixing it. and this from philip. if it weren't for politicians on both sides of the aisle spouting hot air, perhaps global warming would not be a problem. keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read more of your comments in the next hour. still to come on "newsroom," talk about a daredevil. felix braungartner prepares for his jump from 23,000 miles up in space. wow. he's hoping to break the speed of sound and the highest freefall record. i'll talk with him live next hour.

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i'm carol cosello. happening now in the "newsroom," the secret service scandal widens. you've heard about the dozens of agents compared to prostitutes in colombia. this morning there are new reports out of similar behavior in el salvador more than a year ago. does this website look familiar? it's called optimizely, and it could help determine the next president of the united states. two men helped create a medical history, a transplanted kidney failing in one patient is taken out and placed in another, with

amazing results. doctors hope the procedure will revolutionize future transplants. good morning again. it is thursday, april 26th. also coming your way this hour, a base jumper, but not just any daredevil. get this, felix balmgartner is going to jump from the edge of space 120,000 feet up in the air in an attempt to break the sound barrier. that means his body will be traveling at 760 miles per hour. we'll talk to him live about his attempt to make history. but we begin with a collision of politics and faisst and a catholic lawmaker about to get his knuckles rapid by dozens of catholic priests. republican paul ryan is going to speak at georgetown university. faculty and administrators are upset with ryan about his misuse of catholic social teaching in defending his budget cuts. in a letter signed by more than 90 professors and administrators

at georgetown they say ryan's catholic faith is not a free pass to dismantle government programs and abandon the poor. one of those who sign that had letter, authored the letter actually, is father thomas reese, a senior fellow at georgetown. father reese, welcome. >> thank you. so you guys don't object to congressman ryan speaking at georgetown, right? >> no, absolutely not. in fact, we're delighted that he's come because it provides us with an opportunity to discuss the role of catholic social teaching in political life, and this is something we always want to talk to with our students. >> so what's the problem you have with the ryan budget? >> well, the problem is that congressman ryan has been saying that his budget reflects catholic social teaching. well, i mean, this is nonsense. if he handed in his budget at a class on catholic social teaching, he'd get an "f."

the bishops pointed out that this budget cuts severely into program that help poor people and catholic social teaching puts a stress on the importance of having programs that help poor people, help people who are unemployed, help them get jobs. you know, we're supposed to look after the most disadvantaged in our society and this budget tries to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. >> let me read to you, father reese, this is what he means. he says the tenets of catholic social teaching don't make people poor, don't make people commend ent on government so they are stuck in their station in life. help people get out of poverty and into a life of independence. i have to say, father reese, that a lot of americans agree with paul ryan, that it isn't in poor people's best interest to make them dependant on government. >> oh, i absolutely agree, but

he's cutting programs that, you know, will give a help up to people. i mean, you know, poor people today can't find jobs. there are more people looking for jobs than there are jobs available. the program that he has, his budget, is cutting programs to help people go to school, go to college, cutting pell grants. this -- these are the programs that will help of people become independent. he's cutting programs for school lunches. i mean, we're talking about kids here, you know. we don't want a budget that throws people out on the street and makes them totally on their own. >> but, father, where -- where do you draw the line? at what point do you say that government is giving too much? is it when the economy gets better? i mean, when is it? >> i think we have to look at the individual programs. i mean, you know, we had a welfare reform program that, you

know, required that people go back to work, you know, and that's fine. if a person is capable of working, a person should work. there's no question about that, but where are the jobs right now for people who want to work? and, you know, and can you support someone, a family, on a minimum wage job? how can a woman with three kids and no husband work if there's not programs for child care? if it costs her more money to put her kids in child care than she's going to get from her job, how is she supposed to work? you know, these are the kinds of things we have to think about when we're looking at budgets and, you know, trying to help people get jobs and work. i'm totally in favor of that. >> okay. just the last question. it is unusual that catholic priests and the catholic bishops would get involved in a budget proposal by a politician. why are you guys doing that? >> well, because we think that

budgets are in fact moral documents because they -- they express the moral values of a society. are our values that it's everybody for themselves, are we going to be social darwinists that say, hey, survival of the fittest. if you can't make it in the free market society, tough luck. you're going to starve. that's not the message of jesus. jesus said feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and, you know, this is why we have to speak out on programs like this. this is why the bishops are speaking out. this is why we at georgetown are speaking out on this budget. >> father reese, thanks for joining us today. >> thank you for having me. >> in an e-mail statement a spokesman said the congressman is looking forward to his visit to georgetown, quote, chairman ryan looks for our budget and a

preferential option for the poor which of course does not mean a preferential option for bigger government, and there you see congressman paul ryan speaking at georgetown. we'll monitor this, and when we begins his speech in earnest we'll brick it to you. marine corps sarjeant gary stein out of the marine corps after using his facebook page to criticize president obama. the military board said stein broke rules limiting political conduct by service members and gave him and other than honorable discharge for posting comments like this one. obama is the economic enemy. i first spoke to sergeant stein about his armed forces tea party page back in march, and at the time he was very vocal about his right to free speech. >> could the military kick you out for not following orders? >> they can kick me out for not following law full orders, yes, they could, but i have never refused to follow a lawful order. >> well, the sergeant has now been discharged.

he has been kicked out, and he seems to have some regret about his actions. he told msnbc, quote, people ask me would you go back and change those words? i would, most definitely. i would articulate my point better. so let's go to the pentagon and chris lawrence. why exactly was sergeant stein discharged? >> basically, carol, it came down to this board and finally the general deciding that he just did not honorably serve. he did not uphold the honor of the united states marine corps. really a lot of it came down to the fact of this statement of not following an order. now, let's get down to t.honestly, i can't think of a scenario where a president of the united states is going to give a direct order to an enlisted marine. that's not how it works but the president devices strategy. the military then carries out that strategy, but even though he is a civilian, he still holds the title of commander in chief, and the military follows that

civilian government. so in effect what this board was deciding was what he, you know, sort of being insubordinate, was he saying ahead of time that he was going to decide what orders he would follow and which ones he would not and he would decide what is lawful and unlawful? it basically came down to some of these statements that the marine corps felt they gave him a chance to sort of amend or back off of and that he kept pushing ahead. now there are other people who say the military is trying to have it both ways, that the military is very active on social media, pushes out press releases, pushes out recruiting and things like that on social media and at the same time restrict how its members may use that same social media. >> so it's a less than honorable discharge, what does that mean? >> it means he'll lose his benefits. you know, it -- there are a lot of benefits that come with being

honorably discharged that he's not going to get, and sergeant stein actually posted something on a statement saying i have spent the last nine years honorably serving this great nation and the corps. even though i will be discharged, no one can take the title of marine away from me. carol? >> chris lawrence, live from the pentagon. still to come on "newsroom," mitt romney's campaign using the same website that helped president obama win the 2008 election. we'll explain how campaigns use that to target you, the voter, with the click of a mouse. and a camera man gets a face full of pepper spray during wild protests. and would you believe this protest is over a few hundred dollars? you're watching "newsroom." at bank of america, we're lending and investing

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13 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories. rupert murdoch now admitting to a phone hacking cover-up at his "news of the world" tabloid and while murdoch wouldn't name the people responsible, he did apologize for not taking more control of the situation. >> i have to admit that some newspapers are more special to my heart than others, but i also have to say i failed. >> dozens have been arrested in the scandal which forced murdoch to close one of his best-selling

newspapers. police in riot gear run through the streets of montreal to control violent crowds of protesters. dozens of people under arrest. the protests started after talks broke down between student leaders, college student leaders and government officials. college students have been demanding the government drop a planned tuition hike of $375 a year for five years. and there is no suspense about the top of tonight's nfl draft. the indianapolis colts have said they will take quarterback andrew luck in their first pick. the washington redskins are expected to take another quarterback, robert griffin iii with the next pick. mitt romney will be fund-raising at private events today, president obama is getting ready to officially kick off his campaign. it will officially start on may 5th. the president will hold re-election rallies in columbus, ohio at ohio state university, and in richmond, virginia, too. now, of course, those states are considered among the key states

in the general election come this november. mitt romney's campaign, it's watching you, at least online. it started using the same website that helped president obama win the 2008 election. this is optimizely. it helps people customize a website, simple things like picking colors and strategically placing buttons, but then it tells you which setup will get you the most hits in a web trial. here's hln digital lifestyle expert mario armstrong. this is so innocuous. >> it is, but they call it very effective. called ab testing and right now on my apad i'm looking at the elect romney page and can you see the donation button is in red. let's go further down on the screen here. we'll also notice that the connect now button is in red and make a donation is in red. there is a reason, it's not just party colors and things of that nature, just looks great on the wednesday sglit or it's

patriotic. >> it's really about ab testing. what this means is optimizely works for starbucks, abc and cbs use this, large enterprises, crate & barrel, large businesses use to this use data maining, to find out what works best when someone comes to a website. the romney campaign said if we make it a purple button, do more people click on that and do we get more funds because it's purple? we can test that over time to see which changes to the website have the most impact. >> what in my online presence would tell mitt romney's campaign that i'm more likely to donate money if he puts the buttons in red. >> nothing personal about your personal settings or something about you, it's really a random test that's happening, but it's happening concurrently, so the website at any given moment could have four different versions of that website that are out there, and then they see which one are people really clicking the button that we want to click the most. it could be donations. it could be, you know, supporting a rally, could be following a video to watch for a specific cause.

whatever their goal, is they can see, okay, if we move this video clip here, more people click it when it's there than down in the bottom right-hand corner of the page. >> that really helped president obama get elected in 2008? >> that's a part of it, this is a bigger piece. i'm calling this a data election. this is going to be won by data, and what i mean by that the ability to understand how to manipulate your website, your mobile apps but then also personalization, going back to your point. if i'm one on a mobile newsletter or app they can get other things about me to figure out how to use me as an influential voter or rallier or supporter of their campaign. more than this just piece it's all about data analytics. i think the election will win is the smartest, most techiest election but i would say that being a techie. >> yeah, you would. fascinating, mario armstrong, thank you so much. still to come this next story simply amazing, being called a medical first this morning. a transplanted kidney failing in

one patient is taken out and placed in another, and it's working. also ahead, have you heard the latest allegations about secret service agents acting like oversexed frat boys, not in colombia but in el salvador? a store we strippers, prostitutes and lots of alcohol. our political buzz panel weighs in next. this at&t 4g network is fast. hey, heard any updates on the game? i think it's final seconds, ohh, shoots a three, game over. so two seconds ago... hey mr. and mrs. harris, where's kevin? say hi kevin. mom, put me down. put...the phone...down. hey guys. did you hear... the choys had their baby? so 29 seconds ago. well we should get them a gift. [ choys ] thanks for the gift! [ amy and rob ] you're welcome! you're welcome! [ male announcer ] get it fast with at&t. the nation's largest 4g network. covering 2000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. at&t.

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but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover. e welcome back to "newsroom." it is the first case of its kind in the united states, a transplanted kidney that was failing was removed from a patient who is still alive. it was taken out of him and given to someone else. the kidney originally went to ray fehring who you see there in the blue shirt. his sister donated the kidney to

her brother and days later his body reject it had so they decided it take it out of her brother and give it to erwin gomez. >> my strength is back and my appetite is going. >> to find out that this was going to be something bigger than, you know, just a failed transplant, you know, it's going to help someone else. it's going to help people. >> literally my life and my function, i owe it to them. >> an amazing story. our medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here, and so how did this work? i mean, this patient's body rejected the kidney so doctors said bring erwin in. >> right. that's basically it. >> geez. >> because in the past what doctors have done is if someone's body can't tolerate a kidney they basically kid rid of it. i mean, that's what we're told. well, it didn't work. there's nothing wrong with the kidney. it was that the recipient had a blood disorder that made it so he just couldn't handle it, so it was in the first recipient for two weeks, and they realized

it wasn't working, and they took it out and gave it to erwin gomez who actually is a cardio vascular surgeon and he's back at work. sort of like this light bulb over the head before. >> why didn't we do this before? >> doesn't work in one person. doesn't mean it won't work in another person. >> what happened to mr. fearing, the first person that the kidney didn't work for? >> he's on dialysis, and that's have he took his sister's kidney so he could get off dialysis and maybe there's another kidney out there for him, who knows, but what an -- they said to him, look, if the kidney is not working in you, but it is your kidney so you tell us, is it all right with you if we give it to another person, and he said yes, of course. he saved a life. >> wow. >> it's amazing. >> how many more kidneys could be available because this light bulb went off? >> my colleague stephanie smith who wrote this story for cnn.com asked that question, and they don't know exactly, but the doctors she talked to said this

could be like 400, 500 kidneys a year that we could basically reharvest and give to another person. that's a lot. hundreds of people might live because they thought of this new technique. >> amazing. elizabeth cohen, thank you. >> thank you. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning. why is climate change such a hot-button issue? we haven't heard a lot about climate change this election cycle, but that maybe change. in an interview with "rolling stone" magazine president obama said, quote, this is going to be a debate that will become part of the campaign, and i will be very clear in voicing my belief that we're going to have to take further steps to keel with climate change in a serious way, end quote. but why the slow jam on the climate issue, mr. president? mr. obama said that with more people worried about jobs and the economy the other side has been able to pour millions of dollars into debunking climate change science. his opponent, mitt romney, has expressed skepticism on climate change, like in this video from an october fund-raiser posted on

thinkprogress.org. >> my view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet, and the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce co2 emissions is not the right course for us. >> of course, the lightning rod in the climate change debate this year is the keystone pipeline. environmentalists oppose it in part because they say the use of more fossil fuels adds to global warming, but still, the president hasn't talked much about the climate change part. is it because republicans keep talking about the much-needed jobs the pipeline would create, or is the issue just too hot to handle so the talk back question for think morning. why is climate change such a hot-button issue? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. still to come, newt gingrich finally throwing in the towel, and we've asked our political buzz panel to name their

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28 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now. republican congressman paul ryan is getting a chilly reception at georgetown university where he is now speaking. more than 90 professors and administrators signed a letter accusing ryan of misusing catholic teachings because ryan is catholic to justify his cuts to social programs. ryan addressed those concerns moments ago. >> the overarching threat to our whole society today is the exploding federal debt. the holy father himself, pope benedi benedict, has charged governments, communities and individuals running up high debt levels are, quote, living at the expense of future generations and living in untruth, unquote. we in this country, we still have a window of time before a

debt-fueled economic crisis becomes inevitable. >> ryan says the poor deserve help but says big government makes people depend on handouts. he said instead help should come from neighbors, churches and local governments. guilty, that's the verdict for former liberan president charles taylor. an international court said he helped sierra leone rebels commit war crimes and he's set to be sentenced next month. attorneys for john edwards are attacking the credibility of his former aide. andrew young is the star witness in the trial against edwards. he's accused of using political donations to cover up an affair. political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. playing with us today, sirrious xm radio host and comedian and all-around pete guy, pete dominic and cnn contributor, will cain, another smart guy and chris moody, you too, from

yahoo! news, he's in the middle. welcome to all of you. >> thank you. >> first question, cnn affiliate in seattle quotes a source who said secret service agents got wasted in el salvador ahead of president obama's visit there last year. they partied with strippers. they took the strippers to their hotel rooms and even said we do this all the time. don't worry about it. the secret service is offering no comment this morning to cnn, but the question for you, is this more evidence of a cultural problem? will? >> yes. i think so. it shouldn't come as a surprise. when we heard about the colombian incident, you know, 11-plus guys decided to venture into the world of prostitution, i can promise you this. it wasn't a spur of the moment decision. it wasn't 11 guys sitting around saying, know what, there's nothing on tv i've got an idea. this is something that manifested over time. that being said, be careful. i would like to know when are these guys on and off duet? are they always on duty, 100% of the time you are on duet whet president is there, not there, how far in advance of his

arrival? because the truth is at some point these guys are regular human beings as well. >> chris? >> i think one of the biggest problems the secret service might have is a flood of applications. this sounds like a really fun place to work, but that's the problem. it's not supposed to be a fun place to work. this is the united states secret service, not sterling cooper, so these guys, i mean, with the secret service really going to need to implement some real policy changes here, and it's really going to take some time for this culture to change and certainly some restraint as well. >> pete? >> no. i mean, listen, these are guys whose job it is to protect the president from getting killed, keeping him from being safe. that would be like saying because will cain may or may not like to take bath with rubber duckies, is that a sign of his ability to leave his childhood behind? no, no, it's not. these guys deserve to blow off some steam, not condoning any way getting prostitutes, but -- but, you know, when they are so focused all the time, in their

free time they might do crazy things. these are security guys, not diplomats. it may happen from time to time. it's not going to happen anymore i'm imagining. >> hopefully no. second question. president obama is on the cover of "rolling stone." he told the magazine's founder that climate change will likely be part of his campaign in 2012. climate change is an emotionally charged issue and i'm wondering why is it such a hot-button issue? pete? >> because the button is getting hotter, that's why, because the -- because we had a snow storm on halloween, because a hurricane made it to new york, because the oil industry decided to launch a disinformation campaign paralleling off the tobacco industry because if president obama wants to actually pass any kind of legislation the supreme court will -- will strike it down saying it doesn't -- it's not covered under the commerce clause and then we'll have to ship everything by sea anyway because that's all we're going

to have. that's why it's a hot-button issue. >> holy cow. will? >> you didn't need an explanation, you got an illustration there with pete. it's a hot-button issue, it's like religious belief, like zealotry. we can't move from a debate of whether n is causing climate change to talk about whether man anybody can do anything to remove carbon emissions and if it's worth the cost, if we can, if it's worth the cost. we can't have the debate because this debate exists in the realm of religion. >> chris? >> you know, i'm taking the president's comments with a grain of salt. this is an election year. the economy is at the top of all the public opinion polls, and climate change is often at the bottom. can i not imagine president obama is going to give this more than just lip service on the campaign trail. he's not going to use the political capital that it takes to pass forward a big piece of

legislation in this election year. it's just not going to happen. he may mention it a little bit, but this is going to be an economy-driven campaign and that's going to be the main focus. >> okay. on to your buzzer beater. 20 seconds each. newt gingrich giving up -- he's giving up the ghost next week and supporting mitt romney. no newt to kick around anymore. what i want from you, guys, to name your favorite newt moment of the entire campaign. chris? >> there were so many, and, you know, newt liked to be kicked around a little bit, liked to play that game, but i remember it was all encapsulated so well i believe it was the arizona debate when the moderator asked all the candidates to say -- to define themselves in one word and newt kind of smirked a little bit, looked and he said cheerful, and the whole press corps erupted, not because they -- not because they were laughing at him, but because they knew that deep down it was really true. >> will? >> mine also comes from a debate, no surprise. newt shined or was tarnished in

every single debate. it was his moments. after he kind of got after john king for asking him about his personal life and scored a ton of political points, wolf blitzer asked him about it again and he tried that same trick or he tried to use wolf blitzer as his proxy to play the victim and score political points and wolf wouldn't and came right back at him and said, no, newt, you brought this into the debate. it was a good moment. >> yeah, especially for wolf blitzer. pete? >> yeah. i think will cain might be on "the situation room" this afternoon. my favorite moment, carol, come on. let's start at the beginning when he was honest and said paul ryan's budget was right wing social engineering. what about when he talked about his gazillion air salary for achistorian. recently at the nra convention he said everybody in the world has a god-given right to own a gun. i mean, i don't have enough time for one moment, carol. he will be missed as a comedian, for sure. >> oh, geez. chris, pete, will, thanks for playing today. >> thank you. >> we mentioned that the secret

service has a new scandal to deal with, this one out of el salvador. secret service agents there reportedly got drunk and partied with strippers. got a statement from the secret service and i'll read it now, from the secret service. the recent investigation in colombia has generated several new stories that contain allegations by mostly unnamed sources. any information brought to our attention that can be assessed as credible will be followed up in an appropriate manner, end quote, and that's all they sent us. we'll have more throughout the day on cnn. coming up on "newsroom," if you're afraid of heights, wow. this next story will give you the chills. a daredevil falling from the heavens. we'll talk with an extreme test jump pilot who is planning to jump from 23 miles up in space. plus, could age actually be an advantage in a tight job market? some say yes when it comes to baby boomers. i'll tell you why.

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just about 40 minutes past the hour. welcome back. kim kardashian is on the guest list for the white house correspondents dinner. what's up with that? going to be this saturday and it will be a star-studded event. every year this is turning into a circus, a star-like circus. "showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer is in new york.

amazing how many celebrities will be at the dinner? >> for kim i don't know if the reality cameras will follow her around but miss kardashian has been invited and she's bringing her mom, kris jenner will be attending with her. this peaked during the democratic administrations and drop off during the republican administration has been going on since the late '80s this. isn't the white house doing, people invited by the media organization paying big bucks for the tables, we've seen stars ranging frommes osbourne and kim kardashian, george clooney, stevie wonder, viola davis, the cast from "the hunger games" and, carol, even lindsay lohan made the list this year. quite a party, quite a party. >> okay. i mean, i can remember the days when you brought some boring congressmen to the dinner, by i guess those days are gone.

>> yes. >> let's talk about carrie bradshaw's townhouse from "sex in the city." incredible how much this sold for. >> yes, nearly $10 million, $9.85 million to be exact. the facade and the stoop of this building has been a destination for fans who go on the "sex in the city" tour in new york city. fans that aren't bothered by the fact that the building exists in the west village. of course, on the show it exists on the upper east side. well, the new owners get four floors, a basement, six fireplaces, herring bone floors and some really terrific mouldings. after checking out the listing, i would bet it still needs work because i noticed there were no photos of the bathroom or my kitchen. in my experience of real estate shopping that implies they need to be upgraded and as crazy as that number may sound to everybody, carol, for people who don't live in new york city the price does seem appropriate for this market, but i would bet that "sex in the city" connection probably hurt the market for this townhouse rather than helped it because really

who wants to have tourists trying to look into your windows a few times a day? not like that's going to stop. >> especially on the upper east side. >> no, no, it's in the village. >> story. >> in the show it's on the upper east side. we had this belief here. >> i didn't watch "sex in the city." i don't get out. >> i'll send you the dvds. >> a.j. has all the news on "showbiz tonight" tonight at 11:00 p.m. eastern on hln. if you've been to the sporting event lately you know about the kiss cam, fans kissing on a video board and usually ends by making fun of a couple of guys who are fans of the visiting team. oakland a's pitcher brandon mccarthy does not think that is funny. after a recent game mccarthy went on twitter and he tweeted they put two guys on the kiss cam tonight. what hilarity. by hilarity i mean offensive homophobeia. enough with this stupid trend. he told "the san francisco

control call" can't assume that gay people that come to the game are not comfortable with the gag, though in my experience it's not two gay guys but two guys they want to make fun of. that's what mr. mccarthy says and that's what we're listening to this morning. a test pilot prepares for the jim of his life from 120,000 feet up. he would break a record falling at the speed of sound, if he is successful. we'll talk to this crazy person next. does aspirin even work on headaches? aspirin? i don't really know what it's for. isn't aspirin like a vague pain reliever?

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checking our top stories now, republican congressman paul ryan getting a chilly reception at georgetown university where he's been speaking much of this hour. protesters unfurled a banner that said stop the war on the poor. they are assembled outside of his lecture exoakes sentiments set fortt in a letter by 90 of the faculty. rupert murdoch now admitting to a phone-hacking comfortup at the "news of the world" tabloid but says his company was actually the victim and while murdoch wouldn't name the people responsible, he did responsible for not taking more control of the situation. >> i have to admit that some newspapers are closer to my heart than others, but i also have to say that i failed. >> dozens have been arrested in the scandal which forced murdoch to close one of his best-selling

newspapers. and there's not much suspense about the top of tonight's nfl draft. the indianapolis colts have said they will take quarterback andrew luck with the first pick. washington redskins are expected to take another quarterback, robert griffin iii, with the next pick. felix baumgartner is not like you and me. he's an extreme sky diver who is aiming to set a world record with a jump starting at 120,000 feet up into space. think about that for a moment, 120,000 feet. that's like 82.5 empire state buildings stacked on top of one another. this test jump pilot has already lept from a space capsule at an altitude of more than 71,feet, but if he is successful at 120,000 feet, he will become the first parachutist to break the sound barrier. that's how fast his body would be traveling. felix baumgartner is in london. so how do you prepare for such a

leap? >> well, we have been preparing for five years just for this motion, and i had to become an astronaut and do a lot of practice in the capsule, trying to make sure i can push all the right buttons in the right order. also had to become a gas balloonist. did a lot of practice jumps in the suit, pressurized and non-pressurized, and we also did unmanned launches and three weeks ago we did a very successful man balloon launch. right now we're very confident and have a positive energy and want to keep that momentum and take it forward to the next jump. >> you're going to jump from this capsule 120,000 feet from the air, and have you to fall head first. i would much rather fall feet first myself, but i'm wondering why do you have to fall head first? >> well, the reason is we want to break the speed of sound so you have to be aerodynamically perfect and that requires a head

first position right off the exit. >> your body is going to be traveling what, more than 700 miles per hour? how will that feel? >> well, i don't know, because i still didn't travel 700 miles an hour, i only did 380 miles an hour in the last test jump. the big problem is you do not feel how fast you're traveling because you have no sensation of speed. you don't have reference points in the air. the air doesn't make any sound at all and you don't -- your suit is not flapping because it's pressurized so you travel so fast but you don't feel it. >> and you have this special kind of suit that actually stiffens as you fall through the air. explain that to us. >> if you want to go up to an altitude of 120,000 feet you need to have a pressurized suit. the reason why, if you cross the armstrong long which is about 67,000 line, the blood in your body starts poilg and the pressure keeps the pressure with you and it's not going to happen to you, but also at the same

time it's very limiting. you have a lack of movement so it's hard to sky dive in a suit like this. it's hard to exit the capsule in a suit so that requires a lot of practicing and that's what i did in the past. >> so i understand you have -- your suit is equipped with three parachutes in case the first two don't work. i mean, is any of that going through your mind as you're falling? i mean, what are you thinking as you're falling that fast? >> i don't even think about these three parachutes because i totally trust my skills and my equipment and last but not least my team. they did a tremendous job the last couple of years, and there's not much you can think of in free fall because you have to be so focused on what you have to do. just keep in mind right before i exit that capsule i have to go through 45 accepts to get out of the capsule safely. this is a checklist, a very sophisticated check list that we have developed over the last couple of years, and it works. >> i hope it does.

thank you very much for joining us, fascinating stuff, and we'll be watching. felix baumgartner, thanks so much. coming up next, the latest in our age against the machine series. we'll tag along with some baby boomers as they get tips on navigating the job market. why? i thought jill was your soul mate. no, no it's her dad. the general's your soul mate? dude what? no, no, no. he's, he's on my back about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry. e-trade's got a totally new investing dashboard. everything is on one page, your investments, quotes, research... it's like the buffet last night. whatever helps you understand man. i'm watching you. oh yeah? well i'm watching you, watching him. [ male announcer ] try the new 360 investing dashboard at e-trade.

baby boomers, an estimated 77 million americans born after world war ii. they are now set to enter retirement, but those who decide to keep on working are finding a very different job market, one where age and experience can help and sometimes hurt.

christine romans has more on our series "age against the machine." >> i'm not trying to move up the ladder. >> reporter: vaughn is a 27-year-old telecom veteran with an mba, a baby boomer looking for a job since july. >> if i had to describe how it's been going, well, it's not been very fruitful. >> reporter: she's followed all the advice about networking, resume and online job searches. >> i spend a lot of time looking at jobs, looking and saying is this something that i really want to do? do i have the skills that this employer is looking for. >> reporter: the good news for e. von, the good news is -- men aged 50-61 are 39% less likely to get a job each month than younger workers. women, 18% less likely and for older workers that number jumps to 50%. glen grossman found himself in

von mccann's position ten years ago. >> i had no real opportunities. i got very depresses about it, and, you know, you've got to take control. >> now he is the one hiring. with his background in finance and accounting he started dinosaur securities, pun intended. >> you've got first generations that are working for you? >> any generation, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s. >> hard to be an out-of-work boomer, and he says sells and contacts count, not age. emphasize that. >> it's not about age. it's about working and just forget about, you know, gender, age, anything like that. >> recruiters see better days ahead for boomers. boomers have experience and less turnover. >> and that means ultimately less cost for the employer, so it's good to have some adult supervision around the office and employers are finally beginning to realize that. >> all right. then, you know, let's start off again. >> von mccann is an adult ready

to supervise again. >> it's a new year and i feel like a lot of good things will happen. >> we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question is climate -- why is climate change such a hot-button issue? i will read your responses after a break. when we got married. i had three kids. and she became the full time mother of three. it was soccer, and ballet, and cheerleading, and baseball. those years were crazy. so, as we go into this next phase, you know, a big part of it for us is that there isn't anything on the schedule. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card,

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we asked to you talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning. why is climate change such a hot-button issue? this from paul. i don't know how many droughts, tornadoes, disappearing ice shelves and extreme weather occurrence it's going to take before some of us realize perhaps there may be something to this climate change nonsense. this from gwen. as a student of environmental science i can say that anyone who is willing to gamble with the condition of the planet on which we live does not have the best interest of the human race in mind. and this from ryan. even if america was absolutely pure china and other countries would just keep polluting, this is a diversionary tactic for the election in an effort to shift focus from the dwindling economy and soaring gas prices. keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. thanks as always for your comments. cnn "newsroom" continues with