that is now how it feels in this election for the world's most powerful job. the group that tracks ads says they've seen unprecedentedly negative. now we feel it's our duty to call out ads we feel are out of bounds. the same day, of course, that he mourned the loss of the campaigns of hope and change. >> who shares your values? president obama used his health care plan to declare war on religion. forcing religious institutions to go against their faith. >> that ad does not add up. it refers of course to the debate about contraception and obama care. the obama administration clarified the 2010 health care law. it said insurers must cover preventive health services. they said contraceptives counted in that category and that meant most health insurance plans

would have to provide birth control free of charge. now, this angered many religious institutions who said they don't believe in contraception. it's important to say churches were always excluded but affiliated institutions say a georgetown university, which may employ workers of other faiths, were not excluded. after a firestorm, the obama administration caved. saying church-affiliated universities, hospitals and charities don't have to provide or pay for birth control. not everybody loves that solution. but it does make romney's ad about a war on religion off target. off target isn't close to as bad as the one this week targeting mitt romney that we found truly out of bounds. >> when mitt romney and bain closed the plant, i lost my health care and my family lost their health care. and a short time after that, my wife became ill. >> she subsequently died of

cancer. as we told you all week, she did not lose her health care coverage when the plant closed down because she was always covered by her own employer. blaming mitt romney personally for her death is just plain wrong. that ad came from the super pac won by the friend of president obama. michael walman joins us. reihan salam is also here. good to see you both. >> good to be here. >> in terms of the truly nasty, what we're going to call out of bounds, goes to the super pac representing the president. but romney's one on religion seems to be at best simplistic and at worst just wrong. >> well, supposedly, there are some religions where shrill overstatement is a sin. if that's the case, then that would have been an ad like this. i'm not really entirely sure i know what the purpose of an ad

like this is. calling it a war on religion is clearly such an overstatement. then the ad goes into showing him -- governor romney praising pope john paul and then being endorsed by a foreign head of state who i admire a lot, but he is a foreign head of state. seemingly in a very naked bid for a kind of particular eastern european catholic vote. catholics voted heavily for president obama last time. he won catholic -- american catholics by nine points. you can see why they would do something like this. it's such a jumble of an ad. i can't imagine they're actually going to spend a lot of money running it on television. >> reihan, it does seem this whole war on religion, the war on women, all of these charges, people have all sorts of specific issues with candidates and their point of views. to say this president is waging a war on religion, i mean, the man goes to church. that's ridiculous.

>> well, the issue with the department of health and human services is a very complicated one. part of the issue is many people felt the obama administration had defined religious employers very narrowly. but of course there are a ton of institutions not just georgetown university but we're talking about soup kitchens and hospitals and -- >> funded by churches. >> right, exactly, and also receive public funds. i think the idea that acting in their conscience is something where, you know, that would be compromised in some way really struck a chord with many americans. because i think there's a view -- many people have about president obama. you saw it in the roanoke remarks. he believes the way americans work together and come together is through the state. but there are many other institutions including churches. >> i think you're great at making your side but answer this

question. >> absolutely. >> war on religion. >> war -- look, i think the idea that the administration has been unduly hostile to religion and religious employers i think is a fair point to make. >> but he backed off the changes. he backed off after the three days of firestorm. whether you think he backed off because of the firestorm or not. gave a waiver. >> a temporary waiver giving these institutions a year. people who believe these institutions should be given wide berth and wide autonomy. being given this brief respite, in case you actually wind up agreeing with their policies, acting in accordance with their views, that is, the views of hhs, that's not a very attractive solution. >> but the american people have been watching barack obama as president for nearly four years and they hear this language about the war on religion and it sounds nonsensical. he's not waging a war on religion. it's hard to believe the romney campaign even believes it itself. there kwas this one controversy -- >> -- there's no way to believe it. >> there's no way to believe it. they did back down. if you remember, as a political matter, that controversy was when the gender gap began to widen massively. so it's not clear that this is some -- this is something that cuts only in one direction

politically. but i think that that is, as they call, dog whistle language. that means a lot to some of the base supporters of the conservative wing of the republican party. what's interesting is why is it necessary to be sending them shoutouts right now when he should be speaking, finding many different ways to speak to undecided voters or the base? it shows with all these negative ads unfortunately both sides are spending all their efforts to kind of rev up three own base rather than speaking to a wider public? >> i mean, what i find problematic about it is the headlines. "war on religion." when you can go through serious nuanced discussions. you can have that conversation. but the ad isn't about that. the candidates out of one side of their mouth are saying we want to elevate the dialogue. then running things saying the guy killed somebody or the guy's having a war on religion. it is sort of an insult to intelligence of the voter. >> i definitely see where you're coming from on that but think the problem is that you're trying -- the fundamental reason this campaign has been negative is this.

president obama has a record that i imagine if you asked him would you run to be running with unemployment this high, et cetera, he'd probably say no. he's backed into a corner. romney is also backed into a corner because he finds it difficult to talk about the substantive policies he wanted to advance as an alternative partly because he sensed those are going to be demonized so aggressively by the other side. when you don't have an election about substantive issues which frankly neither candidate wants to talk about, you get to these. >> danny, the kid, he's now a man, he was kind enough to send his picture from eighth grade. yep, that's when he beat me. >> erin, you didn't have a chance. >> look at that bilevel haircut. >> i don't remember a lot about the campaign but i know that we were not nearly as nasty. because he named me the head of the top committee when he won. >> see, that's like the kind of national unity government that pundits are craving. >> you know what --

>> that's the simpson/bowles of middle school. >> eighth grade. a lot of i.q.s were higher. calling news conferences to simplify the tax code. that doesn't add up. the top hypocrites named next. the space agency suffers a fiery failure. and our exclusive look tonight inside the temple where a madman killed six innocent people. you do what you do... because it matters. at hp we don't just believe in the power of technology. we believe in the power of people when technology works for you. to dream. to create. to work. if you're going to do something. make it matter. ♪ this is the sound...

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our second story "outfront," tax hypocrites. democrats and republicans have have spent a lot of time calling for a simplified tax code. they want to eliminate deductions for example. >> we do have a lot of loopholes. >> america needs to have significant tax simplification. we need to make it simpler and easier to comply with america's tax codes. >> the tax codes are larded down

with so many special interests goodies. >> interesting we picked those individuals because those grand statements don't always add up. especially when it comes to pushing tax breaks that benefit them. "outfront" tonight, tim carney, senior political columnist for "the washington examiner." good to see you. you lean right. you're being aggressive here. a lot of people on the right. let's get straight to it. let's start with marco rubio. he has said again and again he wants to simplify the tax code. but what's he doing? >> well, he is pushing for a special tax deduction just for people who win olympics medals. because the u.s. olympic committee will give you cash payment, $10,000, $20,000, if you win a medal. he thinks that income, unlike other prize income, ought to be free of taxes. this is certainly a special interest carveout for people who happen to be very popular. >> right, and, you know, it's all about popularity right now, especially if you might be vp, right?

let's talk about the democratic side. democratic senator, we just saw him there in those sound bites. ron wyden. >> one of my favorite detectives. he's liberal but he tries to find solutions to problems. he was touting how he snuck into the tax extender bill a special tax credit for electric motorcycles. he said, well, heck, two of the biggest electric motorcycle companies happen to be in oregon, my state, and i'm not going to give up the tax credits for the guys in my state. >> wow, electric motorcycles. i wonder if they've gotten to the point where they perform as well as the quote/unquote real thing. >> buy one with the tax credit and find out, erin. >> i don't know if that will be enough to get me to do it. kristi noem. she's also called for tax reform, cutting spending. but what tax credit is she advocating?

>> for the production tax credit for wind energy. windmills have always depended on special subsidies. that's up to -- set to expire this year. so without special legislation to extend it, it will be gone. and she's been pushing. she's been writing letters. bringing together bipartisan coalition to save this tax credit. while at the same time, saying, oh, we need to make sure the tax code is clean without other credits or deductions. >> it may surprise a lot of people who in the conventional way things would say republican congresswoman pushing for green energy tax credits, how does that add up? >> well, a lot ends up working out on a regional basis. you've got ethanol tax credits. that was more of a regional thing and party. wind and solar, republicans are willing to attack obama for giving a subsidy but then will give out their own subsidy. >> thank you. reporting on some of the hypocrisy we're seeing in

washington now. still "outfront," a computer glitch. there are a number of reasons why the margin of error is so dangerously thing. a bizarre discovery. a group of people who have been living underground for years. [ male announcer ] this is the at&t network. in here, every powerful collaboration is backed by an equally powerful and secure cloud. that cloud is in the network, so it can deliver all the power of the network itself.

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last week, a trading firm called night capital lost $440 million in 45 minutes thanks to a software glitch. it basically caused knight's computers to start buying and sell stocks like crazy. knight capital didn't have enough money to handle the error and the 45-minute mistake put i on the edge of bankruptcy. a group of investors poured money in. they were lucky to survive. a lot of people are in shock this happened. they say normally this would be caught in a few minutes by a

computer. knight's error was truly colossal. it highlights something important. computers dominate markets. trusting the system. you can see when you look at the new york stock exchange floor, i remember when it was full. this is a tight shot so you can't see the point i'm trying to make but there's no one there anymore. traders -- trades are executed by computers in fractions of a second. traders need any edge they can. going so far as to put their computer servers next to an exchange server. if your computer's here, the signal has to travel further. it's quite the time saver. that's the number tonight. ten. that's how many microseconds they save. if you execute a trade in chicago, for every mile the data you're sending travels on its way to new york, you save ten millionths of a second. it's a small amount of time but in this day and age it translates to big money. pretty frightening. now, our third story

"outfront." russian police discovered members of a rogue sect of islam living deep under ground. with more than 2 dozen children, some of whom had never seen daylight. their leader called himself a prophet which is against the teachings of islam. our matthew chance investigates. >> reporter: erin, an astonishing discovery in russia where an obscure islamist religious sect has been found to have forced its members, including children, to live underground for more than a decade. the authorities in russia have charged the sect leaders and taken the children described as dirty but in good health into care. russian police say 27 children, along with more than 30 adults, lived in catacomb-like cells. some of the children had never seen the light of day. >> translator: the premises consist of cells without natural light located in the foundation and dug into the ground as it

was said in the official report. not only adults were living on these premises but also children. >> reporter: at least 19 of the children, aged between 1 and 17 years old, were removed by the authorities. some placed in care. others in hospital. >> translator: the children were in satisfactory condition. the children were all fed. although they were dirty. upon receiving them, we washed them. they have undergone a full examination. all the russian specialists have examined them and taken all the analysis. tomorrow, the full analysis will be finish and we will give our final conclusion about the condition of their health. >> reporter: the islamist sect was unearthed last week in a suburb of the city of kazan in russia's mainly muslim region during the investigation into militant groups. amid chance of defiance, police detained some of its members,

including its reclusive 84-year-old leader. saying he refused to recognize russian laws or the authority of mainstream muslim leaders. the raid on the sect's house came amid a wider investigation into militant groups in the area. as i mentioned, following a number of high-profile attacks against leading muslim figures in the region. there is no suggestion, though that this bizarre sect is in any way connected. erin. >> thanks to matthew. very bizarre story. well, still "outfront," nasa gets a big win billions of miles away and suffers a big loss much closer to home today. and next we see for the first time inside the temple where a gunman shot and murdered six people. t in the way. not anymore. t in the way. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot

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we start the second half of our show with stories we care about, where we focus on our own

reporting from the front lines. well, movie theater shooting suspect james holmes appeared in court today. homes lawyers wanted the judge to keep court documents sealed while attorneys for 17 news organizations, including cnn's, asked for them to be unsealed. cnn's kyung lah was in the courtroom. she told us holmes hair was brushed down. he looked much more lucid than he did in his first court appearance, that was her feeling. he was shackled, she said, wearing a maroon jump suit and appeared to be following the hearings. researchers at boston university and veterans affairs have linked a gene to post traumatic stress disorder. we spoke to the lead researcher. he told us they studied the dna of people who had ptsd and of those who had experienced trauma but didn't then suffer from the disorder. what they found was people who had ptsd had a variation of a certain gene called rora. it's a gene that helps protect brain cells from the bad effects of stress and basically our understanding is it's not quite a mutation of the gene but it's a variation that's a little bit

different and that might be why they actually end up suffering from ptsd after trauma. miller told us the study gives researchers a new avenue to explore. it hasn't been all good news for nasa. today, the lander crashed after briefly taking off. according to nasa, the vehicle experienced a hardware component failure. no one was injured. it had been designed to carry 1100 pounds of cargo to the moon. it uses green propellants, liquid oxygen and methane. compared to the curiosity, this was a relatively cheap project for nasa, costing $7 million over 2 1/2 years. that's less than pocket change for them. and banking giant jpmorgan revised its first quarter results. they say they earned about $459 million less than they originally reported.

why? because they say they overstated the value of some of their positions on the trading book. jpmorgan also disclosed banking regulators have subpoenaed the bank for documents related to the ongoing libor scandal. it has been 371 days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? data released today shows 30-year mortgage rates rose last week for the second time in a row. the average rate was 3.9%. even though that's up, that is still pretty darn low. and now our fourth story "outfront." an exclusive first look inside wisconsin's sikh temple in oak creek. the fbi wrapped up its investigation on the ground and worshipers returned to the temple for the first time since sunday's shooting. tonight an update on the conditions of the three men wounded in the attack. panjab singh who was shot in the face still needs help breathing and remains in critical

condition. santoc singh remains in serious condition. and the first policeman on the scene, lieutenant brian murphy, was also upgraded today from critical to satisfactory condition. regarding his status, oak creek police chief john edwards told "outfront" today that lieutenant murphy is in good spirits and is communicating as best he can and interacting. it's good to see that it he had a little bit of a restless night last night so medical staff is having him rest today. chief edwards and the other colleagues of lieutenant murphy have all been in that hospital every day. "outfront" tonight, ted rowlands with a cnn exclusive look inside that temple. ted, what did you see? it had to be emotional for you even as a reporter, seeing everyone go into the temple. >> reporter: oh, absolutely, erin. we were allowed to come in.

we were only camera crew allowed in. it was very emotional. this were people weeping, as they came into the temple for the first time. a lot of people cleaning too. they worked very hard to try to get this temple back to normal as soon as possible. there's one bullet hole, however, that they say will be there forever. they fixed all of the other ones with dry wall. some of the windows were broken. they fixed all of that in record time. they had volunteers. they had supplies from a local home depot donated. this one bullet hole which is basically at the front entrance of the main prayer area, that will be kept. we saw the area where each one of the victims died. one victim, the only female victim, died inside that prayer area along the side near the back of the wall.

we saw an area in the back room where the other three victims died. we also saw the pantry area where 15-plus women and children were crammed in for more than two hours. some of them were injured. they thought there were multiple gunman. for two hours, they sat in there in terror. it is a tiny room. absolutely an emotional scene in there. most of the victim families were there. were there helping clean up and were there talking to us. one of them not only talked about the victims but he also addressed the gunman. take a listen. >> simply put, our families, his mother, who left behind two beautiful boy, and was the only mother. our father. the four other victims. the people who were shot and are in the hospital. the police officer who did his job. they are heroes. they are living the american dream. the other person was a coward. and at the end of the day, he should always be remembered as a coward. >> reporter: and, erin, the others will be remembered tomorrow at a service here in town at a local high school. for two hours, the public is invited to come. they'll have all six bodies there on display. then there will be a private ceremony back here at the temple. >> i wanted to ask you. i know it feels very suburban there. at least that was my impression from being there earlier this week. a little spread out, that whole area.

there was a very powerful picture. i'm sure you saw it in person today. one of our producers sent it to us. of a rainbow coming over the sikh temple this afternoon. that's a pretty gorgeous rainbow. it's almost perfect. don't know if it's a metaphor for what's happening. what have you been hearing from other people in the community you've been speaking to, you know, not necessarily members of the temple? >> reporter: yeah, well, the entire community, as you saw when you were out here, has come together. and people from outside have come in. people not only sikhs but nonsikhs have come in. reverend jesse jackson was up today and prayed with some of the victims. it has been remarkable according to the sikh community how much of an outpouring they have received. quite frankly, they're hoping that will be the legacy of these six victims. these people around the world will come closer together. people that are different will come closer together. >> all right, ted, thank you very much, as always. well, the lone gunman in the temple shooting apparently had

ties to white supremacy groups for decades. one of his fellow soldiers at ft. bragg, fred lucas, came "outfront" earlier. i spoke to him on the phone from bloomington. i asked him how and when he knew about page's radical views. >> you could just see that, you know, the shaved head haircut that he had. the vehicle he drove. and he was not -- he had no problems telling people about his feelings about racial equality and such or lack thereof. >> we also mentioned his car. what about his car stood out to you? >> well, it was a vw thin. which is a 1960s era volkswagen that very much resembles like a german military vehicle of world war ii. it was orange and he had, you know, darkened it up to red. and the red and the black tires with white walls, it just kind

of evoked the symbolity via color that you see in the nazi flag. >> fred, was this something at the time you talked about with other people, other colleagues of yours, about him specifically? or sort of stuff that you heard that created this impression in you that he was a supremacist but you never really talked about openly at the time? >> i did. but there was -- and my biggest regret is i did not pursue it more. i was fully engaged, you know, with leading my own soldiers. that i didn't take the time to try and fix the issues on other teams. >> and so, fred, when this happened, and you first heard his name, what was the feeling that -- how did you feel? >> it was terror. i mean, honestly. i was driving. when i heard this.

it came over the radio. and i almost wrecked my vehicle. but then, you know, after a little bit of reflection, in some respects, it didn't surprise me. >> "outfront" next, who will mitt romney choose to lead in prayer at the republican national convention? snoop lion, formerly known as snoop dogg, a billionaire in jamaica. male spirit present.trong it's the priceline negotiator. >>what? >>sorry. he wants you to know about priceline's new express deals. it's a faster way to get a great hotel deal without bidding. pick one with a pool, a gym, a great guest rating. >>and save big. >>thanks negotiator. wherever you are. ya, no. he's over here. >>in the refrigerator? a living, breathing intelligence

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we're back with our outer circle where we reach out to our sources around the world and we begin tonight in syria, where an opposition activist group is reporting that at least 142 people were killed today across the country, including 33 in aleppo. human rights groups are reporting heavy shelling in neighborhoods in aleppo.

they have been battling for control of the city for days. ivan watson is "outfront" tonight. i asked him how people are trying to escape the violence. >> reporter: erin, some two weeks of fighting in syria's largest city has put immense pressure on a society where already millions had been displaced. we've seen the number of refugees streaming across the border into turkey has jumped from some 47,000 to, now, more than 50,000. and today we've seen thousands more crossing the border at two separate checkpoints, crossing points, along that border. our own team that was in aleppo witnessed entire neighborhoods that appeared to have been depopulated in that city. they also saw the immense danger that the civilians continuing to live there face. one case, a man riding in a taxi shot apparently by a government sniper.

in another case, a city park that had been turned into a cemetery. erin. >> well, thanks to ivan. now to china for the trial of a century which mysteriously ended just hours after it began. the wife of a former top communist official didn't object to prosecutor's charges. the charges were not just run of the mill charges. they were for murdering a brill businessman. the woman's husband was thought by so many to be a future president of china. is now completely tossed out of power. we are following the case. i asked him what happened in court today. >> erin, the most anticipated trial in china in recent memory has ended quickly with a rather anticlimactic statement by a senior court official. he basically told us the trial is over and the verdict will be announced at a later date. he was able to provide some new details about the case, as well as what happened behind closed doors in that courtroom. he said gu's lawyers asked for leniency on the grounds of her

diminished capacity. as well as her close cooperation with police during the investigation. he also made a point of stressing gu looked physically healthy and emotionally stable during the trial. even though authorities are keeping quiet about when they'll announce a verdict, nobody expects the result to be surprising. this, after all, is a country where the conviction rate is the almost 100%. so it's all but certain that gu kailai will be found guilty of murder. a family friend has told us, however, her life will be spared. erin. >> we're going to see. it's going to be a crucial case for china. now, let's check in with anderson cooper. >> the state of california has just filed suit against a group called help hospitalized veterans. it's a charity that claim, to help wounded veterans. the state of california says the men behind the so-called charity have been helping themselves to excessive salaries and lavish lifestyles while using accounting gimmicks to trick the public into giving more money. we'll speak with the california attorney general and hear what the charity has to say about the accusations. plus, we'll have a bizarre case ahead in crime and punishment.

this man died from a gunshot wound to the head. the question is who pulled the trigger. the police say he committed suicide. chavis' mother is not buying it so what do you think mitt will do? >> we will not see a mormon giving a prayer at the convention. i mean, as a reporter who has covered this? >> you say you crazy? >> i think any reporter who has covered this extensively knows that mitt romney will do everything within his power to not talk about his religion. and he spent a year avoiding the issue. i don't think as the nation is tuning in he's suddenly going to throw caution to the wind and say, let's throw a big spotlight on my faith. i don't think it's going to happen. >> we reached out to romney's campaign and the mormon church and there was no comment.

>> no comment. >> here's why i want to go through these numbers. lots of candidates have listed religious leaders that are important to them and john mccain had a retired military chaplain speak when he was a prisoner during vietnam spoke, someone personally connected to him. george w. bush had his personally spiritual adviser speak when he was a nominee. there a precedent for personal faith being on display. >> absolutely. mitt romney is is a personally faithful person. the question is whether he's willing to let that part of him kind of come through for a few moments and let people pay attention to it. he's so guarded when it comes to his faith and i don't know if it will happen but we will see. it very well could. >> so we pulled some numbers and maybe he's being too sensitive because when asked, the pugh research did a poll. first of all, anybody who is

watching from either campaign, most americans are fine with both of you. but 19% are uncomfortable with barack obama's religion. only 13% with mitt romney's. he's probably looking at the pugh poll with those that are up there with, i don't trust him, which was a few years back. but this is now. >> right. and he has to understand that things change over time, right? he looks at polls back from when his father ran for president that showed that 18% of the country said that they wouldn't vote for a mormon. that stayed relatively the same. these things, prayers at conventions are not about electoral consequences. it's about showing the side of the candidate that turns to god. and i think people would feel comforted and a little bit relieved to see him be open and frank about his faith. >> maybe he should t is a part of his core person, which is the number one complaint we hear about mitt romney. we don't see that heart, right? >> absolutely.

he just has to own it, i think. a lot of mormons will give him a pass but i think the people i talked to when they were off the record say, it would be great if he would own it a little bit more. they are really proud of him for being out there, having a more gone get this far. it would be nice for a lot of mormons if he would own his religion. >> and maybe for nonmormons, too, right? >> absolutely. up next, snoop lion, formerly known as snoop dogg has turned over a new leaf. actually, it's like fall. his leaves have just turned colors and he has a great idea. [ male announcer ] this is the land of giants. ♪ home of the brave. ♪ it's where fear goes unwelcomed... ♪ and certain men...

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to work. if you're going to do something. make it matter. that is the new song by snoop lion. he told us we can play it because a few weeks ago, calvin shocked fans around the world when he announced he was quitting rap for reggae. he said that he would use his m music to love and grow wise. it looks like he's keeping his promise. how do we know it? john paul, great to see you.

a lot of a man who went from living in a trailer to becoming a billionaire. a lot in common with snoop lion. >> yeah, snoop and i have a lot in common. >> tell us about this. you and snoop meet up? >> i met snoop here at an event and we're in austin, texas, having dinner. a wonderful man. we started talking about how fortunate we were to have the american dream happen for both of us, because we both come from no means. we talked about what i did for america and what he did to make those more fortunate, he's into sports and let's do something for jamaica. we all go there on vacation, we love the people, but french town and trivia town, very low income, what can we do together? so i talked about grow appalacha. our organization is called mind

gardening. you garden with your mind, not just your hands. nourish your own mind with the right vegetables and right thoughts. that's where it all started. this thing is complete and under way right now. >> you mentioned grow appalaicha, that's where you were helping people to grow gardens and become healthier? >> 10,000 of them are doing it right now. >> physical food that creates stronger minds? >> yes, physical food that creates stronger minds but we're going to show them how to grow vegetable gardens in the slums of trench town and trivia town, in the slums, in those little areas, we're going to teach them how to grow tomatoes up the sides, how to be proud so their mind is clean. and it's a really, really good thing. like i love you out there. you know?

>> so tell me, snoop dogg is known as snoop dogg and now he's snoop lion. >> this is very real. i will never do hip-hop again, but i heard him say i did a great reggae album that is coming out and it is great, by the way and i want to do something that benefits everyone. children, children, children. the guy is for real. he went to jamaica and elders, very spiritual people and together they were very aware that it's time for him now to move to the next elevation, to the next transition in his life, the next carnation, which is really snoop the adult now and no longer snoop dogg. snoop lion. and the guy is a lion. going from being called slim in jail to snoop lion and doing things for people from his heart, i mean, this guy is for real. this is no b.s., record selling dealing. he wants people -- we spoke for

hours eye to eye. he's a good man. >> and this happened over petron? >> well, over petron is when we first got together and talked, which is good. sean puffy combs was there and we were celebrating ali's birthday. sean combs the same way, what can we do to save the world? it's interesting when rap sometimes gets a bad name, you have the people who come out of it in hip-hop and want to help save the world with their hearts and what money they were fortunate to get. this is a pretty good transition, huh? >> it is. and certainly you are the fascinating man to partner with. tonight, the selling of a presidency 2012. dirty tricks, deceptive ads, and it's not even labor day. >> who shares your values?

>> when mitt romney and bain closed the plant, i lost my health care. >> former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and tom romney adviser john sununu. also, guess who else is running for president? >> i do think that i'm a leader and, you know, i think i've proven that. >> yes, it's roseanne and the comic isn't joking. >> just everything's for sale, all of our government. >> it's no laughing matter but will anyone take her seriously? plus, how can anyone walk away from this? two survivors tell their incredible life and death story. >> within three or four seconds, you're on the ground. >> this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening. president obama and governor romney proving to all of us

tonight unfortunately how low they will go. new attack ads from both sides, ads that twist the truth that are, frankly, shocking and unacceptable. including the latest that holds bain capital or mitt romney responsible for causing a woman's death. a new romney ad blames obama for a war on religion. >> when religious freedom is threatened. >> we say this, for those of you who say these super pacs are to blame and not the candidates, i say to president obama and governor romney, step up and disavow any connection or live with the fact both of you are part of the problem and not the solution. with me now is former pennsylvania governor and former dnc chairman ed rendell. and romney adviser john sununu. the surprising cnn presidential