what naks it polarizing? >> i think what's so striking about the aclu is that issues which were polarizing in the past have now become completely part of the american fabric. and we can't imagine how it was seen as a fundamental apocalyptic threat to the nation to pass out literature about communism or union organizing. so the aclu i think has really defined what it is to be an american today. and i'm grateful for those crusades in the past. so it is with extreme humility and trepidation that i offer any dissenting views because history has not been kind to the aclu's critics. by and large i would say that from this perspective, most of the battles that it fought throughout this century we now feel it was on the right side. that having been said though, my recollection -- >> but -- >> of the aclu was coming to new york city in the late 1980s when the city was at probably its nadier of near anarchy, lawlessness, public spays had been taken over by one set of individuals in many instances of mentally ill, stree

i saw catherine being held by the hip by the polar bear. he had her off the ground. [ screaming ] [ shouting ] it was the largest animal i had ever seen in my life, and he had catherine's thigh firmly in his grip. >> when i arrived there and saw her like that, i just thought, i got to get her free. >> bystanders watch the bear squeeze his enormous head through the bars. they're confused and horrified. binky plunges his four-inch long canines firmly into catherine's left thigh. his teeth are dangerously close to the main femoral artery in catherine's leg. dr. rafer knows there's not much time left. >> in all my experiences as a physician, i'd never seen anything as frightening as what i saw that day. had the polar bear severed her femoral artery, she would have bled to death in a matter of seconds. >> can somebody call someone? >> somebody's coming. >> kevin springs into action, trying everything he can to free the flailing woman. >> i jumped over the first fence and threw my radio at him. just bounced off his head. then i grabbed ahold of c

they don't train for taking polar bears off the side of a cliff every day. but they improvised and tied it up and started to lower it down. >> secure the polar bear with ropes and gently lower her. at this point bill has been dropped off by the helicopter and is sitting at the boat at the bottom of the cliff nervously awaiting the bear's arrival. >> i knew we weren't out of the woods until we had it down off that cliff. everything was looking very well that we were going to get that bear down and at that point we were thinking we'll get it into the boat. about halfway down, of course, that's when everything started to fall apart. >> the polar bear's enormous side and slick coat are just enough for it not to hold. she slips loose and slides down the cliff and precariously dangles by her foot 35 feet up the jagged cliff face. >> it seemed like everything was just in slow motion at that point. the feeling that, the worst thing that could happen happened. >> their plan unraveling before their eyes, rescue crews above and below try to recover and save the animal

american zoos are hoping to build a polar bear safety net.he maryland zoo has three in its enclosure. >> that is magnet, hez in his mid 20s, which is about as close as i want to be to a polar bear, even though there's a steel mesh fence here. >> reporter: the st. louis zoo is building a $20 million sanctuary, creting dna banks and breeding laboratories. a zoo insurance policy that could help wild bears repopulate through artificial insemination from captive males. >> we think we can provide a wonderful home, particularly per orphaned cubs. >> reporter: an escape plan for the bears as their massive homes diminish underneath their massive paw. >> it's an imax film that opens on friday. thanks so much for watching. we're always here at abc news.com. "nightline" will be along later and we'll see you right back here tomorrow night. until then, goodnight.

we say it's polarized. if i shake the rope back and forth horizontally, then i'll generate a horizontally polarized wave. okay? you saw the example in the textbook. if i pass these waves through a picket fence, maybe the picket fence can filter them out. it turns out, if i have a picket fence where the fence stakes are all vertical, i have vertical openings. and i shake my rope, and it goes right through the opening. it's like the opening weren't there, the shake goes right on through and the wave travels. that's easy to see. it is very conceptual. if i take the rope and shake it sideways however, it can't--the vibration can't get through the fence. and so what the fence does is it blocks it. and so that's a filter. and i have over here such a thing. here's a polarization filter, okay? and that's what this is. this will allow light to vibrate through going only one way, not another way. i don't know what the plane of this is. i can't see. but the-- and let's suppose it's like this. i have microscopic picket

. >> polar bears are great swimmers.ough they only use their gigantic front paws. >> reporter: paws nearly a foot wide, keeping 500 pounds of marine carnivore afloat in the desperate struggle for food. made even more difficult by the warming arctic sea. melting ice separating bears from their hunting grounds. this mother bear swam an extraordinary nine days to hunt for seals, days longer than normal. her cub did not make it. >> the polar bear became the heart of the film. >> reporter: filmmakers followed her for their new imax documentary. >> a lot of bears are swimming further to get food. the cubs are having a tougher time. >> there's a mom and a small cub. >> reporter: worldwide, the polar bear population is labeled depleted, dwindled to 25,000 and expected to shrink two-thirds by midcentury. so american zoos are hoping to build a polar bear safety net. the maryland zoo has three in its enclosure. >> that is magnet. he's in his mid-20s. this is about as close as i want to be to a polar bear, even though there is a big

price of the so-called polar revolution about the most of them are raging from what i twenty two or one hundred to one hundred twenty even and a million dollars so it's really hard to say hard to estimate. what was there we are injection i throw in a very little something old there. you can see it was the flow of money which was left on from which means that you have well. theoretically you have for for instance even before supposed to believe your prospering the minute when for international transfer waiting for your friends because this is becoming no never a popular in syria for instance you have addressed what is my western union of course the small amounts of money i mean are small about trying to join or fifteen thousand dollars so that it's not the suspicions and sundra that you have the in the cord nation central for some people so a group of people who gather some of this money and distribute this money so it's really hard personally can get richer aleutian. i'll tell you one thing and i were turning back to syria again and there was a man from my the governing party a spark an

jump in here. >> the reason the aclu is polarizing is the nation is so polarized because people seem to think there are bad states on both sides of the debate and the aclu is accused of a certain kind of naivete about war on terror issues. anthony talks about the phelps case which is an important case that in a way is an easy case and a lot of the videos we saw were at least in retrospect easy cases. these are not people who post act will threats to the united states. these are anonymity and it is easy to give them room to maneuver but what about the people we have reason to be afraid of? in the last decade the aclu is fought like hell and achieved very little. there's a provocative article in new republic suggesting some of these efforts were counterproductive. if you go to court and ask for an answer you might get locked into an end to you don't want. the answer why polarizing is because two different world views. drifting further and further apart with the issues that engaged the aclu is important national-security matters. in detention policy, state secrets policy, all that stuff

and geraldo's idiotic comment, it doesn't seem like it's playing out in a po r polarized way. >> well, i was wrong. it's led to the character assassination of a dead 178-year-old boy. a lot of it was helped along by the sanford police department itself which lead to an article in the sentinel. then came the article that the media only used pictures of him when he was younger to paint him as a child. images like this one began popping up on line. here's the thing about this picture. that's not trayvon martin. the photo was first posted where it was picked up by credible media outlets before realizing their mistake. not, i should note, that an empty bag of marijuana or an impudent photo has any weight or bearing on whether he deserved to get shot. the white supremie prepremacisp. this was the cover of the "new york post" this past tuesday. "trayvon hoodwink: tragedy hijacked by race husband lers." they're telling why this kid was asking for it accusing others of playing the race card. >> you have to recognize that this whole stylizing yourself as a gagster, you're going to be a gangster

how polar bears struggle to feed themselves and their young.tching "world news now." >> announcer: abc's "world news now" will continue after this ♪ ice, ice baby ♪ >>> i don't care what people say, everybody loved that song back in the day. i don't care what everybody says. everybody loves robert van winkle. 20 years ago. >> it wasn't robert van winkle. >> that's his real name. >> i know. always reminds me of spring break. tooling around florida, junior -- i think junior year. >> we'll talk about it during the commercial. i like the way that started, though. >>> a unique imax film opens this friday called "to the arctic." it stars one of the region's most powerful and awe-inspiring predators, the polar bear. >> the movie demonstrates the fragile environment in which those bears fight to exist. abc's jim avila checked it out. >> reporter: a rare look at the massive underbelly of the mighty polar bear. >> polar bears are great swimmers, even though they only use their gigantic front paws. >> reporter: paws nearly a foot wide, keeping 500 pounds

hey, fiber optics, it turns out that the hair on a polar bear, gang, the hair on the polar bear turns out to be a whole lot of fiber optics. and it has a preferential-- it has a preference for ultraviolet. and ultraviolet is high energy or low energy? high. and a polar bear want to get a lot of energy or don't care about the energy? honey, if you're up in the arctic, what do you want? a lot of--and you know what? it turns out the hairs on the polar bear fur are light pipes. and will guide the highest energy light right down to its skin. and the skin wants to absorb that light. guess what the color of the skin is, gang. black. so what's white and black and warm all under? a polar bear, yey, physics, huh? okay. you ever be wondering about a rainbow? why do you get all the colors in a rainbow? to understand a rainbow, first of all, you got to understand a prism. you know if a white light comes in a prism, you get different refractions? different colors refracted different amounts. it turns out you get red here maybe, green here, and blue here and sort of like that. and you guys know with

over the things they voyage the young polar travellers will also survey the impact of global warming statistics collected over the last five years show no stable trend says. there was a loss of water during the two thousand and nine expedition unless the following year and last year the group didn't even have to use their wet suits. it's pretty cold right now as well talk of global warming is correct but one should take into consideration all the circumstances it's plus six celsius in moscow right now and the current weather conditions are not really similar to those at the top of the world nevertheless these last are extremely important as those seven young devils are preparing for probably their most memorable experience of their lives room on course for a party. ok up to date no more sports news from around the globe and forced on hand i say that. well. it's technology innovation all these developments from around russia we've got the future covered. the flu symptoms has been to the sverdlovsk region. where blacksmithing has developed from a craft into an industry. now r.t. goes f

over the things they voyage the young polar travellers will also survey the impact of global warmingstatistics collected over the last five years show no stable trend says. there was a loss of water during the two thousand and nine expedition unless the following year and last year the group didn't even have to use their wetsuits. it's pretty cold right now as well talk of global warming is correct but one should take into consideration all the circumstances it's plus six celsius in my school right now and the current weather conditions are not really similar to those and it's all over the world nevertheless these last are extremely important as those seven young their titles are preparing for probably their most memorable experience of their lights were on calls for of artsy. ok it's all for me for today more sports news from around the globe in florida's time hair not with paul stay with us. well. it's technology innovation all the developments from around russia we've got the future coverage.

from across russia and here they are testing their emergency wetsuit a day before traveling to the polar icecap to begin their ultimate arctic adventure . oh yes i am nervous now we're going to check everything again and make sure all the equipment is paid for north pole we have enough food rations for each day of the expedition and i believe our stuff will be delivered by two planes. dimitri spyro became the first person to ski to the north pole setting off from mainland russia back in one thousand seven hundred nine making the guinness book of records his son much today is now a worthy disciple of his father's legacy which is to bring out the best qualities from today's youth to me tree has recently celebrated his seventieth birthday and his goal for the future is now clearer than ever. our primary concern is educating and taking care of young people besides this expedition was so not strays travel aboard three offers a year round company karelia were thousands of teenagers who come from among other places orphanages correctional schools on the like get similar training. the final pool

i think radio was a real example of polarization. but it didn't just happen in the past ten years. i can remember reading about albert einstein, you know, in the '50s. he's worrying about the poirlization of america. he says i have seen this happen before. i grew up in nazi germany. then things right themselves. they get rid of mccarthy. and says america has a gyroscope. just when you think it's going to flip over, it's able to right itself because of its democracy. so i think in allowing more and more sources of information is the wisdom of the crowd of american democracy. and it does always tend to right itself. and people say, well on the internet, isn't it like talk radio? they go to their spectrum and get an echo chamber. i don't think that's the case. i actually think on the internet, you find instead of people wallowing in their corner of the blog sphere with their people, there's more interchange, more fighting, more shooting of arrows back and forth, and more people linking back and forth and going to different things. so there's much more of a dialogue than there was in t

polar bears are already threatened. the last thing they need is for more trophy hunters chasing them down and shooting them. that's exactly what will happen if this congress demonstrates that it is fully willing to retroactively change the law in this manner to accommodate the wishes of a very small minority. 41 big game hunters and we've got to be here changing the law on their account? the u.s. fish and wildlife service and the federal court have rejected previous requests to import trophies after 2008. that should be the final word on the subject. i encourage my colleagues to vote yes on the peters amendment and i yield to mr. peters the remainder of my time. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan's time has expired. the gentleman from alaska has 1 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. young: the gentleman from virginia has lots of polar bears in virginia. i know it's spring time. i don't think there's many polar bears in virginia. all of three of them have said endangered species. this has not

we saw the first glimmers as the trayvon martin story exploded in the media, but now the nation polarization is just blinding. liberal journalists defending this explain teenager no matter what. conservative journalists going all out to defend the shooter, george zimmerman. msnbc on trayvon's side. fox on zimmerman's side. >> have i seen this played over and over again. trying to smear trayvon is one of the old tricks, and we won't let them get away with it. >> we didn't know in the beginning that there were witnesses from the first night that said that trayvon was witnessed on top of george zimmerman punching him and beating his head into the cement. >> are the media inflaming the situation? a miami harrold reporter on the pressures of covering the story. >> all at once i started getting emails from all these people telling me that i was a racist, that i was a sobero path, that i should kill myself. >> day yeah view. current t fires keith olbermann for missing work, and he suggests owner al gore is unethical, and his replacement? eliot spitzer. plus -- >> what speemp did you listen to? >> j

we are more polarized than ever? there is different points of view to celebrate defense of perspective. trying to put herself in places where the chances are good to have different points of view. we take the time to listen of why we are coming from the difference is that typically we try to have 2/3 participants agree of what new language we would tobias of what are the colby would supplant. that takes time and is not always work. it did not work with the second amendment. groups were evenly divided every time. the division was based on the interpretation of the existing amendment. they did agree it was atrociously written you can read into it with everyone to. even to make a big wage more clear they deferred. but almost every time look at an article between 60 and 80% of folks wanted to make significant changes. does that speak to the fact if we got together we would. maybe over time that leads to a new constitutional convention. but any calls today are very premature. before we even consider such a notion we need

polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space.der retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire. td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans? a great tasting mint core, frosted in powerful cooling crystals. ice breakers frost. feel the frost. >>> the new economy has got two types of jobs lousy or lovely. what is missing? middle class jobs even with better job news in the past year, most workers are getting the shorten of the bargain. here to tell us why, editor at thomson reuters digital, chrystia freeland. explain -- you wrote this fascinating article in which you capture this polarization of the job market and this stratification you are at the very top or very bottom there's nothing in between. >> there is a body of economic research which i think shows what we all see happening around us and is that the impact of t

they become -- to become a polarizing figure, it's for those who are self-polarized.t i want to see -- what i can't do. is what young people can do. it is with that that will be given great breadth. it will be a human education. at the same time we do know that the country has been swinging, you know, in terms of polarization on the right to an incredible fundamentalist situation where you have people like we talked about rick santorum. where actually they are virtually contradicting all the constitutional principles in their rhetoric. and so you say, look. okay. you can believe that but you cannot equate that with this constitution. that's not an interpretation issue. it means you did not read the constitution. and indeed you are anti-american. i am very pro-american in the sense of a constitutional america. and i'm pro-america in a diverse america and one where we do reach out and we believe to be monocultural is to create the insecurity we're facing. >> are you relieved that mitt romney is the nominee in the sense that he is by common consent the least right wing o

artworks made of recycled material and polar bears making a statement about the shrinking polar ice camp >>> coming up, john edwards is preparing for court tomorrow. the charges he is facing after the scandal with another woman. >> alan: wal-mart in hot water. accused of bribing officials to get stores built. >> ama: women may live longer than men, but the men are catching up. >> frances: i'm frances dinglasan, in for leigh glaser this evening. clouds, fog are already creeping into the bay. a big cooldown in store tomorrow, and even rain chances to tell you about. with your accuweather >> ama: opening arguments begin in the trial of former vice-presidential nominee john edwards, edwards is facing charges of conspiracy, issuing false statements and violating campaign contribution laws. the charges stem from his relationship with real unter, mistress. >> i will regret for the rest of my life the pain and the harm that i caused. but i did not break the law. and i never ever thought i was breaking the law. >> edwards faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of all charges. >> another head

he is the first artificially bread polar bear. they cut the birthday cut.he survived after abandoned by his mother. >>> took firefighters six hours to get this fire under control. >> why officials had to shut down all lanes of one highway. incredible video just ahead. >>> also ahead, all these people needed for their easter sunday was a big wheel. >>> maryland's most powerful radar is dry. i will tell you when the next chance for much needed rain is, those details coming up.

very polarizing. >> you have seen this in trials that you prosecuted. how do you handle that?f he has to go to trial, can he have a jury that is impartial with all of that? >> a lot of us, my attorney friends and investigator friends, police officers, that's the fear here, that george zimmerman at this point cannot get a fair trial because there's been so much publicity and a lot of the issues discussed are really outside the realm of the evident because it's brought to be a discussion on racial relations and police procedures and the interpretation of law. so it go business yond guilt or insnls here. >> it's interesting. i have to go, but how soon will we know? is it going to take a while? how long before we know? we'll know if there's going to be a presentment when april 10th comes and knows. it could take a day or two to present the evidence, but the vote will come back. >> we won't have to wait. thank you, holly. appreciate it. >> just ahead here, a college student tried to do the right thing and paid for the speeding ticket he received. why wouldn't the city take his buck

and politically polarized situation you had a responsibility to tell the public more about how that >> just the photos, the way they've been used in this case tell so much. you know, the young photo -- well, here's george zimmerman as he looked there on the left when he was arrested for an altercation, a bar fight basically five years ago. and then the picture of him on the right, smiling, you know, corporate photo. the pictures say so much, how they're used says so much. >> oh, absolutely. now we're seeing pictures of trayvon with the same story. innocent-looking pictures of him, him in the hoody and so on. the photographs do tell a good part of this tale. "the washington times" this week had an interesting headline, "trial by media." i think a lot of folks want to get to the truth, justice for trayvon, they want to make sure that george zimmerman also has his day in court, has his access to the justice system as well, but the fact that the media has gone from narrative to narrative based on what facts of the day have been coming out i think it's an unfair treatment to the memory o

however now, the political debate is polarized along familiar lines. bbc news, cairo. >> and in yemen, at least 33 people including nine soldiers at been killed in a suspected al-qaeda attack on army barracks. the military says at least 18 al-qaeda fighters were also killed in clashesalmost sounds exaggerated. north korea's dead dictators are worshiped almost as gods and the people are told to give thanks for the nation that they are told has been turned into a powerful, prosperous land. today, few from outside would recognize north korea as powerful or prosperous. what it has preserved as a powerful personality cult. at first, we were told we could not talk to any of them. instead we were brought to this factory. it has never fired a single worker, i am told. is all down to the generous guidance -- it is all down to the generous guidance of north korea's founding president and his last-smiling at son kim jong-il. they are given instruction in mathematics, english, and physics. this celebration is the biggest national event in the country, she says. "i

however now, the political debate is polarized along familiar lines. bbc news, cairo. >> and in yemen, at least 33 people including nine soldiers at been killed in a suspected al-qaeda attack on army barracks. the military says at least 18 al-qaeda fighters were also killed in clashes in a province where islamists control significant territory. several asian airlines are changing their flight plans ahead of an unexpected missile launch from north korea. satellite imagery shows an underground tunnel that appears to be in preparation for a third nuclear test. this coincides with the 100th anniversary of pyongyang. we have rabb access to the country, and we have this report from the north korean capital. >> acting on cue, every single one in the crowd of perhaps 100,000. it is the start of a week of celebration. the motion almost sounds exaggerated. -- the emotion almost sounds exaggerated. north korea's dead dictators are worshiped almost as gods and the people are told to give thanks for the nation that they are told has been turned into a powerful, pro

. >> do you have a pet polar bear at home? who doesn't. >> if you do, make sure that you have a swimming pool. this polar bear is going viral on you too. her owner has raised her ever since to was a tiny, that six weeks old and she now weighs 800 lbs. and has had a couple screen credits to her name including the 1995 film alaska to rehearse swimming adventures have 56,000 hits so far.,,,, man: we need a good night's sleep. woman: which means a little heat to keep us warm. and a good dose of support for my back. some over-the-top comfort couldn't hurt. and our perfect dream factory's been built. you're feeling sleepy already? nighty-night. [giggling]

yon-yon is a polar bear who is 100 days old. he's china's first artificially bred polar bear and apparently his mom didn't want to raise him. >> zookeepers say he's healthy, he's putting on weight and should be ready to meet zoo visitors this summer. 20 excited guests were invited to a special party for yon-yon over the weekend. he's going to be a sensation when he meets his public. >> i mean, is there anything more adorable than a polar bear cub? >> it's cute. >>> and one that's overcome family strife, rejected by his mom. >> i could not be rooting for yon-yon. >> can't wait to see his life story on lifetime some time soon. it's going to be wonderful and touching. >> we love you. >>> we'll be right back with more "world news now" after this. ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by consumer cellular. ♪ >>> well, tim tebow is no stranger to having all eyes on him on a sunday. but on easter, this was a little different. >> the man they call god's quarterback took the pulpit in a jam-packed mega church. abc's ste

, increasingly polarized.because of that, fewer and fewer voters who show up at a presidential election are willing to cross ticket vote. they just stay in the same column. if they start democratic, they vote democratic from the courthouse to the white house. same thing if they are voting republican. the same is true in senate and white house this year. >> and you buy that? sounds like you do. >> i do for the most part. i think you can't underestimate at this point what ad wars will look like, especially in states like florida. florida will see campaign ads like never before and they get a lot of traffic. it'll be very negative between the super pacs and campaigns. voters will be sick and tired of it and polarized. >> following your theorist coat tails, larry? >> if the president is re-elected by several percentage point democrat could end up with 51-49 or 50-50 with biden breaking the tie. if the president wins narrowly, i think the republicans are likely to take control 51-49, 52-48. >> and that's a bad situ

for now, the political debate has polarized along familiar lines. bbc news, cairo. >> changes happening slowly in egypt. a quick look at the news of the day. in yemen, 33 people, including nine soldiers, have been killed in a suspected al-qaeda attack on an army barracks. the military says that at least 80 al-qaeda fighters were also killed in the clash -- 18 al- qaeda fighters were also killed in a clash. jailed abdulhadi al-khawaja is still said to be seriously ill after refusing food for more than 60 days. he and seven other leading opposition figures were sentenced to life in prison last year for anti-state crimes linked to ongoing anti- government protests. the special prosecutor investigating the shooting deaths of -- shooting death of an armed teenager trayvon martin has ruled out using a grand jury. he will decide what to charge george zimmerman with a crime -- whether to charge george zimmerman with a crime. several asian airlines are changing flight plans ahead of an expected missile launched by north korea. recent satellite images show th