>> oh, because i mentioned to you about claudette colvin.ou know, that was the first case that i handled. and we know about rosa parks' case. but because of the deep-seeded segregation that we had, with help along the way, i was able to file lawsuits that ended up doing away with segregation, public transportation, improving the right to vote, public education, discrimination, bond subs subsidies, almost every law we've now been able to get declared unconstitutional at all these aspects, and we have done it on a non-violent basis, using the law in order to accomplish those things. while those of us involved in it had some personal problems that we incurred, it didn't stop us from doing it. but the struggle for equal justice continues, and we have to keep trying. >> for our audience who may not be familiar with your whole personal story, the irony here is in 2002, you were elected as the first black president of the alabama state bar association. when you were approached for that, was that stunning to you? how did you feel? how did that unfol

parks, and claudette colvin and her family who wanted something done about the buses. and mrs.inson after setting up that meeting, she had had a personal experience back in 1948 on the buses. we would keep a record of it, and i knew there were some people who wanted it, and there would be a later date and another opportunity, and that opportunity came with mrs. parks on december 1, 1955. >> that's a great segue, and i know you said you are meeting with her, having lunch, so, you know, one of the perceptions is she was this sort of quiet timid seamstress who just decided one day she was tired and didn't want to get up. but in fact, you said she was involved in the naacp, and the two of you were talking about what to do, whatnot to do, so that day when she sat down, were you ready or waiting for the call? tell us a little bit about that. >> so on december 1st, was a typical december day in alabama. i told mrs. parks, when we finished, that i had to go out of town, so i kind of wanted her to know that i would not be there, and while she never told me that if she received the oppor

. >> sreenivasan: last month, tropical storm claudette brought heavy rains and flooding to coastal statesing louisiana, where climate change- related rising waters have challenged navigation along the mississippi river, which is a crucial artery for the u.s. economy and trade. last year, newshour weekend special correspondent and nexis media reporter josh landis reported from the port city of baton rouge as part of our ongoing series, "peril and promise: the challenge of climate change." >> reporter: when a drop of water from minnesota or a speck of sand from ohio finally reach baton rouge, they've joined the vast snowmelt and run-off from 31 states and two canadian provinces. the basin is more than a million square miles, stretching from montana to new york state. during an average spring, more than seven million gallons of water and about 20 tons of sediment pass under this bridge every second, focusing the continental force of the mississippi and billions of dollars of u.s. trade into a tightening bottleneck. in baton rouge, the river starts its final dash to the ocean, through a 233-m

we had claudette and danny. big news really for the tampa bay residents. as it was approaching, it collapsed on radar. it was only hurricane for a few hours. at 8:00 p.m. they raised it to hurricane status but dry air and winds moved in and that saved thousands that have beach front property or lakefront or waterfront property from that surge. but the rainfall did increase 8 to 10 inches, punting punta gor getting 11. the system circulates and our concern now is if we get some of these strong thunderstorms, strong enough with wind gusts to down a power line, some scattered power outages, enough rain in some cases where streams will rise. the last thing we want to have is first responders respond to a water rescue. we have a tropical storm watch all the way up to sandy hook. that could be extended too. with this track that is more inland, more residents will feel the effects of this. so again flash flooding, the possibility of power outages will be isolated, but strong gusty winds. it never makes its way offshore. it's going to run into a jetstream to the n

we've already had one with claudette and danny, i should say two and here we are not even through theason and we the track is i don't think it is going into the central and western gulf of mexico. this is either an eastern gulf of mexico or storm the curves more toward florida. the natural gas and oil industry right now we think the impacts from elsa will be minimal. neil: we are watching closely, accuweather chief meteorologist. we will be monitoring this at 10 am eastern time and how it could be disruptive to those rescue efforts at the condo collapse in its ninth day tomorrow so you will want to stay tuned for that and the latest updates. passing along what seems obvious, a lot of americans taking to the road but what might not be obvious to some of them is the sticker shock they are getting as they travel. jeff flock has more. >> reporter: i got sticker shock myself. you drive around all day, $3.59 in summit, illinois, i am down a few courts. i think i hit the right button. anyway. the run up in gas prices around independence day driven by the price of crude largely if you look wh

claudette -- especially on black americans, who are six times, six times more likely to be imprisoned under a charges than white americans. even though the drug use is at a similar rate between -- what's more, legal experts of all stripes agree that congress needs to finish this job. when i chaired a subcommittee hearing on this issue in 2009, the department of justice testified in support of completely eliminating the disparity, today, 12 years later, the department of justice again is calling for congress to illuminate a written testimony. i welcome the republican governor of arkansas, lisa hutchinson, who testified in 2009 hearing, and is here again with us today calling for congress to pass and the equal act. thank you, governor. before i hands this onto ranking member grassley, i want to tell the story that is important very personal. ranking member grassley has been an invaluable trusted partner in this effort. i know that he feels, as i do, that there are thousands of people who should be seeing justice in this country, who are not because of these guidelines. one person i will