slavery played a very important role in the history of the district, the early history of the district of columbia. it also played a very important role in why alexandria wanted to leave the district of columbia. if you were to take a look at this 50-year time period that alexandria was part of the district of columbia, you would see that the business of slavery was the predominant business in alexandria. it was where all the money was at. and so this slave-trading operation that we're standing in right now was the most, one of the most successful businesses in alexandria. and it was so successful, as a matter of fact, that the threat posed by the potential outlawing of slavery in the district of columbia was enough to push this movement forward for what they called retrosession which was alexandria leafing the district of -- leaving the district of columbia. so slavery played a very important role as the predominant business, it also played a key role in why alexandria wanted to leave the district of columbia. >> we're standing now at the dueling ground in north arlington. this is a famous spot b

it's about appearance and issued and the district of columbia included parts of what's now virginia. hat i wanted to do was look at this 50 year time period and get a sense of why alexandria became part of the district of columbia. what went wrong and why it left. one of the things i wanted to do with the book is give people a sense of what life was like in this time period. firefighting for example, were very differently in this time period. crying worked very differently. slavery played a crucial role in the business world of this time period. politics were very different. lots of research on the politics of this area. this was a big 10 in what was essentially a democratic city. so i thought those kind of interesting because today in the modern world is a democratic town and what is essentially a republican state. so from that sense there's sort of a line you can look back to this time period and see thos te was a political decision than that still exist today. when i was doing research i found three places that we like to take you to get a sense of what it's like to live in alexand

alexandria leaving the district of columbia. so slavery played a role as the predominant business and a key role in why alexandria wanted the leave the district of columbia. we're standing now at the dueling ground in north arlington. this is where the duel happened between secretary of state henry clay and virginia senator john randolph. this is a little-known duel. i had actually never heard of this duel until i started researching the history for the book. but these are two titans of american politics. the modern day equivalent would be secretary of state john kerry versus virginia senator mark warner. so they arrived here on the day of the duel after randolph had given a speech calling clay -- they were handed weapons, they shot at each other, both sides missed. they were handed new weapons, they shot at each other and missed again, and so they came together and randolph said to clay you owe me a new coat, mr. clay, because the bullet had pierced his coat. so clay said to randolph, well, i'm glad the debt is not greater. righ

would be a good project to look at the 50 year time period that it salinger a or part of the district of columbia. >> when i was doing research i found three places i would take you to get a sense of what it was like to live in alexandria, d.c. one is john's point park where you'll find the original boundary marker for the southern us tip of the district of columbia. the other is the dueling ground, were a famous tool to raise between secretary of state henry clay and virginia senator, john randolph. the other place is interested in taking you with the infamous slave pen at this slave deals. the union army invaded alexandria. the first place they came within infamous bond and slavery featured in all of the abolitionist newspapers and so when the union soldiers came here, they came down to the basement where we are standing and found slaves shackled to the wall. >> former florida governor, jeb bush will speak at cpac tonight. he is the keynote speaker. see live coverage on c-span. earlier today, house budget committee paul ryan spoke. here's what he said. [cheers and applause] ♪ >> hey, good morni

[applause] >> it is not about alexandria virginia but in history when the district of columbia included parts of what is now virginia. what went wrong and why it left. one thing i wanted to do is give a sense of what life was like. firefighting worked very differently. crime worked differently, a slave -- slavery played a crucial role and politics were different this was a democratic city. so today for what they think looking back at this time period there was a political position that exist today. to give you a sense of alexandria this is where you find the original boundary marker. the other is the dueling grounds that took place between secretary of state henry clay and john randolph. the other place is the infamous slave 10 where we are headed next. we year standing in one of the hidden gems of old town alexandria. located in the basement of the northern virginia durbin they get one time the most prosperous slaves business in america. they would roundups' slaves from all points, virginia, maryland points, virginia, maryland, even delaware and process them and there was a men's camp

>> guest: i was in the district of columbia for 12 years, first representing the juvenile ostrich with crimes and then i went on from simple assault to first-degree murder. i did that for 12 years representing clients for six years and i was in the deputy director of that office for the remaining six years and that is in fact when i became so interested in this topic and when i basically became a professor i was determined that would be my area of study because in my experience they are a lawyer. i was surprised by how much power and discretion prosecutors have and how little accountability there was and i saw the individuals who are situated being treated differently and i thought of that was unfair and it seemed arbitrary the title for my book quite frankly i'm not just talking about a defendant and sometimes the victims' cases get far more attention than other victims. there are long their race and class lines and a number of racial disparity systems and we know people that are wealthy tend to be true or fairly. at the same is true for race. there are a lot of races it's often diffi

. >> reporter: as a district of columbia employee, she gets the benefits of being married. of columbia have taken that step. so, she loses status as a spouse, just by crossing the potomac river into virginia. >> why do we have to be married locally, but federally, it's nothing. we're friends. we wear a ring symbolically. it's ridiculous. >> what the bill does -- >> reporter: now the defensive marriage act known as doma first passed by congress and signed by president clinton in 1996 is being challenged at the supreme court. >> being asked to decide there. whether or not congress can pass a law that treats same-sex couples who are already married under the laws of their state different from opposite sex couples. >> reporter: defenders of the law say congress has as much right as the states to make its own definition of marriage. >> doma is important because congress said it was important. we sent our elected representatives to washington, d.c., and they chose to say that marriage is one man and one woman for federal law. >> reporter: conservatives say the founding fathers ne

. >> reporter: nine states and the district of columbia recognize same sex marriages. >> i'm realizeingay it's important to me as a parent not to have someone tell my kid who they can marry. >>> republican strategist karl roe can imagine supporting same sex marriage. there is less opposition opposition. rob horton now supports same sex marriage after learning one of his sons is gay. >>> a serious parking problem in southern california. >> reporter: you cold? >> yes. >> reporter: you scared? >> yes. >>> a little girl in the hospital that survived a crash that killed her father. >> we see not only clouds but changes ahead. as we look toward the bay bridge and the temperatures, we'll have it all for you coming up next. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, electronic flight informati board fell on them at an ala airp >>> a woman and two of her sons are improving after being injured after an information board fell on them at a birmingham airport. one son was killed. the mother is recover recovering after under going surgery. the family was flying home. >>> a story of determination and survival. a nine-year-old ca

point park where you'll find the original boundary marker for the southernmost tip of the district of columbia. the other is the dueling ground where a very famous duel took place between secretary of state henry clay and virginia senator john randolph. the other place i was interested in taking use the infamous waved and at the franklin slave dealers. >> the union army invaded alexandria. one of the first place as they came was this slave can which was an infamous spots in slavery featured in all the abolitionist newspapers of the time period so when the union soldiers came here came to the basement and found

>> guest: well, i was a public defender in the district of columbia for 12 years, started as a staff attorney, first remitting juveniles with crimes and represented adults from simple assault to first degree murder. i did that for 12 years, represented clientings for six years, then the deputy director and director of the office for the remaining six years, and that's, in fact, when i became interested in the topic and when i became a professor, and that was the area of state, and in my experience, there, as a lawyer, i was surprised by how much power and how much discretion prosecutors had and how little accountability there was, and i saw individuals who were similarly situated treated differently, and i thought that that was unfair, and it seemed arbitrary, which is why i came up with the title for my book is that, you know, why is this person getting a good plea bargain, and this person not? why -- and, quite frankly, i'm not just talking about defendants. sometimes victims, some victims, their cases get far more attention than other victims, and i saw that oftentimes it seemed t

career and 30 of congress, lincoln actually comes up with with a bill to abolish slavery in the district of columbia. .. >> lincoln will have the opportunity as president of the united states to sign a very similar bill banning slavery in the district of columbia, it just took him more time. one of the other interesting issues, and this is what i'm convinced lincoln would have handled differently had he not had these formative times with slavery. if you have a claim against the federal government at this time, you didn't go to the u.s. court of claims. it didn't exist yet. congress was in charge of hearing all these claims. so there was a claim from the owners of a slave named antonio, he's this multilingual, brilliant scholar who again, by an accident of birth, ends up as a slave. and he's lent out to the u.s.fa government at the end of the seminole war, and he's allowed to leave and, basically, escape so his heirs are looking forensa money from the federal government.ncol abraham lincoln, i'm convinced, when he got to congress, we have to compensate this family.g but instead now lincoln, the sort

. >> reporter: corinne as a district of columbia employee gets the benefits of being married because cal government is the nation's capital recognizes same-sex marriage. but only nine states in the district of columbia have taken that step. so corinne loses status as a spouse just by crossing the potomac river into virginia. >> why do we have to be married locally but federally, it is -- nothing. we are friends. arranged symbolically. it is ridiculous. >> what the bill does. >> reporter: now the defense of marriage act, known as doma, first passed by congress and signed by president clinton in 1996, is being challenged at the supreme court. >> whether or not congress can pass a law that treats same-sex couples who are already married under the laws of their state different from opposite sex couples. >> reporter: congress has as much right as the state to make et cetera own definition of marriage. >> it is for because congress said it was for. i mean, we sent our elected representatives to washington, d.c., and they chose to say marriage is one man and one woman for purposes of federal

nine states and the district of columbia allow same-sex marriage, seven more eave -- civil union laws. >> carolyn will be sitting in court when the supreme court considers prop 8 and the defense of marriage act. her live report begins tuesday here on abc7. >>> san francisco police credit a neighbor's quick thinking in helping to catch a group of suspected vandals in the act. it appears they had just finished the outline of their graffiti when the officers arrived. the man who called police asked us not to give his name. >> they just finished painting it a couple weeks ago, and it's like every other week there's something new up there, and they're constantly having to clean it. >> i think it's important that we're able to catch these offenders and bring them to justice. >> ama: police also told us they discovered 52 cans of spray paint and several markers when officers searched the suspects. suspects include ten adults andup juvenile. some have previous arrests for vandalism. >> survivors or the san bruno pipeline explosion came together today. eight people died. community members work

it's appeared in history when the district of columbia concluded hearts of what is now virginia. i went to look at the 50 year time. i get a sense of why alexandria became part of the district of columbia, what went wrong and why it left. one of the things they wanted to do is give people a sense of what life was like. firefighting work very differently in this time period. kramer differently. slavery played a crucial role in this time. politics are very different. lots of research on the politics. this is what was essentially democratic to be. i thought that was interesting because today in the modern world of the democratic town. they're sort of a through line you can look back the political divisions and that still exist today. when i was doing research for the book, i found three places i would like to take you to get a sense of what it was like to live in alexandria d.c. one is to point park, the original number marker for the southernmost tip. the other is the dueling ground, wasting this tool took place between secretary of state henry clay and virginia senator john randolp

nine states and the district of columbia allow same-sex marriage.tnership laws. the court is expected to rule late in june. carolyn tyler is travel to washington, d.c. >> she will be sitting in court when the nation's highest court considers whether california's proposition 8 wrongly denies the right to marry. the live reports begin here on tuesday. >>> besides gay marriage, they will hear arguments on a case involving billions of consumer dollars. at issue is brand name drug companies and generic drug a makerers. they will argue the deals cost taxpayers more than $3 billion a year by delaying the luggage of cheaper generics. >>> scientists say they have a way to get rid of that annoying song that gets stuck in your head. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ama: but i like all those songs. repeat in your head when they are catchy and mind under stress. researchers say there is a way to get rid of them. you need to task that is not too complicated because it uses same part of the game. doing anograms can stop the loop. other puzzles are mazes are more difficult can get the job

nine states and the district of columbia allow same-sex marriage, nine more have strong civil union or partner ship laws. >> carol lynn tyler is traveling to washington, dc and will be sitting in court when the nation's highest court considers whether california's prop 8 wrongly denies gays and lesbians the right to marry. >>> the nationest highest court is taking on another big issue that cost taxpayers more than $3 billion a year. the a practice that leads to higher prescription prices. >>> also a silicon valley big wig is helping in the effort to keep the kings in sacramento. >> crash, crash, boom. >> neighbors say they've never seen or heard anything like it. a story behind a car's rough ride. >> leigh: i'm meteorologist leigh glaser. we have had a nice weekend, but we're going to see some changes weather weis this upcoming work week. >> a preliminary vote is expected on tuesday on a stadium deal intended to keep the kings in sacramento. sacramento mayor kevin johnson says the city reached a plame agreement for a new downtown arena with an investment group that hopes to keep the te

before 2007 only 12 states and the districts of columbia had abolished the death penalty. ars ago legislators in the state of new jersey became the first since the '70s to abolish the death penalty. the same year new york emptied its death row after that state's highest court had declared it in violation of the state constitution three years earlier. in 2009, new mexico repealed the death penalty followed by illinois in 2011. connecticut repealed the death penalty just last year and now maryland becomes the sixth state in six years to say no to executing prisoners. once the measure is signed. will more states follow? joining us now is the president of the naacp ben jealous. thank you for being here tonight. >> thank you. >> you worked very hard on this. >> yes. >> the naacp worked hard. >> yes. >> how does this get a done? >> this got done because it was bottom up. it was our folks going door-to-door. call centers, catholic church. it was people who frankly had come off of death row like kirk bloodsworth, because they were innocent. getting out there and telling their stori

. >> same-sex marriage is already legal in the district of columbia, so if georgetown is going to get sued, thecan ed already. >> but they will be sued allover, everywhere in the country. >> don't sue georgetown. they have had enough trouble with the playoffs and their basketball team. the president wants progress on gun control. >> it has been barely 120 days since 20 children and six brave educators were taken from us in gun violence. >> 90% of americans support background checks. agree on% of americans anything? michael bloomberg spent $12 million on a background check ad blitz this weekend. we learned that the shooter had carried 1030-round magazines into the school. three of the magazines were still in his house. in his house they found an arsenal. would any of the laws they are talking about have stopped him? >> i don't think so. e gunheck tng would not have made a difference. it was his mother's. >> yes, and she gave him money to buy it. had nine knives, a lot ofurai swords, ammo. coaste guilty of east elite is some, but as a parent, yourn't you be curious if kid had an arsenal

currently, 18 states and the district of columbia allow same-sex couples to participate in joint adoption. >>> the vegas strip came to a standstill wednesday as nearly 100 people were arrested while protesting against the cosmopolitan casino. union workers have been negotiating a contract with the casinos owners since it opened two years ago. >>> so just where is the economy headed? according to federal reserve chief ben bernanke the economy is improving. however, interest rates will stay low now until unemployment falls below 6.5%. >>> more news from nike after the bell investors will look at nike's future orders. china trends. and gross margins for a read on consumer demand in china and here at home. >>> expectations are climbing for home sales. >>> cash-strapped cyprus banks are still closed and late night meetings broke up with no new plan b to fund the island's much need bailout. the european central bank gave cyprus until monday to work out a deal or be cut off from emergency funding. >>> closer to home, cvs is weighing in on its controversial policy to require employees to report t

it is legal in nine states and the district of columbia and a growing number of lawmakers and public figures are coming out in support of gay marriage. >> my son came to my wife and i and told us he was gay and that launched an interesting process for me which was rethinking my position. >> you do not need a 50-state solution presented by the supreme court when our democratic institutions are perfectly capable of handling the issue. >> among those expected to attend is california lieutenant governor, attorney general harris, and san francisco city attorney, along with chief justice john roberts' lesbian cousin, a san francisco woman, hoping to marry her partner. >> many people in the bay area are paying close attention. same-sex marriage advocates make their feelings known loud and clear. abc7 news reporter kira klapper is live at san francisco city hall. kira? >> kristen, good morning to you. supporters of marriage for same-sex couples will be here as the supreme court hears the historic case on the heels of a huge march last night, the largest at castro and market street, the large

only nine states in the district of columbia allow for same-sex marriages. it took an interesting turn later this week when several high-profile republicans came out in support of the movement. they include john huntsman and last year's rnc featured guest and famous open-chair talker, actor clint eastwood. >>> well, it is sequester day in washington. a meeting is set for later this morning at the white house between president obama and congressional leaders, but it might be too little, too late. lawmakers have so far not acted, and it prompted a rare public outcry in the senate. >> rise up, oh, god, and save us from ourselves. pour your wisdom upon our lawmakers so that they will do your will. >> nbc's tracie potts joins now from washington. tracie, good morning to you. what do you have to say about reverend barry black there? >> reporter: well, it's kind of interesting when you take a look at what's going on and the fact we've seen these public polls where they seem to echo that same sentiment. now today the white house saying the number one purpose of this

currently nine straights and the district of columbia grant rights to same-sex couples while several others allow civil unions. the law was signed by president clinton in 1996. the former president has since said it should be overturned because it discriminates against gays and lesbians. plaintiffs will argue for federal benefits to be extended to same-sex couples in states where their marriages are recognized. there are more than 1,000 laws granting benefits to married couples. everything from tax savings to social security benefits. but the law excludes those for legally married same-sex couples because they have no federal status. >>> former cia director david petraeus took his first step back into the public spotlight last night. petraeus kept a low profile since admitting to an extra marital affair with his biographer paula broadwell. last night at a usc dinner honoring veterans and rotc generals delivered a speech that offered his first public apology for the sex scandal that led to his resignation from the cia last november. >> so please allow me to begin my remarks this eveni

same-sex marriages are legal in nine states and the district of columbia, and as cbs reporter danierleotingham tells us the high court indicated it could throw out a law that denys federal benefits to those couples. >> demonstrators for and against same-sheks marriage spent a second day outside the u.s. supreme court. >> man and woman. that's it. >> wednesday's case, the defense of marriage act or doma which denys government benefits to gay and lesbian married couples. doma violates the equal protection clause by treating heterosexual married couples differently than homosexual ones. >> there's two kinds of marriage, the full marriage and then the sort of skim milk marriage. >> justice elena kagan questioned whether lawmakers paed doma to make a statement. >> what happened in 1996 and i'm going to quote from the house report here is congress decided to reflect and honor a collective moral judgment and to express moral disapproval of homosexuality. >> justice anthony kennedy is considered a swing vote. he expressed concern that the law stips on the state's rights to authorize marriages

for medical professionals the majority of the local hospitals and doctors offices within the district of columbia i think staff physicians nurses ancillary personnel understand that this is not a disease of casual contact so that you go in the hospitals now and you don't see red bags outside of the door you don't see signs up there of isolation just because a person's age you may see it up there for a host of other reasons but not for being impossible. it would seem that this heightened awareness of medical professionals would lead to earlier detection of new age hiv patients six to two percent of patients who actually come into care are diagnosed with aids within a year of being tested positive for hiv let me see that again within a year of a diagnosis of. over six to two percent of those patients are diagnosed with those patients the majority of them were receiving medical care what it means then is that the clinicians the physicians physician assistant nurse practitioner advance practitioners pharmacists dentists did not know the clinical stations of the disease or didn't pay attention. of tho

attention to federal law considering the defensive marriage act currently nine states and the district of columbia grand marriage rights to couples while six others allow for civil unions. the law was signed by president clinton in 1996. the former president since said it should be overturned because it discriminates against gays and lesbians. plaintiffs argue for federal benefits to be extended to same sex couples where benefits are recognized. there are more than 1,000 laws granted benefits to married couples, tax savings to social security benefits but the law excludes those for legally married same-sex couples because they have no federal status. >>> former cia director david petraeus took his first step back into the public spotlight last night. petraeus kept a low profile since admitting to an extramarital affair with his biographer. last night at a dinner honorering veterans, he delivered a speech that offered his first public apology for the sex scandal that led to his resignation from the cia last november. >> so please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply i

in new data out today, the average unemployment rate dropped in 46 states and the district of columbia last year. it stayed the same in new hampshire and pennsylvania and was up in just two states, new york and new jersey. north dakota continues benefiting from the shale energy boom with the lowest state unemployment rate in the nation for the fourth year in a row. also making the list, nebraska and south dakota. and the states with the highest unemployment include two where the housing collapse hit full force. nevada and california. rhode island had the third highest. regionally, the west was the only area to have an unemployment rate above the national average. the northeast sits relatively close to the national average. and the two bright spots for job seekers were the midwest and the south. ruben ramirez, "n.b.r.," washington. >> tom: best buy won't be bought out, at least not by its founder. richard schulze ended his efforts to takeover the company. that news came as the retailer lost less money than feared during the holiday quarter, as it continues to turnaround its business. er

currently nine states and district of columbia allow same-sex couples to marry. 29 states banned it outright. brian flores, ktvu channel 2 news. >> david stevenson will be at the supreme court for tomorrow's oral arguments and he'll have live reports throughout the day. join us for a news special at 6:30 when we go in depth on the prop 8 case. we'll break down the arguments and gauge reaction from washington, dc to the bay area but a decision is probably not expected in this case until mid-june. >>> meanwhile, the u.s. supreme court today is set to hear a case filed by federal regulators which could affect the cost of prescription medicine. the government is asking the high court to stop big pharmaceutical corporations from paying other drug companies to delay releasing cheaper generic drugs. regulators argue those deals deny american consumers price reductions on their medication of about 90%. pharmaceutical companies say the deals protect the billions of dollars they spend developing new drugs. >>> the supreme court is also broadening its examination of a case that could end the practice o

. >> to remind everybody, just nine states and district of columbia allow it and there will really be a patchwork of benefits for people if the court goes the way we think it's going to go. doyle: ok, thank you. there's also been striking movement on same-sex marriage in the political arena. with a number of high profile politicians coming out in support. the latest were four democratic senators this week, three from the red states of north carolina, west virginia and missouri. those political wins were not lost on chief justice john roberts. >> you don't doubt that the lobby supporting the enactment of same-sex marriage laws in different states is politically powerful, do you? >> with respect to that set of the term, i would, your honor. >> really? >> yes. >> as far as i can tell, political figures are falling over themselves to endorse your side of the case. doyle: so, dan, are these sudden conversions an example of politicians leading the pack or coming in behind? >> i think we know the answer to that. when are politicians leading on an issue like this? the legal systems and the po

for medical professionals the majority of the local hospitals and doctors offices within the district of columbia i think staff physicians nurses ancillary personnel understand that this is not a disease of casual contact so that you go in the hospitals now and you don't see red bags outside of the door you don't see signs up there of isolation just because a person is positive you may see it up there for a host of other reasons but not for being positive. it would seem that this heightened awareness of medical professionals would lead to earlier detection of new age hiv patients six to two percent of patients who actually come into care are diagnosed with aids within a year of being testing positive for hiv let me see that again within a year of a diagnosis of hiv over six to two percent of those patients are diagnosed with those patients the majority of them were receiving medical care what it means then is that the clinicians the physicians physician assistant nurse practitioner advanced practitioners pharmacists dentists did not know the clinical manifestations of the disease or didn't pay at

for medical professionals the majority of the local hospitals and doctors offices within the district of columbia i think. nurses ancillary personnel understand that this is not a disease of casual contact so that you go in the hospitals now you don't see red bags outside of the door you don't see signs up there of isolation just because a person is a positive you may see it up there for a host of other reasons but not for being impossible. it would seem that this heightened awareness of medical professionals would lead to earlier detection of new age hiv patients six to two percent of patients who actually come into care are diagnosed with aids within a year of being testing positive for hiv let me see that again within a year of a diagnosis of hiv over sixty two percent of those patients are diagnosed with aids those patients the majority of them were receiving medical care what it means then is that the clinicians the physicians physician assistant nurse practitioner advance practitioners pharmacists dentists did not know the clinical manifestations of the disease or didn't pay attention. of t

for medical professionals the majority of the local hospitals and doctors offices within the district of columbia i think staff physicians nurses ancillary personnel understand that this is not a disease of casual contact so that you go in the hospitals now you don't see red bags outside of the door you don't see signs up there of isolation just because a person is a positive you may see it up there for a host of other reasons but not for being impossible. it would seem that this heightened awareness of medical professionals would lead to earlier detection of new age hiv patients six to two percent of patients who actually come into care are diagnosed with aids within a year of being testing positive for hiv let me see that again within a year of a diagnosis of hiv over six to two percent of those patients are diagnosed with those patients the majority of them were receiving medical care what it means then is that the clinicians the physicians physician assistant nurse practitioner advance practitioners pharmacists dentists did not know the clinic. or the disease or didn't pay attention. of those