dr. richard s. i think a cut you off, and you were giving us a real perspective on the impact criminal history has on a person's life, and a one to give you back your time. >> i appreciate the legislation and the work that you do any work you are doing, but i think we have kind -- we do not realize how big a problem this has become. united states today, we are this global power. we are fighting wars that do not end. you all know this. and the war has come home. the war is in the streets. we have arrested millions of people for drugs. thank god i'm in california. show me some pot, you know? california is wonderful, but it is not that way in the rest of the country. they are still giving people felony convictions for possession of marijuana. you guys are really progressive. the rest of this country is not. the rest of this country is fighting a war that you cannot even protest. we are so far, even though barack is in the white house, isn't that great? the country is more right wing than you ever reali

dr. richard s. -- dr. richards. >> [inaudible] >> we love the excitement. this is all intentional. >> i'm happy to be in san francisco, and that kind of brings me to the point i want to say. this morning, we were in the courtroom, and we have lawyers, public defenders talking about legal cases, talking about the roles they play. what i think has been lost here, and maybe even this gentleman kind of raised it, is what happens to these defendants? what happens when they go back into the court, into the lock up after they have pled guilty? about 95% of them plead guilty. you know that they are being forced to plead guilty. you all know it. it is like there is a gun to their head. i call it the terror of arithmetic. they are being threatened with 100 years, 50 years, 20 years -- you know what that does to them. they go back to their jail cells. those numbers bounce around in there had. after a week or a month or six months or a year, a year-and-a- half, they plead guilty. and you know as public defenders, one of your main jobs is to make them plead guilty. and

dr. richard s. -- dr. richards. >> [inaudible] >> we love the excitement.s is all intentional. >> i'm happy to be in san francisco, and that kind of brings me to the point i want to say. this morning, we were in the courtroom, and we have lawyers, public defenders talking about legal cases, talking about the roles they play. what i think has been lost here, and maybe even this gentleman kind of raised it, is what happens to these defendants? what happens when they go back into the court, into the lock up after they have pled guilty

dr. richard besser took a close look at the company's promise to expectant parents. if they bank their baby's cord blood, it can treat all kinds of diseases later.

dr. richards probably will not authorize this, but i am going to make a plug for the book he has written. i want to say he has written the book "convict criminology." another book called "behind bars." and "beyond bars." so check it out on amazon. we also have with us the policy co-director of the national employment law project. and eliza hirsch is the supervising attorney in the clean slate pride is at the east bay community law center. welcome, panelists. i want to tell the audience that while we are having this session, if you have questions, feel free to write them down, and the ushers will get them

dr. richard besser.n new york again tomorrow. >>> but we are here tonight, at the newseum, the museum for print and broadcasting. we want to note the death of a veteran news man. he was a balding, a bit rumpled, but he was an anchor and correspondent and defender of good grammar and clear english. in two best-selling books. edwin newman was 91. >>> and still ahead, the climb of his life. it takes courage, and an american heart. is projected to hold its resale value better than camry. and has better quality than accord. as a matter of fact, people like what we're saying so much, ford fusion is now the 2010 motor trend car of the year. the fusion, from ford. get in . . . and drive one. nothing beats prevacid®24hr. just one pill helps keep you heartburn free for a full 24 hours. prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn with prevacid®24hr, all day, all night. nothing works better. that was the moment of truth. medicare by itself doesn't cover everything. i don't want to spend my life worrying about wh

dr. richard besser on a promising treatment. >>> and, growing strong. the babies of 9/11. their fathers lost in the attack. nine years later, what do they know of that day? they're our "persons of the week." >>> good evening from los angeles tonight. and more on why we're here later. but first, the story that has everyone wondering what lies beneath their homes tonight. just outside san francisco, a scene of total devastation. home after home leveled. a shattering dinnertime explosion. the source, a gas line creating fire balls 100 feet in the air, up to 1,200 degrees, melting asphalt, leaving a neighborhood looking like a crater. was the pipe just too old? and what about those residents who kept saying they smelled gas? we go to neal karlinsky in san bruno right now. neal? >> reporter: diane, even nearly 24 hours later, this neighborhood is still smoldering. the force of the blast was simply staggering. not only wiping out dozens of homes but sending more than 50 people to the hospital and killing at least four. a number they fear may go up. the blaze was like a huge blow

dr. richard edwards, congratulations. dr.ack, thank you very much for talking about this. good to have you both here. up next, live from new york it's saturday night -- almost. first this is "today" on nbc. >>> live from new york it's almost saturday night. the venerable comedy show kicked off its 36th season here on nbc. coming off a big success of betty white's award-winninging tu turn as host can they keep up the momentum. >> hi. i'm amy poehler hosting "saturday night live" this week with katy perry. >> who was "i kissed a girl about". >> i think we know. and you more than led it. you loved it. >> that wa a long time ago. >> studio 8-h was charged with energy. >> now i'm nervous. >> snl alum and "parks & recreation" star amy poehler said she's beyond excited to be back. >> she's so talented. she can do the show by herself. i can just relax. >> the show returns on the heels of betty white's emmy-award-winning stint as host by popular demand. >> i can't believe i'm hosting "saturday night live." >> it was a feel-good experi

dr. richard besser?porter: there were the people you'd expect, elected official, cancer specialists, but the loud eest voice on the hill may have belonged to mollie ward. is this your first time to washington? >> yes, i like it. >> reporter: mollie was diagnosed with a rare pancreatic cancer before she turned 2. >> we felt like our hearts had been ripped out. >> we went through the traditional courses of treatment and surgery and chemotherapy that did not work. >> to have cancer you have to be brave and you get a lot of shots and have to go through a lot of things. >> reporter: looking at mollie today, you wouldn't know doctors removed her spleen, half of her pancreas and blasted her with chemo and radiation. most children are given adult treatments in kid-size doses, but when mollie became resistant to chemotherapy, her parents were faced with two choices, take her home and make her last days comfortable or try to find a rare clinical trial. >> we were just devastated. i think you go through a sort of a

dr. richard edwards, congratulations. dr.ack, thank you very much for talking about this. good to have you both here. up next, live from new york it's saturday night -- almost. first this is "today" on nbc. brown and oakland's schools. what were the facts? fact: march 7, 2000. brown asks voters for new mayoral power to appoint school board members. he gets it, and promises better schools. but the drop out rate increases...50%. the school budget goes into a 100 million dollar deficit. the schools become so bad...the state has to take them over. it was "largely a bust," he admitted. jerry brown. failure as governor. failure as mayor. failure we can't afford now. >>> live from new york it's almost saturday night. the venerable comedy show kicked off its 36th season here on nbc. coming off a big success of betty white's award-winninging tu turn as host can they keep up the momentum. >> hi. i'm amy poehler hosting "saturday night live" this week with katy perry. >> who was "i kissed a girl about". >> i think we know. and you more

dr. richard best certify here with guidance tonight, rich. >> that's right. we spent today's study to 24 doctors and specialists around the country. 21 said they tell patients to get regular mammograms and today's findings confirm their approach. it's a mammoth study following 1 million swedish women. researchers found women between the ages of 40 and 469 who had mammograms every two yeared had a 26% less of dying from breast cancer than those who didn't have screening. screen 1200 women, you save one life. >> start at the age of 40 you have a much better chance of picking up cancer early. >> reporter: today's study flies in the face of controversial government recommendations last year when a panel found mammograms for women under 50 should be a individual decision rather than a general recommendation. their concerns, that the harm might outweigh good. like unneeded anxiety. overexposure to radiation and costly procedures. the recommendation didn't make mammograms the personal decision, it gave insurance companies the option not to cover them and was met by

dr. richards, it is my understanding you have some personal experience in this area.ould ask you to share your experiences with us and tell us about the barriers that exist for people who have a criminal record. >> i'm a convicted felon. i'm an ex-con. and i'm a professor. i'm the leader of the convert criminology group. if you just go to google and google convict criminology, you will find our website. our group was actually started many years ago by professor john irwin, who was at a san francisco state university for 30 years. john recently passed away. john, even after he retired in 1995, for nearly 15 years helps me to organize the convicts criminology group. there is now 30 of us. we are all ex cons, ph.d., and professors at different universities. because i'm a convicted felon, i should say i went to federal prison for nine years. >> [inaudible] i came to a public forum, which included a lot of

dr. richards, it is my understanding you have some personal experience in this area.ould ask you to share your experiences with us and tell us about the barriers that exist for people who have a criminal record. >> i'm a convicted felon. i'm an ex-con. and i'm a professor. i'm the leader of the convert criminology group. if you just go to google and

dr. richards, it is my undend

dr. richard besser. >> reporter: they're all over youtube. videos that show teens engaging in what's called robotripping, or dexing. millions of teens are known to be abusing dxm, the active ingredient in many over the counter medicines. >> we have young people who are choosing to abuse medicines. that's the issue we've got to go after. >> reporter: for some, it's a cheap way to get high. in large doses, the drug can cause the sensation of being drunk. but there can be real consequences. dxm can be a gateway to other drugs. can cause changes in drigs, difficulty breathing a phat heartbeat. and in rare instances, death. last year, more than 8,000 people, mostly teens, were sent to the emergency room. james hunt has been using dxm to get high since he us was 17. >> you don't think about drugs being on the counter at walmart. you just walk in anywhere, like, in any city in the country, and get drugs. >> reporter: still, today, an fda advisory committee voted to keep the cough medicines available without a description, in keeping with the industr

dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. >> tough times for that company.alls in the past year. >> they all got lots of media attention which of course not only affects their bottom line but their reputation. people take notice. >>> we'll lighten things up a little bit next in "the skinny," including information about why lindsay lohan might be going back to jail. >> who danced into the spotlight in the "dancing with the stars" premiere? >>> the 11th season of "dancing with the stars" kicked off last night. >> 11th. >> it was a good one too. in case you missed it we're going to give you the highlights of what everyone's talking about this morning. first and foremost was bristol palin. we've heard mom sarah palin might have been there. lynn told her, i think that was a very acceptable performance for week one. i have to say even donna our hair lady said she did pretty good, she really shined. check that out, it's pretty good. of course, all eyes are on mike "the situation," the guy from "jersey shore." he had kind of a disadvantage. he had only five days of

dr. richard besser. and dr. melissa inuwalla of nyu child development center.ur, the reaction we've gotten already. there's one from a viewer named karen, rich. and she asks, how can you tell when teens are just being teens? and when they are actually depressed? >> that's a tough question, as a general pediatrician. it's one that i face. depression is a departure from normal childhood development. it's normal to want to spend more time with your friends. to separate from your parents. when you have a loss of enjoyment in activities, difficulty functioning, that's when you have to think about depression. you may see changes. a loss of appetite. you may see dropping grades. feelings of worthlessness. changes in sleep. too much or difficulty sleep. and the loss of interest in activities that used to give them enjoyment. if you're seeing those things, that's time to talk to their doctor and get help. >> there's many reasons why depression, and bullying. there's a study that came out recently from the gay, lesbian and strait education network. and it dealt with gay

dr. richard besser cooks at locker room hot spots that could sideline your children's health.>>> now, to juju, the birthday girl, with the morning's news. >> there's more news breaking overseas. we're going to turn to that right now. more than a dozen election officials and one political candidate have been kidnapped in afghanistan, ahead of tomorrow's national elections, which are seen as a crucial test of the country's fledgling democracy. extra security checkpoints are set up after the taliban has threatened more attacks. >>> in washington, the senate has passed a long-awaited bill, aimed after giving small businesses a boost, with access to more credit. it will establish a $30 billion fund to help more local banks give out more loans. and will provide $12 billion in tax breaks. >>> now, is sarah palin running for president? the eyes of the political world will be watching for potential clues today, as she visits iowa, a crucial state in the election process. palin is headlining the iowa republican party's biggest fund-raiser. >>> now, diane sawyer brings us a peek at what