. >>> 70 years later, remembering lou gehrig's famous farewell. >> today i consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. >> today, major league baseball goes to bat for a cure. >>> and crowning glory. a spectacular view to celebrate >>> and crowning glory. a spectacular view to celebrate the fourth. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening on this independence day. last july 4th, the name sarah palin would not have rung familiar to most of us. a year later, not only is an alaska governor a household name, but we're spending the holiday weekend actively speculating over her political future. palin was john mccain's presidential runningmate. that's why her abrupt announcement yesterday that she is stepping down from the governor's office more than a year early has members of both parties still scratching their heads tonight. here's nbc's mike vikara. >> reporter: one day after her stunning announcement -- >> i will not seek reelection as governor. >> reporter: questions mount about the conflicting signals sarah palin sent on her plans for the future. >>

he realized it was a critical anniversary, 70 years since slugger lou gehrig bid a famous fatherwelln diagnosis with als. >> today i consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. >> reporter: goldsmith wrote an essay calling on major league baseball to use the anniversary to raise money for the disease. the baseball commissioner was immediately sold. >> i cannot tell you the satisfaction it's given me and all the clubs to participate in something that is so worthwhile. >> reporter: at yankee stadium this weekend, michael goldsmith threw out ceremonial first pitch. in addition, major league baseball will launch a special website where people can locate to als research and learn more about the disease that afflicts 30,000 people in the u.s. each year t. als therapy development institute is one of four to benefit. >> initials like this july fourth als initiative increase awareness and mobilize people to help us make progress. >> i want to show my kids and my students that you press ahead, and try to make something positive of a desperately horrible situation. >> reporter: a

i'm talking to curt schilling about the whole lou gehrig and anniversary and a. l. s. and they're going to read his speech on the 4thof july. on a professional note, was asked about david ortiz and his struggles and stuff. he said quite frankly i don't care. if a guy is struggling, i want to face that guy. i'm going to bury that guy. i might be friends with him off the field, but on the field, no sympathy. i'll worry about getting the other tough outs in the lineup. that's the way you have to approach your job. that guy is standing 60'6" trying to put you out of a job or out of bigs every time you come to the park -- out of business every time you come to the park. it's not personal. it's just business. i read an article when i was in high school by luke from "sports illustrated" talking about -- he put it in simple terms that. guy is take food off of my table. >> bob: one ball, one strike. baker bunts it. dead continues perfectly. clippard to gonzalez. 1-4 on the sacrifice and the tying run is at second base. now, the marlins will bring in the other left-handed batter

this weekend, he had felt the presence of his former caddie, bruce edwards, who had died of lou gehrig'sse. steve marino looked poised to write his own story, tied this afternoon for 38. >>> nationals through own disappointment this afternoon. they were done in, in part, by former national alfonso soriano's home run. he hit a two-run home run that sparked a seven-run fourth inning as the cubs clobber the nationals, 11-3. i'm going to show you this offensive gem. ryan zimmerman. derrek lee at bat, zimmerman making the tag there and getting it all the way to first base to get that out, critical, really cool play for ryan zimmerman. nation nationals will want this back. they lead 2-1. two on for soriano, who hit his first home run in 133 plate appearances last night. deep to left field. the nationals would give up seven runs in the fourth inning as they're swept by the cubs 11-3. better news for orioles fans in chicago. game tied at one in the top of the fifth. jose contreras, bit outside. adam jones would come home to score. 2-1, facing tony pena, three-run home run to right field. see ya.

raise awareness of als major league baseball teams across the country today honored hall of famer lou gehrigading his famous farewell speech. 70 years ago today he lost his life to the disease, and delivered his farewell. >> today i consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. i have been in ball parks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. >> so in close, in saying that i have had a few break. >> but i have an awful lot to live for. >> glor: strard man. next up on cbs evening news, washington's front yard in need of a makeover, and the cash to pay for it. the only one that has bifidus regularis and is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system. activia light. ♪ activiaaa! we decide to turn in early. we just know. announcer: finding the moment that's right for you both can take some time. that's why cialis gives men with erectile dysfunction options: 36-hour cialis or cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment is ri

we saw mcmillan mickey mantle stand in the same spot telling the fans he now understood what lou gehrigeant. three champions lost before their time. now. adam dunn launches one! see you later! that's number 20 for dunn and the nationals lead 5-1. the big boys, number three and four in the lineup, have come through tonight. >> rob: that's what i'm talking about. i'm talking about shark. number 20, halfway to number 40. give him six straight years of 40 home ns. see him miss location terribly and done dunn makes him ayo told you before the game, he is a fly ball pitcherment you saw nick johnson miss the hanging breaking ball to strikeout. well, dunn gunn did -- adam dunn did not miss that one. >> bob: josh willingham thought he was getting first-pitch fastball, half swing, missed it. dunn's rbi total, three tonight and 56 on the year. when that boy hits them, they are no doubters. >> rob: anderson hernandez, like he hit it. puts his arms up. >> bob: that's when the little guys gie walks up to the big guy and says that's a great feeling, isn't it? >> rob: absolutely. >> bob: you know

a message from the american academy of orthopaedic surgeons. hingbout als, better known as lou gehrig'sow this: it attacks your body. but with your support [bullet being fired from gun] bang the als association can help people with als [bullet passing through] woosh do this. >>> back now, more with secretary of education arne duncan. decade, i understand the beast that is washington, d.c. you just left the hill a few moments ago. talk to me about dealing with some of the folks that you're dealing with today who, quite frankly, watched this grow from the sidelines. this did not just happen the last eight years during a republican administration. the degradation of the public school system, the destruction of it, quite frankly. i'll use those words, won't give them to you. it happened over decades, and some of these people, it happened on their watch. how do you deal with these folks? >> yeah. i think -- and again, i'm probably the most non-political, non-ideological guy you're ever going to meet. this has nothing to do with politics. my job is to wake up every day and fight for children.

. >> my locker was used by lou gehrig. it's an undersized locker and has not been used.f the guys that does a lot of our advanced scouting and puts all of our data together with the film and stuff, he used it for about ten or 12 years. now i heard it was going to be sold and i said, hey. i want that. i said all right. i'll buy it. >> so you bought your locker. you bought the yankee stadium letters. >> the letters. >> and you bought 30 sets of seats. >> 30 sets of seats. >> if you want to bid on like a-rod's locker or mariano's locker we're doing that in a couple weeks. it's funny because immediately when you announce the sale, you say, brandon, no one is using this locker. >> that's what i said. >> it's my locker. >> but, you know, if i could afford it i'll buy mariano's locker. i'll buy derek's locker. >> i can understand. >> derek we'll have a conversation with. derek has to be derek. we have to make sure that -- i think derek may be taking his locker. >> this is point of all of this. you've spent such an important time in your career, reggie, at yankee stadium. here w

bruce edwards who was the caddy for golfing legend tom watson and edwards gets diagnosed with lou gehrigsisease. another book i'm going to be reading is a book written by one of mischaracterize friends called receive me falling by erika robuck. it's on amazon.com and it's gotten some good reviews and i'll be checking that out another book my wife just finished is called the shack. it's by william paul young, a lot of buzz around this book. it's a fictional book. i don't know too much about it. but i hear you can apply this book to your everyday life so i'll be checking that out as well. i've always been fascinated by the search for osama bin laden. and it's written by michael scheuer who was searching for bin laden. he wrote an op-ed in the "washington post" that got a lot of attention. i haven't read a lot of his books but it reminded that i should take a look at one of his books and it's called marching toward hell: america and islam after iraq. and the last book that i'll be checking out is called the 15th club. i'm a big golfer. it's a how-to book that focuses on the mental game of go

the lineup card from the night cal ripken broke lou gehrig's consecutive game streak. letters the original ireman wrote to his doctors about his failing health. streak. plus an original love letter from marilyn monroe to joe dimaggio, along with the wallet in which the yankee clipper kept it. but the 47-year-old owner of a general contracting firm says his most prized possession is the one of a kind collection it's taken him nearly two decades to create. >> i have everybody president signed on a baseball since 1901 through president-elect barack obama. >> reporter: autographed balls from the last 19 commanders in chief. when he finally landed what he says is the only baseball teddy roosevelt ever signed, he'd assembled a collection that even the ll in cooperstown cannot match. >> i'm positive i'm the only one that has this collection. >> reporter: how do you know that? >> because the theodore roosevelt signed baseball is the only one known to exist. the first five presidents that signed baseball, i have one or the hall of fame has one and no otheher ones have rfaced. >

13 states that have said by law you can use marijuana for medicinal purposes, everything from lou gehrig'sea, to gain weight in anorexia. that's sort of how it's been carved out. this bill being floated around in california would legalize marijuana and tax marijuana for all purposes, beyond just the need for medicinal marijuana. >> there is a pill form of marijuana. but what people are doing is fighting to legal iz it across the board? >> what gets you high when you smoke pot is something called thc, which has been synthesized into a drug called marinol. so the anti-people will say don't legalize marijuana, you can use the drug. if you talk to patients who used marinol, they will say nice try but it is not as effective. so there may be more going on when you inhale marijuana. >> aaron you're the group responsible, partly responsible for putting that ad out looking to make marijuana legal for all purposes, not just medicinal. why now? why are you starting this in the state of california? >> well, the state of california is a logical place to start because it has a crippling budget deficit f

this former army paratrooper, and yankees fanatic from near cooperstown, of all places, has lou gehrig's live. >> we want to balance it with a lot of strength. very proud. >> reporter: jason read the letter from george's wife. >> my husband is a great man who was dealt a difficult hand in life. i would love to see him have a day where he can laugh, smile and simply enjoy himself. >> reporter: smile and enjoy. on wednesday, with his wife kim and 4-year-old son tracen by his side, he did. is there any way to put this day into some perspective? 3rks now i'm living. i'm not dying. i'm living free. >> reporter: complete with a guided tour and a private trip into the clubhouse. >> to put a smile on their faces, even if it's just for one day. their stories are remarkable and we're all happy that we're a part of it. >> reporter: now you see why they call them the boys of summer. >> the laundry card in the clubhouse is the trick. you get bored, put them in the laundry cart and run them around. they have the time of their lives. >> reporter: the special visit was punctuated by a yankees win, and w

edwards gets diagnosed with lou gehrig's disease.o it tracks his final few months on the pga tour. another book that i will be reading is a book written by one of my friend called receive the following. so i will be reading that this summer. it's on amazon.com. i will be checking that out. another book my wife just finished is called the shack. it's by william paul young. a lot of buzz around this book. it's a fictional book. i don't know too much about it but i hear you can apply this book to your everyday life, and so i will be checking that out as well. i've always been fascinated by the search for osama bin laden, and i'm going to be reading a book by michael sure your. he is the former cia agent who was in charge of the unit searching for bin laden. he recently wrote for the washington post. i haven't read any of his books but it reminded me that i should take a look at one of his books. and this one is called marching toward hell, america and islam after iraq. the last book that we will be checking out is called the 15th club.