before we finish i would like to ask, you did a lot of reporting on this and you talked to john lawrence and tyro garner and both men have passed away in the last couple years after the case was decided. tell us a little bit about lawrence and tyro garner. >> guest: they both grew up with a humble background, not much education, tyro garner was one of the tenth of ten michel burn in a black baptist family. he never had a permanent home, never had a permanent job, never owned a car, shifted from house to house. john lawrence had a steady job as a medical technologist but neither he nor tyro garner were ever involved in any kind of civil rights movement for civil rights cause until this case came along. tyro garner died in 2006 the year after i interviewed him and john lawrence died last november, 2011, six months after my second interview with him in which he told me the full story of what happened from his perspective. >> wanted to set the record straight about what happened in the apartment. is it true he never got to tell his story at the time the case was coming off. >> guest: he also

then there was at fact that john lawrence was talking back to them. he was calling them storm troopers and thugs and telling them he was going call his lawyer, and the lead officer in the case really did not appreciate being talked to that way. and i think they were upset because they had been called on a false premise to the apartment and wanted to somebody needed to pay for that. [laughter] >> host: in read your book, you gave the basic facts of what happened in the apartment and how did the case went forward that the men were arrested for having sex in the apartment. it seems shocking you could be arrested in 1998 nor your own apartment for something like that. after reading your book i got the impression, the sense, that none of this was true. that there is a reason to doubt the basic -- there was sex in this apartment, and the lead officer you did a very fine job of reporting on. he had arrested mothers at school for dropping their kids off like at the wrong place in front of the school and taking them to jail. so he seemed to have a hair trigger

texas from the rest of john lawrence and tyron garner, to justice can is reading of the supreme court decision in 2003. the ruling that same-sex sexual activity legal in all u.s. states and territories and paved the way for same-sex marriage laws. >> host: you've written a fine book on the supreme court case of lawrence v. texas, a book that tells the story from the beginning to the end. let me begin with sort of a big picture of question at the end. why is the lawrence case important? >> guest: i would say this is probably one of the most important civil rights decisions or constitutional individual liberty decisions from the supreme court over the past 50 years or so. and it's the most important decision so far for the rights of gay men and lesbians. so this is an opinion that is important a great many people, and i think will be longer but

>> chris lawrence, thank you. >>> john berman with other stories making news. >>> the united states officially recognizing syria's opposition coalition as the representative of the syrian people. it's just a show of support. it is does not mean america will arm rebel forces. president obama talked about why the decision was made right now. >> the syrian opposition coalition is now inclusive enough. reflective and representative enough of the syrian population, that we consider them the legitimate representative of the syrian people in the asass regime. >>> hugo chavez, recovering from six hours of surgery in cuba this morning. the fourth cancer-related operation for the venezuelan president since the summer of 2011. his vice president tells the people of venezuela the procedure on chavez was complex and completed correctly and successfully. >>> so michigan, the cradle of the organized labor movement is

john. >> reporter: don't just thank me. avis and diane and bill and marcus and lawrence and bill and greg and darrell all had a hand in gettingou that pie. i'm john donvan for "nightline." >> how do i get on your gift list, john? thanks for that. >>> coming up a veteran returning home from battle with big hollywood dreams gets a very unexpected mentor. i have what science calls the nightly stuffy nose thing. i can't breathe, so i can't sleep. and the next day i pay for it. i tried decongestants... i tossed and turned... i even vaporized. and then i fought back with drug-free breathe right. these nasal strips instantly open my nose, like a breath of fresh air. i was breathing and sleeping better. [ female announcer ] exercise your right to breathe right. get two free strips at breatheright.com. hey it's your right to breathe right. >>> more than 200,000 troops are expected to retire from the military this year and when they come home they face another kind of battle, breaking into a new career. many are looking for a helping hand. when one soldier with hollywood aspirations went looking for a mentor he never dreamed who would

lawrence. >>> thank you. >>> coming up. john boehner has a plan b for avoiding the fiscal cliff. >>> and in the re-write tonight, the nra has asked for a couple more days to figure out what to say about the massacre of women and children in newtown, connecticut. we do know this, they will not say what is best for america. they will only say what they think is best for the nra. loud ] hi, i'm ensure clear... clear, huh? i'm not juice or fancy water. i've got nine grams of protein. that's three times more than me! [ female announcer ] ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. . >>> i have never seen the nra under the kind of pressure they are under tonight. they are desperately trying to figure out what they will say at their press conference on monday. we'll have much more on the nra, including tonight's re-write. and the fiscal cliff is still approaching, and luckily we have ezra klein to explain the latest, john boehner's plan b. coming up. well, if it isn't mr. margin. mr. margin? don't be

lawrence. >>> thank you. >>> coming up. john boehner has a plan b for avoiding the fiscal cliff. >>> and in the re-write tonight, the nra has asked for a couple more days to figure out what to say about the massacre of women and children in newtown, connecticut. we do know this, they will not say what is best for america. they will only say what they think is best for the nra. ...ss customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please? >>> i have never seen the nra under the kind of pressure they are under tonight. they are desperately trying to figure out what they will say at their press conference on monday. we'll have much more on the nra, including t

john: let's bring in two scientist. ian hutchinson teaching nuclear physics and lawrence krauss who was an atheist. and asserts the universe came from nothing. >> absolutely. is a god necessary? is there evidence? >> you don't need god to create something from nothing natural law does that all the time. the ancient distinction have now been changed or thrown out by science. there is no evidence there is any purpose to the universe. it is not rational but as michael suggested to force your believes to reality than the other way around. john: ian hutchinson as a professor of nuclear science you look at the evidence? you are confident there is a god? >> i am. his book does offer a universe free of god more from nothing but offers from the laws of physics. i would hope as a fellow physicist would agree there is nothing. john: why do think there is intelligent design? >> what convinces me the most is the resurrection and life of jesus christ that is evident. it is not scientific evidence it unisys that is the only evidence you will listen to then you will rule out a religion but also a whole host of oth

john: let's bring in two scientist. ian hutchinson teaching nuclear physics and lawrence krauss who was an atheist. and asserts the universe came from nothing. >> absolutely. is god necessary? is there evidence? >> you don't need god to create something from nothing natural law does that all the time. the ancient distinction have now been changed or thrown out by science. there is no evidence there is any purpose to the universe. it is not rational but as michael suggested to force your believes to reality than the other way around. john: ian hutchinson as a professor of nuclear science you look at the evidence? you are confident there is a god? i a his book does offer a universe free of god more from nothing but offers from the laws of physics. i would hope as a fellow physicist would agree there is nothing. john: why do think there is intelligent design? >> what convinces me the most is t resurrection and life of jesus christ that is evident. it is not scientific evidence it unisys that is the only evidence you will listen to then you will rule out a religion but also a whole host of other types

lawrence o'donnell. >> if i knew last night that john boehner didn't have the votes to pass his plan b, why didn't he? >> tomorrow the house will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for every american. >> yes, we are going to have the the votes. >> wasting everyone's time. >> nope. >> will there be a vote tomorrow? >> the meaningless vote is even more meaningless. >> this is some sort of dance. >> these are gyrations i've never seen before. >> a bunch of members called up john boehner and said we don't like this. >> house republicans have refused to govern. >> every time this guy takes a step forward he gets slammed. >> boehner takes a step forward. >> joe biden spoke today for the first time. >> the president is sab luteally committed to keeping this promise. >> he was not chosen by accident. >> he has such a long history with these issues. >> we are five per scent of the world's population and we have 50% of the guns. >> you have to deal with that glaring statistic. >> only six more days until the cliff now. after house republicans revolted tonight and john boehner had to send them away on

it is time for "the last word," with lawrence o'donnell, thank you for joining us, have a great night. >> i don't know how john boehner did this. but tonight, john boehner's plan b is being attacked by president obama and rush limbaugh. and in a last word exclusive, the basketball coach who used his post-game press conference to talk about something much more important than the game. mass murder in america. >> the fiscal cliff talks, are they stolen again? >> i hope the president will get serious soon. >> i have met them at least half way. >> john boehner's so-called plan b. >> what is the strategy for plan b? >> make sense of what just happened. >> they're thinking about voting for, raising taxes. >> except for household income above a million. >> but they will reject spending cuts. >> the president will have a decision to make. >> that defies logic. >> this is baffling. >> grover norquist has given his blessing, that defies logic. >> people across america thought we were behaving like adults. >> stay classy, gop. >> if this does nothing, it will give us perspective. >> it is announcing a task force on guns.

just catch us up on everything, john, all the big news that happened today. >> right here, lawrence. nothing. nothing happened. but i have to say, though, i'm still with bill crystal and that 50% tooth fairy crowd in thinking the republican leadership in the senate and then, as a result of that, in the house are going to decide that they've already taken enough punishment. the punishment will get worse after january 1st and that ultimately they will accept, at least temporarily, perhaps not as a permanent solution, but at least temporarily, the deal that bill crystal says was worse than the one they rejected from a republican point of view that they rejected in the plan b proposal, because the outcome of this at the end of the day is pretty clear, and even people who are stubborn idealogically understand where their political bread in the long run is buttered as a party and those poll numbers showed a lot of the story that you just showed. >> let's listen to what chuck shimmer says he thinks will happen if we do go over the cliff. >> make no mistake about it, if we go over it, and go

here is part of a tax reform panel that featured lawrence john podesta.hn p >> thank you. i will turn the stage back to either cook from bloomberg. he will moderate -- to peter cook from bloomberg. he will moderate the discussion. >> we hope to come up with some answers from this esteemed panel. >> [inaudible] >> you heard it here folks. we need to come up with some ideas. thank you, chairman baucus. there are some new faces at the table. again, welcome to all of you. we will go around the table quickly and introduce at least our new faces. we have bill gale from the brookings institution. he has done a lot on tax and fiscal issues. we have lindsay, a former economic advisor for president bush. welcome. john podesta and chief of staff to bill clinton. welcome. john has to leave us a little bit early. i will go to him first when we begin. we also have the co-director of bill. we have will marshal as well. we have senator bob pack worwar. xe is part of the '86 ta negotiations. hope to get your thoughts on that. please jump in. we have about an hour or an hour and a half. if

lawrence o'donnell. have a great night. >>> we don't know what john boehner said to the president on the phone today, butwe do know that boehner is finally admitting defeat on one thing. the rich will have to pay more. >> the next 72 hours are critical. >> will republicans cry uncle? both sides are still locked in a stalemate. >> there's plenty of hot rhetoric to go around. >> both sides are coming out swinging. . >> raising tax rates will hurt the economy. >> i will not play that game. >> president obama standing his ground. >> i will not play that game. >> he's not willing to play that game. >> playing the smackdown. >> i think the president has boxed the republicans in. >> i know we have it to raise revenue. >> is he the only republican? >> i don't care how we do it. >> raising tax rates hurt the economy. >> let's just go over the [ bleep ] cliff. >> if they do not make this deal on tax rates for the top 2%, then they're going away. >> i just hope this doesn't become a game of chicken. >> i will not play that game. >> it goes into february and march. >> public opinion is on their side. >> when we have

lawrence, in 1867 finally decided to ride further west on business, ♪ unaware that his trail had been picked up by free men: the lone ranger, tonto, and their good friend, marshall johnton. well, that's as far as i'm able to go with you. my territorial jurisdiction ends here. -thanks, marshall for all your help. i only wish i could have done more. now that lawrence has gotten out of texas, i'm afraid he's going to be very difficult to track down. -him not known further west, marshall? well, to tell the truth he's not even too well known here in my district. we just received the handbills on him here in rockwell a few days before you two rode in. strange he'd head this way instead of towards mexico. not so strange if someone near here has bought his services. well, mister, i sure hope you catch him before he ruins any more lives. we'll do our best. ♪ ♪ ♪ ashes still warm, kemosabe. -yes, tonto. lawrence can't be far ahead now. town of painted post only a few miles away. you think him go there? -i'm almost-- tonto,

lawrence o'donnell. just 21 days until we go off the fiscal curve. speaker john boehner went to the floor of the house of representatives to provide an update on a deficit reduction deal. with president obama holding no public events today, it was the perfect opportunity for boehner to try to change the narrative of the current tax debate and shift some of the pressure onto the president, but the white house was ready to respond with props. >> we're still waiting for the white house to identify what spending cuts the president is willing to make. where are the president's spending cuts? >> it's not a mystery. we've seen this before. this is the document that contains the specific spending cuts. the speaker of the house sent us a proposal two page long that included one sentence on revenue. pages 17 to 45, details on proposed sending cuts by the president. pages 17 to 45. i recommend them to you. >> speaker boehner's attempt to play the reality card was met with a reality heck from nancy pelosi. >> if the president doesn't agree with our approach, he has the oblig

john hawk for the session. hugh jackman for mess and denzel in nritd and joaquin phoenix and jennifer lawrence topic for silver lining play back but support is building for jessica chastain in zero dark 30. other choice include 2 french actress and immanuel in amore. amazing sick yooeringd-year-old in beast of the wild. supporting actor choice the favorite has to be tom lee jones for lincoln. supporting actress include' hathaway in less mess and helen hunt in the session. dream work madagascar and rise of the guardian and pixar for animated feature. >> i am. >> we make the financial vote then i'll be at the award ceremony in santa monica on january tenth. that show will be a full bucket. see it live on the cw. i'm don sap chez abc 7 news and we'll see you on the aisle. >> who gnaw the force was with so many people in england. >> "star wars"here they come. >> the popularity of the "star wars"mavie can not be underestimated. in the 2011 census in the united kingdom more than 1 sfaiv,000 people say they practice the religion known as jedi knight. that's less than half a percent of people but keep in mind it's mor

andresen will be recognize for his bravery by state assembly speaker john perez, as the new legislative session opens today. >>> here's lawrence dry day around the bay area. finally catching a break in all the stormy weather outside right now. a few clouds, otherwise looking good overlooking san jose. and toward the afternoon, enjoying some sunshine and some nice weather. temperatures now mainly in the 40s as we head toward the afternoon, though, mid-60s into san jose about 64 san francisco, and 63 in concord. next couple of days, we do have another storm heading our way. in fact, by late tomorrow chance of rain developing in the north bay, rain expected overnight tuesday night into wednesday. dry weather on thursday and friday. we are going to check your "timesaver traffic" coming up next. get ready for a feeling of clean like nothing else. extreme clean from aquafresh. it showers your whole mouth with rich micro-active foam. thousands of germ-killing bubbles seek out hard to reach places and help kill the sources of bad breath then rinse clean away leaving a cool tingling that just won't quit extreme clean from aquafresh. ta

lawrence. >>> a positive sign in the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. president obama and house speaker john boehner have spoken on the phone. the president also met yesterday with ceos of some of the nation's largest companies hoping to convince them of the need of higher tax rates on upper income americans. >> we are not insisting on higher rates out of spite or bickering but, rather, because we need to raise a certain amount of money. >> house majority leader eric cantor echoed of thoughts of his fellow republicans saying more needs to be done about spending. >>> the colorado movie theater where a gunman opened fire during the latest batman movie will finally reopen next month. aurora's mayor says the cineplex will open to the public on january 18. movie theater plans to run free movies for the first couple of days. you may recall 12 people were killed, 58 others injured, when holmes allegedly james holmes opened fire allegedly in july. >>> same-sex marriage is legal in washington signed into law last night by the governor. dozens of people got marriage licenses at the courthouse in seatt

also nominated john hawkes, hugh jackman and denzel washington from "flight." jennifer lawrence also nominated for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role for her role in "silver liningsplay book." jessica chastain in "zero dark thirty" marion cotilard, helen mirren for "hitchcock" and naomi watts for "the impossible." lots of movies had a historic theme to them in the mix this year, "argo" nominated q the best exotic mare gold hotel," "less miserables" and "silver linings playbook" and "lincoln." a lot of love and buzz going into awards season. there were omissions, big names we thought may get a nomination that did not. >> that's what i wanted to ask you. >> reporter: no ben affleck for "argo" no joaquin phoenix for "the master" no kyra knightley and no john goodman. he gave a lot of wonderful performances in "flight" also in "argo" this year, so people left off the list, no emmanuel lariva, and we have the nominations so let at ward season begin. >> i always feel guilty during awards season. another list of movies that i need to get to see, i feel guilty a

lawrence o'donnell, which you should watch. have a great night. >>> tonight, who in america is betting on john boehner in his tax showdown with president obama? exactly no one. not even rush limbaugh. >> i don't think there's a republican alive who could stop what's going to happen. >> with the fiscal cliff just 22 days away. >> we're down to the final three weeks. >> the president is on the move. >> i'm willing to compromise a little bit. >> president obama on the ground in michigan. >> i will work with republicans. >> delivering a speech at an engine manufacturing plant. >> i'm willing to compromise a little bit. >> i'm willing to compromise a little bit. >> they are ready to make a deal. >> they are ready to make a deal on tax rates. >> republicans know that they have to give on taxes. >> i don't think there's a republican alive who can stop what is happening. >> senator corker has nailed this one. >> the leverage is going to shift. >> you have to have leverage. >> we don't have the leverage. the power isn't there. >> could a secret meeting seal the deal when it come to the fiscal cliff? the white house says it can happen. >> presid

lawrence. "outfront" next, new jersey republican governor chris christie in washington asking for money. hypocritical or not? a day after john mcafee was in custody, he was rushed to want hospital. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth. i have a cold... i took dayquil, but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't work on runny noses. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have an antihistamine. really? [ male announcer ] really. alka-seltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a fast acting antihistamine to relieve your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] can't find theraflu? try alka-seltzer plus for fast, liquid, cold, and flu relief. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know, the one that's been lying around. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 rollover your old 401(k) to a schwab ira, and we'll help you tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 find new ways to make your money work harder. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 so if you're ready to te

john boehner. >> that's about right. >> 65 is where boehner checks in. we were talking about boehner in the last segment. what lawrences saying is true. it's not boehner's fault he's a weak speaker, but he is an incredibly weak speaker. there's that thing in the times saying maybe they're coming around. i don't think they're coming around at all. the problem is the republican party is driven by this sort of conservative movement more now than ever before in the last couple of years. boehner is a little more old school in that. he came to congress in 1990. he was sort of a reformer and teamed up with democrats, he was more pragmatic and climbed into the leadership and fell out and climbed back in. he was next in line for the leadership when the tea party thing happen. the story of his speakership is the tea party conservatives are waiting for the minute he sells them out. he hasn't sold them out yet. >> it's like the tail wagging the dog. >> he doesn't exercise any p power. this is a test this month. he's waiting this out and looking to have enough credibility with the right to make a deal. we'll see what happens when

lawrence. we are just gathering more information about this accident we are hearing about in daly city on the stretch of highway 85. skyline boulevard right there by john daily boulevard. so we think a car ran off the roadway and we're hearing the first reports of major injuries. so again, lanes are likely blocked and if it is in fact major injuries they will be blocked for a while. in the meantime, outside here's a live look at the nimitz in oakland. no rain so far. just overnight roadwork between embarcadero and fruitvale in both directions of the nimitz this morning. farther south in milpitas, this is live look at 880/237. both directions of the freeway look good. similar story across the golden gate bridge. no problems towards doyle drive, san francisco, and mass transit continues to report no delays. that is traffic. back to you guys. >>> 5:07. new this morning, we now know nelson mandela has a lung infection. the former south african president has been in the hospital since saturday. he suffered with similar infections for the last couple of years. officials say the 94-year-old mandela is responding well to treatment. >>> an elite navy seal kille

john than chait. before that catch the last word tonight when i will be doing my best to try to fill in for the one and only lawrencebook page for the end of the week montage, at facebook.com/now with alex. happy friday to you, andrea. >> same to you. coming up next,s the president and the speaker trying to hammer out a deal. john boehner says there's no progress. does he mean it? we'll hash it out with david gregory, chris cizilla and the campaign to fix the debt. will governor nikki haley appoint stephen colbert to the senate? just imagine the filibuster. the latest with politico's maggie haberman on the impact of jim demint's departure. is there a military solution to counter weapons in syria. the latest from the white house picture gallery. all that and more coming up on "andrea mitchell reports." two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 25

lawrence, "national journal," thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. >>> what political story makes headlines in next 24 hours? but first, our amr moment. sir elton johnn end to the stigma attached to aids and hiv. >> the scene has changed. the prospects are great. we have this disease by the scuff of the neck now. we have made so many medical advances but some people are being left behind. is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. >>> which political story makes headlines the next 24 hours? jonathan capehart is back with us. hot note off the press. kelly o'donnell says the president will make a smaller offer without the $400,000 threshold. we don't know the rate will be and a smaller offer meant to avert some of the most serious things of going off the fi

lawrence versus texas in 2003 that struck down sodomy laws. >> gay friendly. >> he wrought a rather expansion expansionive ruling. >> in the healthcare case john roberts. >> and? roberts action i think is the real question here. right? >> i think there is some hope he will be the question here. was that his moment and this is where he draws the line? it's been fascinating to watch this issue sort of sold and packaged accurately as the civil rights issue of our time. the chief justice was a lawyer in the d.c. establishment and et cetera a younger member of the court. he is also going to be for a lot of reasons why everybody talked about with the obama care case looking at his legacy and earlier cases that the court has heard and think being that. >> joel calling from baltimore, maryland. good morning. thank you for joining us. >> good morning. >> what's your point or question or whatever? >> i am a gay man, but i have concerns about the supreme court. first of all, these are older americans the it's the younger ones who are defendsing to >> bill: older americans on the court, you mean? >> yes. >> bill: some of them. >> there is a fairly substantial number of