a slave to washington was a young woman who was early or mid 20's who was mostly a slave to martha washington who helpedin to address her and cook and did household work and found out somewhere in at 1795 that martha washington was planning to give her way as a gift for a wedding 21 of her relatives. this meant would never promised the washingtons had made to their slaves that is some point* you will be free when we die, that would be out the door. and so oni began to maker plans to get out the door. one night in the spring while the washington's were in the living room havin sg o dinner, she went out the door. you could see them calling her. where is the food? oni was gone. she made contact with a black community she got rid of her close and personal possessions and vanish. it turned out accidentally she was discovered to be in new hampshire and washington found out buy completely accident. they decided to go after her because even though asng t president of united states and someone who declared himself anti-slavery would have thought he would have said she is gone, i am representing the co

her committed cooking, household kind of work, and she found out somewhere in 1795, 1796 that martha washington was planning to give her away as a gift for a wedding of one of her relatives. now what this meant was that whatever promise the washingtons had made to their sleeves at some point you would be free wasn't going to be out the door. so onie began to make her plans to get out the door. so one night in the spring of 7096 while of washington's more in the living room having dinner, onie went out the door, and you can see them calling her, where is the suit, onie, where is she at? onie was gone. she made contact with the black community there and she has her other personal possessions and then she vanished. as it turned out, accidentally she was discovered to be in new hampshire. the washingtons found out by a complete accident so they decided to go after her because even as president of the united states, someone who declared himself as antislavery, you would have thought she would say she's gone, i'm representing the country, let it go. they wouldn't let it go so they went after her. ini

she was a young woman, probably early to mid 20s, who was mostly a slave to martha washington.he helped to dress her, she did cooking, household, kind of the works. she found out somewhere in 1795, 1796 that martha washington was planning to give her away as a gift for a wedding of one of her relatives. now, what this meant was that whatever promise the washington ted made to their slave, that is some point you will be free when we die was going to be out the door. and so she made her plans to get out the door. and so one night, in the spring of 1796 while the washington's were in their living room having dinner, she went out the door. and you could see them calling her. where is she out? she was gone. she had made contact with the black community there and she took her clothes and other personal possessions and then she vanished. now, as it turned out, accidentally she was discovered to be in new hampshire. the washington's found out through complete accident. so they decided to go after her, because even though as president of the united states and someone who has declared hi

and in 1796, that martha washington was planning to give her away as a gift to one of her relatives. what this meant was whatever promise to washingtons had made to their slaves that at some point you will be free when we die, going to be out the door. so she made her plans in and one night in spring of 1796 when washington was in the delivery room having dinner, went out the door. you can see where is the suit? she was gone. she had made contact with of the black community. and her personal possessions and vanished. it turned out accidentally she was discovered in new hampshire. found out through complete accident and decided to go after because even though as president of the united states who was declared and try slavery he would have thought she is gone, i am representing the country, let it go. they wouldn't let it go. they went after her. they were embarrassed about it. so they sent an envoy to meet with her. if you come back we will work out and all is forgiven and we will let you free. i am free now so i don't really see the point of this discussion. i am not going back so tha

for "nightline," i'm martha raddatz in washington. >> president obama's drawdown in afghanistan. thanks to martha for that. >>> just ahead, a verdict in the case of a self-help author accused of manslaughter in the deaths of three people in an arizona sweat lodge ceremony that was supposed to purify them. i was driving in northern california. my son was asleep. i really didn't see it coming. i didn't realize i was drifting into the other lane. [ kim ] i was literally falling asleep at the wheel. it got my attention, telling me that i wasn't paying attention. i had no idea the guy in front of me had stopped short. but my car did. -my car did. -thankfully, my mercedes did. [ male announcer ] a world you can't predict... demands a car you can trust. the e-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. so i took my heartburn pill and some antacids. we're having mexican tonight, so another pill then? unless we eat later, then pill later? if i get a snack now, pill now? skip the snack, pill later... late dinner, pill now?

. >> and martha raddatz joins us now tonight from washington. d martha, wasn't lost on me when you pointed out that the head of counterterrorism happens to be the president's nephew. how long can the u.s. even count on the nephew helping? >> reporter: i can't manage the general will be around for long. the people of yemen wanted the president out of the country, they want all his family members to step down, too. but this does add instability to the situation. what the general is doing is very important. they have no idea who will follow him. and i cannot stress enough how important yemen is to counterterrorism efforts around the world. >> martha, we know you'll be following this. thank you. >>> in afghanistan tonight, a rare display of emotion from robert gates, as he thanked the men and women, the u.s. troops serving there. gates said the white house has yet to begin a formal discussion on how to proceed with the timeline for this summer's initial troop withdrawal. but tonight, he is talking about how it's time for him to move on. talking exclu

was it molly pitcher, martha washington or george washington?ed like. george washington designed this flag which he displayed over the troops -- hold it this way in 1775. of course, it looks a little different with the british on that side. >> it looks very british. this was 1775 they weren't at war yet. there was still a hope that they could come to some agreement, so washington designed this flag to put over the troops in boston in 1775, a year before independence. >> that was a little bit of a trick question. >> it was. >> two sisters rendezvousing in new york from virginia and tennessee. which of the following do americans spend the most money on for the fourth of july? beer, hamburgers and hot dogs, watermelon or soda? >> hamburgers and hot dogs. >> maybe at your house, not at mine. >> the correct answer is -- >> beer. appropriately on wine wednesday it is beer, but there is a historic connection here as well. sadd sam adams was a famous brewer before he became a patriot. sam adams beer, much later, and has nothing to do with it. we can fin

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> today the senate intelligence committee begins confirmation hearings for general david petraeus as the next head of the cia. petraeus is retiring from the army after heading up the war in afghanistan. >>> people living along a swollen river in north dakota are now bracing for historic flooding, the worst since the 1800s. the river has already climbed over levees designed to protect the city of minot. more than 10,000 people had to scramble to leave town after evacuation orders were pushed up by five hours yesterday. thousands of homes and businesses are now expected to be flooded in the next week. >>> the home of the kentucky derby is littered with debris after a tornado touched down near the famed track. about five barns at churchill downs were badly damaged. in fact, the horses were running loose. no races were going on when it hit and no horses or people were hurt. >> those fancy hats wouldn't stand a chance. >> they wouldn't and those are expensive horses. >>> now for this morning's weather from around the nation, more severe weather is in

martha raddatz is in washington with more. >> reporter: the pentagon's top general wanted a slower withdrawal but president obama said a faster pace is warranted. the president tonight said u.s. troops have made progress in the fight against al qaeda. >> al qaeda remains dangerous and we must be vigilant in the task. when we have put al qaeda on a path to defeat, we will not relent until the job is doneward ways clear from his comments is the focus in the future will be on counterterrorism, not a broader approach. >> of course, huge challenges remain. this is the beginning, not the end, of our effort to wind down this war. >> reporter: once the initial draw-down is over, it will continue. >> after this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace. >> reporter: success on the battlefield. but what has been the cost? in just 2011, the u.s. will spend more than $118 billion and just since the surge began more than 670 americans have been killed. this 20-year-old, 11 years old when the war began, was one of them. i want to know what you said to the picture when you wen

and, in fact, it was, there was a letter that popped up that washington had written to sally just before he married martha, and he recalls a thousand tender passages that passed between us in the past. and some people were really fascinated by this and scandalized by it, and they began to develop these stories that washington was really a ladies' man and that before he married martha and after he married martha he had all these affairs, all these love affairs. and he became really a very fascinating, romantic figure. but the other angle to that was what happened to martha. what happened to her image in the 19th century. martha became the stereotypical victorian grandmother. and she, worse than that, people began to claim that she was ugly, that she was grouchy, that she was always nagging george, that she was stupid, that she was really a terrible, terrible old shrew and that george couldn't stand her. he only married her for money, but he sought solace in the arms of other women such as sally fairfax. well, none of these stories were true. now, it may well be that before george got married to martha that

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> and the west is watching another tinderbox overseas, syria, where an exodus is under way. thousands of refugees are streaming across the border into turkey, trying to escape the president's forces. government helicopters said to be firing randomly at anything that moves. residents are in hiding, sending out urgent messages begging for help. at least 32 people were killed today. >>> and still ahead, a u.s. government worry about a chemical found in some houses, even coffee cups. what's the risk? >>> favorite recipes of presidents released by the national archive. we test a beloved chili. >>> and, the small gestures here at home that really help the fighting men and women overseas. our "persons of the week." do you think i'd let osteoporosis slow me down? so i asked my doctor about reclast because i heard it's the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment. he told me all about it and i said that's the one for nana. he said reclast can help restrengthen my bones to help make them resistant to fracture for twelve months. and reclast is approved t

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> german chancellor angela merkel returns home with a special souvenir. president obama awarded her the presidential medal of freedom, highest civilian honor, presentation at the state dinner in the white house rose garden. merkel grew up in east germany, the president praised her for overcoming the past and a brighter future. >> airlines are doing a better job of not leaving passengers stuck on the tarmac hours on end. the government says the delays have largely disappeared. after new rules went into effect a year ago. the department of transportation has threatened to fine the airlines up to $27,000 per passenger if they were kept on the tarmac for longer than three hours. and who hasn't been there, done that. >> absolutely. well, basketball players aren't flying anywhere yet. staying in dallas. nba finals will go to at least game six. thanks to last night's heroics by the dallas mavericks. mavs down again in the fourth quarter. they outscored the heat 21-9 over the final ten minutesch desperation shot by miami wasn't even close. tossing up so

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >> and abc news will have live coverage of tonight's presidentiald george stephanopoulos will be here with live coverage and analysis. that will start at 8:00 p.m. eastern, 7:00 central. >>> former house speaker newt gingrich says his presidential campaign continues despite its second shake-up this month. this time gingrich's top two fund-raising advisers resigned. word is they stepped down because gingrich's campaign is at least $1 million in debt. earlier this month, 16 of gingrich's top advisers resigned at the same time. >>> first lady michelle obama continues her visit to south africa where she delivers a keynote speech today at a leadership forum for young women. mrs. obama and her daughters had an unscheduled meeting with nelson mandela yesterday. when they visited him the 92-year-old former president sent word that he wanted to meet them. now the first lady's mother was also there to meet mandela. >>> another violent scene in greece after lawmakers gave the embattled prime minister a vote of confidence. police set off tear gas and used stun

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> sarah palin says her one nation tour is taking a bit of a breathern is disputing online reports that say her bus tour has been canceled. on her facebook page palin says the schedule for the next few weeks will be tight because she's been called to jury duty. but she added that she's looking forward to resuming her bus tour. >>> an arizona jury has convicted a self-help guru who led a sweat lodge ritual that ended up with three people dead. james ray insists the deaths were a tragic accident. but prosecutors say he should have stopped the two-hour, sauna-style spiritual cleansing after participants got sick. ray was found guilty of negligent homicide rather than the more serious charge of manslaughter. he faces up to 12 years in prison. >>> lindsay lohan will be back in a los angeles courtroom later this morning so a judge can consider whether she violated her probation. lohan reportedly failed a court-ordered alcohol test last week. she has been under house arrest for violating another probation in a 2007 drunk driving case after taking a necklace fr

martha raddatz of abc news. nia-malika henderson of "the washington post," pete williams of nbc news and -- >> covering history as it happens. live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week with gwen ifill." produced in association with national journal. corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> this rock has never stood still. since 1875, we've been there for our clients through good times and bad. when their needs changed, we were there to meet them. through the years, from insurance to investment management, from real estate to retirement solutions, we developed new ideas for the financial challenges ahead. this rock has never stood still. and that's one thing that will never change. prudential. corporate funding is also provided by boeing. additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. nearly 10 years after the 9-11 attacks propelled america into war in afghanistan, president obama de

martha: brand-new polls on exactly where we stand in the 2012 match up at this point. new numbers from an abc news "washingtont" poll show president obama and former governor mitt romney in a dead heat 47-47 if the election were held today. romney as you know formerly lawn. his election campaign last week. other numbers show americans very concerned about the u.s. economy and how the white house is handling what could be the most important issue in this election. we'll get to the numbers and show you how they are very dramatic actually. that is coming up in a few minutes from now. back to this story now, because it is just so much on everybody's minds over the past couple of days, the twitter escapades are married congressman anthony weiner has touched off a new nation-wide debate. why are we seeing more and more of these online sexting scandals, you think will congressman chris lee taking a picture of himself in amirer and sending it. that ended his time in the capitol. what does all this sta this sayt relationships and where we are. we have the author of the 30 day sex solution, a relationship expert. i've

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> german chancellor angela merkel returns home from the u.s. staying in dallas. nba finals will go to at least game six thanks to last night's heroics by the dallas mavericks. the mavs were down again in the fourth quarter. they outscored the heat 21-9 over the game's final ten minutes desperation shot by miami wasn't even close. tossing up some air. mavs win 86-83. series tied two games each. ame five is thursday night. boy, these have been all tight, exciting games. >> really good series. >> yeah. >> you know it's really nice to watch the series. everybody thought the heat would take it. here come the mavs. >> it's been competitive. shoutout to the postman. >> postman of center creek, california, that is. doing the same route for nearly a decade. so he certainly recognizes, something about it that is offered along the way. he did. of >> yeah, young called the police when he noticed a 68-year-old woman's mail wasn't being picked up. she had fallen and couldn't get up for two days. p.m. >> how about that. she is fine. young is called a hero. he

admiministration considers troop withdrawal from afghanistan, we talk to martha raddatz of abc news and karen de young of twopt. "the washington post." >> what they have now, they have those 0,000 extra troops, the surge troops, and they can they take out 5,000 by the end of july? 10,000 by the end of july? and how rapidly do you do that over a period of 12 months, 18 months, and i think that's what president obama wants to come out and say, look, we can do this a little faster here if we have more through the end of the year as secretary gates wants and as admiral mullin want and then you can start gradually taking them out. >> rose: weontie this evening with the story about the great news of stan musl, with bob costas of nbc sports and tim mccarver of fox sports a george vecsey of "the new york times." >> even thoughtan the man is a great nickname and the stance was distinctive there's just not one momen ther aren't the controversies or the specific achievements, all time home run king, 56 game hitting streak -- he just kind of slipped through the cracks. >> and we conclude this evening with a look at how to make flanthropy

debate in washington, where democratic leaders want to withdraw more troops than the pentagon recommends. and it is of course a matter of deep concern on the front lines of the war zone. marthatly traveled to afghanistan and filed this report. >> reporter: the calls for politicians and pundits in washington for a substantial and rapid drawdown of u.s. forces, echo only faintly in the rugged mountains of eastern afghanistan. soldiers and marines to generals and front-line troops worry much work remains to be done here. >> i think in certain selected areas that we'll be here for a while. >> reporter: lieutenant general david rodriguez is just completing a tour, running the day-to-day operations of the war. he says american troops will be required for quite some time. >> i can see people here past 2014. it will take a while for that to really build the capacity enough that they can do it on themselves. >> reporter: we recently visited a small out post in the valley that had been under mar tar fire just before our arrival. we were with major general john campbell along the treacherous border with pakistan. >> in all of the mood, how do you convince people that you should keep go

. >>> now to washington where president obama will announce tomorrow how many troops he is pulling out of afghanistan and how fast they're coming home. let's bring in martha raddatz for more. the white house says that the president hasn't made a final decision yet but the military advisers want a smaller pullout and another camp including the vice president and his political team urging a steeper, faster withdrawal. >> reporter: very familiar sounding, george, as you know. this, of course, is all about the surge troops. 30,000 troops they're looking at and how fast they withdraw them. the military is given a range of options, how many, how fast, the pentagon is backing a plan for just 5,000 troops being removed this year. there's other plans to remove 30,000, all 30,000 within a year, others want 15,000 by the end of the year, 15,000 by the end of next year, but i believe you'll see all 30,000 out by the end of 2012, george, and that will leave still about 70,000 troops in afghanistan. >> right, and the president would give the military commanders flexibility perhaps in what to do next year, but trying to set a goal for this year, do you expect him to go