mr. mullen hopes this program will inspire students. >> just the experience of kids trying something thathey never would have thought of trying and they realize, hey, i can do this, so maybe that life lesson will roll over to some other things about trying new things and giving it a go. >> it's true. for many of these kids, this class has become something more. >> yeah, every single day i come after school like as soon as i finish my work, i come outside to the skate park. i skate all day, until i get tired. >> it's who i am. it's my hobby. it's what i do. it's what i like to do in my spare time. >> skateboarding. it's fun. >> skateboarding originated in california. surfers wanted something to do on land when the ocean was flat. they called it "sidewalk surfing." i'm tyler, and that's sports for this week. >>> you might have heard that college within expensive. your parents certainly know it. but that doesn't mean higher education is out of reach. nicole talked to insiders about how to make college more affordable. >> reporter: many college and university campuses are so beautiful they ca

mr. mullen hopes this program will inspire students. >> just the experience of kids trying something thaty never would have thought of trying and they realize, hey, i can do this, so maybe that life lesson will roll over to some other things about trying new things and giving it a go. >> it's true. for many of these kids, this class has become something more. >> yeah, every single day i come after school like as soon as i finish my work, i come outside to the skate park. i skate all day, until i get tired. >> it's who i am. it's my hobby. it's what i do. it's what i like to do in my spare time. >> skateboarding. it's fun. >> skateboarding originated in california. surfers wanted something to do on land when the ocean was flat. they called it "sidewalk surfing." i'm tyler, and that's sports for this week. hey, at&t u-verse tv? yeah, it's our new tv service. every day thousands of customers across the nation are switching to at&t u-verse. [ female announcer ] visit an at&t store today. hurry and take advantage of our great deal on u-verse tv. just $29 a month for six months. plus for a limi

spangled banner"] >> ladies and gentlemen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen. >> mrpresident, secretary gates, distinguished guests, most of all families and friends of those we lost on 9/11, inside the pentagon, near the chapel, lies a quilt on display. it was stitched together by dozens of americans who simply wanted those of us who survived the attack on his building to note that day, our fellow citizens, would always remember those who did not. on that quilt are written these words by a little girl, "in our hearts, we weep for you. in our minds, we honor you." today, her words still comfort us, because today, we still weak for those we lost here and in new york -- weep for those we lost here, in new york, and in somerset county. we honor them with our presence and certainly with this memorial. mostly, we honor them with our lives, with what we have done from that day to this, the sacrifices we have borne, the laughter we have shared, the hope we have dared to let back into our hearts. unspeakable carnage was visited upon us here, but it did not conquer us. unimag

star-spangled banner"] >> ladies and gentlemen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen. >> mr. president, secretary gates, distinguished guests, most of all families and friends of those we lost on 9/11, inside the pentagon, near the chapel, lies a quilt on display. it was stitched together by dozens of americans who simply wanted those of us who survived the attack on his building to note that day, our fellow citizens, would always remember those who did not. on that quilt are written these words by a little girl, "in our hearts, we weep for you. in our minds, we honor you." today, her words still comfort us, because today, we still weak for those we lost here and in new york -- weep for those we lost here, in new york, and in somerset county. we honor them with our presence and certainly with this memorial. mostly, we honor them with our lives, with what we have done from that day to this, the sacrifices we have borne, the laughter we have shared, the hope we have dared to let back into our hearts. unspeakable carnage was visited upon us here, but it did not conquer us. unim

mr. vice president, secretary gate, add more mullen, general austin, command major wilson, major coleman, iraqi friends, deputy prime minister, prime minister, minister of defense, interior, the general, although wonderful general officers of the iraqi army and air force, thank you so much for coming today. you are the future of iraq and we think the future of iraq is very bright. i would also like to take a minute just to thank all of those is and so much time and effort in putting this ceremony together to make it special for both me and general austin. i truly appreciate that. i a tree sheet -- appreciate the band and a color guard, but everyone behind the scenes and i cannot think we probably recognize what you do to make this a special event. so, thank you very much. usually when you are at a change of command you take some time to thank those who supported you. i would like to name a lot of people. but i have been here 40 out of the last 47 months, as the secretary pointed out, and i have been here through three corps headquarters, 24 different u.s. multinational divisions, 211 brig

joint chiefs admiral mike mullen is said to say his deputy went behind his back on matters. and robert gates reportedly fumed about possible moves of mr. obama's security staff, which he calls a disaster. the current commander in afghanistan, general david petraeus is quoted as telling an aide he doesn't like talking to david axelrod. in the book, it describes axelrod as a complete spin doctor. and it talks about a cia 3,000-man covert army. and it has intelligence in a afghan president hamid karzai suffers from manic depression. president obama also takes politics into account, as he sets that withdrawal deadline for next july. he says in the book, a deadline is needed because, quote, he can't lose the whole democratic party. this is all based on "new york times" reporting on that advanced copy of the book. all this just breaking this morning. so far, no comment from the white house. rob and vinita? >> interesting details. emily schmidt in washington this morning. thank you. >>> and more shakeup at the white house. president obama's top economic adviser is now stepping down. larry summers plans to leave the white house and return to

mr. president, i come to the floor to discuss the defense position crystal clear. i agree with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen, that the don't ask, don't tell law should be repealed. it should be repealed, contingent upon the certain fictions ocertifations of the p, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staffhat its repea would not have an adverse impact on military readiness, recruitment and retention. and those are, mr. president, extly the provisions that are included in the defense authorization bill. my view is that our armed forces should welcome the service of any qualifiedndividual who is willing and capable of serving our country. the bottom line for me is this. if an individual is willing to put on the uniform of our country, to be deployed in war zones like iraq and afghanistan, risk his or her life for our country, then we should be expressing our gratitude to those individuals, not trying to exclude them from serving or expel them from the force. that is why, mr. president, during consideration of this bill in may i supported the compromise provisions that were put fort

mr. speaker, i rise today to share with my colleagues the text of a letter i sent today to president obama, secretary gates, and admiral mullen. all other parties in the administration charged with executing the war efforts. i'm enclosed my correspondent to the administration a copy of a letter from a constituents who is the mother of six children all of whom are currently serving or have served in the u.s. military. i submit for the record a copy of my original letter to the president as well as a copy of the letter from my constituent and ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the record. my letter today to the administration will read in part, i implore you to consider my constituent's views. the views of an american mother with children glad to serve our country and to move swiftly to establish an afghanistan, pakistan study group modeled after the iraq study group to bring fresh eyes to the war effort in afghanistan. the group would be comprised of nationally known and respected individuals who love their country more than their political party and would serve to provide much needed clarity to a policy that is incre

mr. president, during consideration of this bill in may i supported the coromise provisions that were put forth by senatorberman and senator levin. at a previous senate armed services committee hearing, i asked admiral mullen if there were any evidence at all that allowing gay and le lesbian tros to serve had harmed military readiness in those countries that allowheir service now. at least 28 countries, including great btain, australia, canada, the netherlands, and israel, allow open service by lesbian and gay troops. we have no greater allies than great britain, australia, canada, and israel, and none of these countries, not one, reports morale or recruitment problems. at least nine of these countries have deployedheir forces alongside american troops in operation iraqi freedom, and at least 12 of these nations are allowing open service and are currently fighting alongside u.s. troops in afghanistan. there's a cost involved in our current policy. according to a 2005 g.a.o. report, american taxpayers spend more than $30 milon each year to train replacement for gay troops discharged under the n't ask, d't policy. the total costs reported since the statute was implemented, according to g.a.o., has been nearl

mr. president, during consideration of this bill in may i supported the compromise provisions that were put forth by senator lieberman and senator levin. at a previous senate armed services committee hearing, i asked admiral mullen if there were any evidence at all that allowing gay and le lesbian tros to serve had harmed military readiness in those countries that allow their service now. at least 28 countries, including great britain, australia, canada, the netherlands, and israel, allow open service by lesbian and gay troops. we have no greater allies than great britain, australia, canada, and israel, and none of these countries, not one, reports morale or recruitment problems. at least nine of these countries have deployed their forces alongside american troops in operation iraqi freedom, and at least 12 of these nations are allowing open service and are currently fighting alongside u.s. troops in afghanistan. there's a cost involved in our current policy. according to a 2005 g.a.o. report, american taxpayers spend more than $30 million each year to train replacement for gay troops discharged under the don't ask, don't policy. the total costs reported since the statute was implemented, according to g.a.o., ha

mr. president, during consideration of this bill in may i supported the compromise provisions that were put forth by senator lieberman and senator levin. at a previous senate armed services committee hearing, i asked admiral mullen if there were any evidence at all that allowing gay and le lesbian tros to serve had harmed military readiness in those countries that all their service now. at least 28 cntries, including great britain, australia, canada, the netherlands, and israel, allow open service by lesbian and gay troops. we have no greater allies than great britain, australia, canada, and israel, and none of these countries, not one, reports morale or recruitment problems. at least nine of these countries have deployed their forces alongside american troops in operation iraqi freedom, and at least 12 of these nions are allowing open service and are currently fighting alongside u.s. troops in afghanistan. there's a cost involved in our current policy. according to a 2005 g.a.o. report, american taxpayers spend more than $30illion each year to train replacement for gay troops discharged under the don't ask, don't policy. the total costs reported since the statute was implemented, according to g.a.o., has been n