. >> he teaches at purdue and he says job placement for purdue grads is usually around 90 or 95%. >>>d weather in march and april is helping america's partners get their guild planted at record or near record pace. for instance 53% of the nation's corn is now planted and the averages 97%. in iowa, the amount of corn planted 41 points. in other words they planted about 6 million acres of corn in one week. >>> meteorologist mike hoffman joins us now with the national forecast. >> that's a big change from the past week. it looks like those old oak flow is gone and we will see up and downs in the jet stream and perhaps a cutoff low coming out of the southwest. that could move slowly through the drought areas and provide some of the needed raid but that's just a chance at this point. the jet stream will be interesting this whole week. we are starting with a rigid east with the warm air is. it's already turning cooler across the great lakes and minorities. you can see a widespread area of showers and thunderstorms from the mississippi valley eastward to the eastern seaboard, a local or acro

he was coming to america to purdue university to complete his degree in computer engineering.ust a month from graduation, however, his life changed forever. his neighbor two floors below intentionally set a fire with his wife and child still inside. >> by the time my roommate and i woke up, the whole apartment was on fire. >> he and his roommate tried to escape but they couldn't. >> my roommate collapsed in front of me and i started running down the stairs. >> he only made it down a few steps before he collapsed. a fireman found him still alive but on the way to the hospital, he could hear paramedics talking about how badly he had been burned. >> at that moment i was thinking about my family and what hi come here for to get a good education and now this guy is saying that i don't have a chance to survive and i passed out and then i woke up in university of chicago burn unit after four months of induced coma. >> he had burns over 90% of his body. so far he's had 54 operations. but he didn't give up. he credits three people for his survival. >> my father, my mother and my occupa

take beverly purdue also elected in 2008.ided not to run for reelection. in the midst of her first term republicans gained the majority for the first time in 140 years. while the gop has gained strength democrats are facing an embarrassing scandal. two weeks ago the state party executive director quit among allegations he sexually harassed a former staffer. even governor purdue has called on him to resign. the guy was holding himself in a hotel for a while. democrats are also facing political problems. its jobless rate of 9.7% is higher than every state except for nevada, rhode island and california. put the politics and economy together to see why it will be a little tougher for the president. winning north carolina seemed unlikely last time around, as well. the state had become in the red column ever since the days of jimmy carter. the president's victory in 2008 was by the slimmest of margins. president bush's margin of victory in 2004 was by more than 434,000 about 30 times larger than obama. north carolina is considered

but governor purdue has vetoed a record 16 bills to protect the people in her state. with new abortion restrictions. a voter id bill. and a budget that slashed education spending and defunded planned parenthood. and while some republicans were able to override some of the vetoes, perdue is still fighting back. joining me live from raleigh, north carolina, is the woman herself, democratic governor bev perdue. thank you for joining me today. first off, let's talk about amendment one. polls closing in just a little over an hour. why should people vote no on this amendment, governor? >> because it is a bad amendment for north carolina's economy. it changes our brand. sounds like from our intro that you know a lot about what is going on in our state. this is not about gay marriage, it is about what you said. intruding on civil unions, domestic partnerships. it hurts children's healthcare plan, hurts domestic violence. i had an e-mail from a friend in car saying, i'm sitting here watching what is happening in north carolina. we have been progressive. we're proud of what we

because he was coming to america to purdue university to complete his degree in computer engineering. just a month from graduation, however, his life changed forever. his neighbor two floors behind intentionally set a fire with his wife and child still inside. >> by the time my roommate and i woke up, the whole apartment was on fire. >> he and his roommate tried to escape. but they couldn't. >> my roommate collapsed in front of me. and i started running down the stairs. >> ron only made it down a few steps before he collapsed. a fireman found him still alive, but on the way to the hospital, he could hear paramedics talking about how badly he had been burned. >> at that moment, i was thinking about my family, what i had come here for, to get a good education, and now this guy is saying that i don't have a chance to survive. and i passed out and then i woke up in university of chicago burn unit after four months of induced coma. >> he had burns over 95% of his body. so far, he's had 54 operations. but he didn't give up. and he credits three people for his survival. >> my father, my moth

. >> now, peer reviewed research from purdue university suggests honeybees may be victims of neonicotinoids. widely used insecticides on a variety of crop seeds. when corn is planted by machines to help keep seeds from sticking together, mixes with the insecticide, and is released into the air. >> it's an environment that is hostile to a honeybee. if it's in an area where a lot of annual crops are planted. >> he said there's enough toxic material on one kernel of corn to kill tens of thousands of honeybees. and there are 30,000 kernels planted per acre. of the 200 million acres planted with coated seeds, the largest manufacturer of neonicotinoids said there's not enough toxins in the dust to cause widespread deaths or colony collapse disorder. >> it doesn't cause colony collapse dish order. there's just not a link there. the evidence isn't there suggesting these products are causing widespread colony losses of honeybees. >> bear crop science and minnesota officials are looking into the deaths at steve ellis' hives. along with other beekeepers, he's asking the epa to investigate in an effort

the bus is crushing of them all the italian city of purdue it's left five dead injured more than a dozen is the latest pictures we're getting through the new center left the road and ended up partially submerged in a canal in what looks to be clear weather conditions it was carrying retired policeman and will better event in venice emergency rescuers are at the scene searching the canal in case there are more victims as investigations into the cause continue. free public schools available to all have been the cornerstone of the u.s. education system but savage government cuts slashing budgets in half a brought teachers parents and pupils out onto the streets saying learning is now beyond the reach of many others we didn't listen to their plight. parents who join forces can be a powerful voice for change. i think i'd be very thankful for if she was. here but this is being observed if the governor is caught you are going to from the air from two thousand and three told to if you will of experience of forty six percent much you can no eleven year old vanessa had to repeat her grade and was

also democratic governor of maryland martin o'malley who received twenty five thousand bucks from purduechicken is head of the democratic governors association and is now turning a blind eye to produce rampant pollution of the chesapeake bay in his home state worst of all the best government money can buy may soon take us all to war this week house republicans plan to vote on a house resolution five sixty eight which calls on the president to take our nation to war should iran ever become capable of building a nuclear weapon even though both u.s. and israeli intelligence agencies have confirmed that iran is not building a nuclear weapon united republicans found that lobbyists working on behalf of the israeli lobbying group apac are the ones primarily pushing this bill so far this year a package hired seven lobbyist and spent more than seven hundred thousand dollars according to republic report pushing several pieces of legislation including this one calling for war with iran which goes against the best interest of u.s. soldiers our economy and the stability the world but does suit the in

here is bev purdue on it. >> we have a clear statute on the books that defiance marriage in north carolinag between a man and a woman, so today's vote though some of the extremist have labeled it a marriage act, it's about taking away civil rights. >> today she of course not the only person getting involved. it is a national issue. and former president bill clinton, number 42 was also chiming in with his own set of robo calls on the issue. >> the real effect of the law will be to hurt families and drive away jobs. >> and polling on this issue shows that 55% -- the most recent -- 55% were in favor of the ban, and 39% were against it. but the most important part of this conversation is that the democrats are holding their convention there in september in the state of north carolina in charlotte, and the fact that that is happening, makes you wonder whether or not if this does happen in north carolina, the democrats should either pull out or they should say all right. we're going to boycott this convention. the convention is taking place at the banc of america stadium, which is really incredi

george. [ laughter ] >> check three, on the real gay marriage issue, north carolina governor bev purdue, a democrat, not happy the state has voted against gay nuptials. >> people around the country are watching us, and they're really confused to have been such a progressive, forward-thinking, economically driven state that invested in education and that stood up for the civil rights of people, including the civil rights marches back in the 50s and 60's and 70s. folks are saying what in the world is going on in north carolina. we look like mississippi. >> bill: by the way governor perdue not running for re-election which is is why she said that check four robert back to will lyndon johnson debuted number one. because i'm now writing a book about john f. kennedy i asked mr. caro this. >> i'm fascinated between the dynamic between john kennedy and linden johns when he was vice president. did kennedys did like johnson and if so why. >> i don't think he disliked him. i think he feared him. he had seen him operate in the senate. when he had so much power and the kennedys, when he was vice pre

opponents like governor purdue said that is so broad, it would strip away domestic partner benefits, harm the children of unmarried parents and leave women vulnerable to domestic violence. >> whatever your personal moral or religious views may be, writing discrimination into north carolina's constitution is just plain wrong. >> reporter: fitzgerald said that such claims are, quote, absolutely false. >> and what we're talking about here is protecting the definition of marriage from a radical homosexual agenda from being radically redefined. >> reporter: and early voting on the matter has been very heavy. both sides say that is good for their cause. >>> it's week three of john edwards' corruption trial. back on the stand today, the lawyer for melon, alex forger testified that he believes she gave edwards money intended as a gift not as a campaign contribution but she said it was for his personal needs and was not told what they were. john edwards is accused of using campaign contributions to cover up his affair with his mistress real hunter. >>> a colombian prostitute at the center of

because he was coming to america to purdue university to complete his degree in computer engineering.nged forever. his neighbor set a fire intentionally with his wife and child still inside. >> by the time we woke up, the whole apartment was on fire. >> reporter: they tried to escape. but they couldn't. >> my roommate collapsed in front of me and i started running down the stairs. >> reporter: he only made it down a few steps before he collapsed. a fireman found him still alive, but on the way to the hospital he could hear paramedics talking about how badly he had been burned. >> at that moment, i was thinking about my family, what i had come here for to get a good education and now this guy is saying i don't have a chance to survive and i passed out and i woke up in university of chicago burn unit after four months of induced coma. >> reporter: he had burns over 95% of his body. so far he's had 54 operations. but he didn't give up. and he credits three people for his survival. >> my father, my mother and my occupational therapist, shannon hendricks. >> reporter: he says his father sa

because he was coming to america to purdue university to complete his degree in computer engineering.nged forever. his neighbor set a fire intentionally with his wife and child still inside. >> by the time we woke up, the whole apartment was on fire. >> reporter: they tried to escape. but they couldn't. >> my roommate collapsed in front of me and i started running down the stairs. >> reporter: he only made it down a few steps before he collapsed. a fireman found him still alive, but on the way to the hospital he could hear paramedics talking about how badly he had been burned. >> at that moment, i was thinking about my family, what i had come here for to get a good education and now this guy is saying i don't have a chance to survive and i passed out and i woke up in university of chicago burn unit after four months of induced coma. >> reporter: he had burns over 95% of his body. so far he's had 54 operations. but he didn't give up. and he credits three people for his survival. >> my father, my mother and my occupational therapist, shannon hendricks. >> reporter: he says his father sa

purdue pharma which makes oxycontin did not respond to our request for an interview.rug does carry the fda's strongest warning label and it has asked the fda for approval of a new version of oxycontin the company says is harder to abuse. meanwhile in 2007 the national drug intelligence center ranked heroin the most serious drug threat in new england. >> schools don't want to say there are drugs available. the realtors don't want to say there are drugs in the community. and so it is the big, silent epidemic in the suburban america. >> the dea back on the street. >> got a good eye on it. camera's good. ten four? >> the guy walking behind me with the light colored jeans. >> the purity we have in new jersey has ranked one or two within the last five or six years of the highest level of street level purity in the country. ♪ if loving you is wrong ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it. pssst! don't go in

george. [ laughter ] >> check three, on the real gay marriage issue, north carolina governor bev purduete has voted against gay nuptials. >> people around the country are watching us, and they're really confused to have been such a progressive, forward-thinking, economically driven state that invested in education and that stood up for the civil rights of people, including the civil rights marches back in the 50s and 60's and 70s. folks are saying what in the world is going on in north carolina. we look like mississippi. >> bill: by the way governor perdue not running for re-election which is is why she said that check four robert back to will lyndon johnson debuted number one. because i'm now writing a book about john f. kennedy i asked mr. caro this. >> i'm fascinated between the dynamic between john kennedy and linden johns when he was vice president. did kennedys did like johnson and if so why. >> i don't think he disliked him. i think he feared him. he had seen him operate in the senate. when he had so much power and the kennedys, when he was vice president, felt they had to keep h

. >> and this morning on the daily rundown, democratic governor bev purdue appeared to have the same stance as president obama and would not commit to outright supporting same sex marriage. >> do you understand the awkwardness of basically saying you're against banning gay marriage but not for it. that's where the president is. it sounds like that's where you are. it is a head scratcher to a lot of people watching this debate over the last 24 hours. >> let me just be very direct. you all can continue to scratch your head for another 48 hours. it is very important to me that the folks in north carolina who have not cast their ballot understand that this constitutional amendment takes away a lot of civil liberties. >> and the "news nation" political panel joins me now. migraine smerconish, talk show host and msnbc contributor. also steve deace. we're waiting for the reverend william barber, the president of the naacp in north carolina. and gentlemen, you may have seen this video of him. he went to a news conference and really took a strong stance against the state considering this amen

. >> reporter: governor purdue had his doubts about enforcement when he signed caleb's law banning texting and all cell phone use for young drivers. cox said the law had an unintended backfire. >> when it wasn't illegal people would hold it up by the steering wheel. now they drop it down to their lap. as a consequence it's even more dangerous. >> reporter: he says the device can work in concert with parents who lead by example. >> they need to put their phone away as soon as they get in the car. that needs to be the rule. >> that was jeff strickland reporting from atlanta. this is our facebook question of the day. do you think devices to block texting should be installed in all cars? let us know. go to wnnfans.com. sounds like a good idea. safety first. >> definitely something to think about for sure. >>> we'll be back with more after this. >> announcer: abc's >>> this next story has real historic value. or should i say prehistoric? on top of that it's from my home state of new jersey. >> when i went to jersey i was expecting to see some "hair" and snooki. what i found was dynamite. >> rep

guest: you know, i think you'll have to ask governor purdue.as doing a good job and certainly would have supported her but, you know, people in politics have to make decisions from time to time about what -- what they want to do. and she decided not to run this time. we have some great candidates on the democratic side and i'm excited to see who prevailed on tuesday. host: there's also been a lot in the news about the state of the democratic party in north carolina with the chair having to leave and now the search for a new democratic party chair. what impact does that have in oranging the state for a governor's race but also for a presidential election? guest: well, you know, i think in reality, people vote on candidates and not on what party leadership is doing or not doing. and i think that will happen in north carolina this year. i think we have a great presidential candidate in barack obama. we will have a great gubernatorial candidate and great candidates all the way down the ticket and i think that's what voters will be focused on this f