in 24 hours, shirley sherrod went from a forced usda resignation to a forced apology. >> i ask for shirley's forgiveness. and she was gracious enough to extend it to me. >> ms. sherrod is owed an apology. i would do so on behalf of this administration. >> reporter: the about-face was about as quickly as the media firestorm that caused it. as conservative blogs and cable tv ran a video about usda agent shirley sherrod was talking about a farmer who needed her help. >> to help a white person. so, i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> reporter: based on the speech clip, vilsack's office asked for sherrod to resign. the secretary says, without pressure from the white house. but it turns out sherrod's speech continued with how she helped the farmer and still has his support today, more than 20 years later. >> i've come a long way. this shouldn't have happened. it took too long. but it makes me feel better that the apology is coming. >> reporter: after vilsack spoke to sherrod by phone, he visited the congressional black caucus, where members said shirley sherrod needs a place ba

you know shirley sherrod's yersonal story.shamed so many people failed to google her name. >> the only people that could fire her were the hatinistration. ration. news, not the naacp. the only administration could naacp.er. they bear the most culpability here. i think, by a long shot. true.ther thing that's true. what she actually did say gets wh d right back to the last ht back toon. what she did say was that the ivision, she came to nderstand, were really not really black and white but between haves and have nots. that is what turned her around and made her fight for the white farmers. >> and i think except for her, there's enough blame to go aroundfor everyone here. tention.le that maliciously and firsttention misrepresented the dment. i believe in the first amendment. but you wish for joseph welch to say, have you no decency at last? thes from the standpoint of obama and ntion to andration, who are aidse people they should pay attention to and be afraid of? i mean i mean who is glenn beck, bill o'reilly. who is brett whate

we're going to begin with the shirley sherrod case. by now, i'm sure you know the story, how a heavily edited tape that was taken totally out of context was put on the web. the result was that the administration, without checking to see what the rest of the tape said, fired the woman. then, came a lot of apologies and the offer of a new job. michael eric dyson, you are writing a book about barack obama and race. and it seems to me, after making all of these eloquent statements about race during the campaign, now, when race comes up as an issue, this white house seems to commit some gaffe or stumbles. what do you think is happening here? >> well, i think the unfortunate reality is that there's a kind of gag order imposed on the obama white house when it comes to issues of race. there's an understandable lamentation among the obamaites that we don't want to pigeonhole ourselves into the corner of race, so to speak. but at the same time, what is sacrificed the clear and decisive action on behalf of, i think, valuable principles of racial

always a pleasure. >> up next, the fallout over the firing of shirley sherrod. what does it say about race and politics in america? we'll have the reverend jesse jackson, after this quick break. ♪ [ man ] if it was simply about money, every bank loan would be a guarantee of success. at ge capital, loaning money is the start of the relationship, not the end. i work with polaris every day. at ge capital, we succeed only when they do. whoo! awesome! yes! we've got to get you out of the office more often. ♪ my turn to drive. ♪ (voice 2) how bad is it? (voice 1) traffic's off the chart... (voice 2) they're pinging more targets... (voice 3) isolate... prevent damage... (voice 2) got 'em. (voice 3) great exercise guys. let's run it again. (voice 3) great exercise guys. even responsible people get into accidents, which is why we do all we can to help you move on after one. [ engine turns over ] and when you insure both your home and car with us, we do it for even less. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? >> chris: with race and politics back in

to help them fight discrimination. >> let me just say i'm reconsidering at this point. >> give shirley sherrod her job back. >> reporter: sherrod's firing ignited anger and shined a light on how the obama administration dealt with race. secretary vilsack insists the president's not to blame. >> this was something i decided, and i have to accept full responsibility for this. >> reporter: black leaders say it's a teachable moment. >> in many ways, race has been swept under the rug. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> reporter: now, forced out in the open in a very public way. secretary vilsack finally caught up with sherrod by phone. there is no indication from the white house that she will speak with president obama. lynn? >> tracie potts live for us in washington. tracie, thank you. and don't miss meredith vieira's live interview with shirley sherrod this morning on "today" right here on this nbc station. >>> well, a tropical storm threat in the caribbean is disrupting efforts to permanently plug bp's busted well in the gulf. work on two relief wells had to be suspended yesterday as official

shirley sherrod talks about being oppressed by a system.f she were to escape from that system she wouldn't have the same criticisms that -- >> but that's not the tape that they used. that's not fair. you said it was out of context. what was played was definitely out of context because they took her in the middle of her explaining, a story of 24 years ago, and only put that out like it was present. they didn't use the part about health care. they didn't use the part about oppression. you go to other parts of the speech. >> and that was the worst part of it. >> but have you cannot have a difference of facts. the facts is the two minutes they put out was totally out of context. >> but the fact is, if you don't agree with other places. the fact that she says something you don't agree with other places does not excuse if that first two minutes -- when i first is off it i was not aware she was talking about 24 years ago and that seems like a vital piece of information. >> she was in the past tense with everything. you could hear her building up.

shirley sherrod, the agrictu >>> we are back.ulture official wrongly accused of harboring racist views and fired on those ak su sagss became an unlikely household name this week. there is plenty of blame to go around, but one question hung in the air this week, weren't discussions about race supposed to get better in the obama era? >> reporter: it was during the presidential campaign of 2008 that senator obama set an example for how to discuss race. he had to explain controversial remarks his former pastor wright made from the pulpit. obama's point -- you are to put someone's views in the context of their life experience. >> even for those blacks that did make it, question of race and racism continue to define their world view in fundamental ways. for the men and women of reverend wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away. nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. >> reporter: ironically, that is is exactly what sherrod was trying to say in the speech that was edited to make

obama administration reacted impulsively to deflect criticism from the right and in doing so shirley sherrod was thrown under the bus. >> there was no concern for me. >> reporter: secretary vilsack fell on his sword at his press conference and he offered ms. sherrod a job working on civil rights issues in the u.s.d.a. katie? >> couric: jan crawford in washington. jan, thanks so much. jeff greenfield, the obama administration has often complained about the 24-hour news cycle, and now it seems white house officials were caught in a vortex. >> reporter: yeah, katie. the old united press wire service had a slogan "get it first, but first get it right." in the wake of the shirley sherrod story it's worth asking whether the second half of that slogan has been dumped into the trash bin. it's now clear that no one, not conservative blogger andrew breitbart who posted the clip, not the n.a.a.c.p. who condemned sherrod, nor the agriculture department, none of them had and seen the whole speech. but there's another part of this story, the deep-seeded desire of people who turn to news and opinion sites

wednesday afternoon, less than one day after agriculture secretary tom vilsack abruptly fired shirley sherrodring to the naacp. now, in that speech, sherrod was seen reflecting on her reluctance 24 years ago to help a poor farmer because he was white. that part of her speech, just that little part, lit up the internet and conservative media, and sherrod was immediately branded a racist. but that wasn't the whole speech. sherrod's remarks were taken completely out of context. she didn't say anything racist at all. in fact, her message in this speech was one of unity. she realized she was wrong, she said, when she downplayed the farmer's request for help, and she ultimately helped him save his farm. now, wednesday afternoon, vilsack said he deeply regretted his decision, that he should have gotten his facts together first. he offered her another job at the usda. and in the last half hour on the "early show," sherrod talked to erica hill. >> it would help this country to really -- people in this country -- to really look at what we're doing, you know. let's step back and see if we can have a new

a highly edited video of shirley sherrod was posted on the internet.he was speaking in march about an incident 24 years ago. >>> president obama signs a sweeping financial reform bill into law today. the new law offers added protection to consumers and gives the government broad powers to regulate financial institutions. >>> ousted illinois governor rod blagojevich may not take the stand after all in his corruption trial. he's accused of trying to sell president obama's senate seat. on tuesday his attorneys said they could rest their case without calling a single witness, including blagojevich. blagojevich has long maintained he would tell his side of the story. >>> lindsay lohan spent her first night in jail, the beginning of a 90-day sentence for a probation violation. as sandra hughes reports, lohan's jail time is likely to be dramatically reduced. >> reporter: gone are the designer duds. lindsay lohan's new outfit is a jailhouse jumper. she's now a prisoner of l.a. county. her arrival at the krekdzal in lynwood south of l.a. couldn't be farther fro

shirley sherrod has gotten an apology and the offer of another job. >> the growing controversy over sherrod'ser race. here's diana alvear. >> reporter: two days after shirley sherrod was forced to resign, she got a public apology and the promise of a new job from her former boss. >> i started off by extending to her my personal and profound apologies for the pain and discomfort that has been caused to her and to her family. >> reporter: agriculture secretary tom vilsack's about-face followed a white house briefing that revealed the president's perspective. >> that a disservice had been done here and that an injustice had happened. >> this is my decision and it's a decision i regret having made in haste. >> reporter: it all started with this internet video. >> here i was faced with having to help a white person save their land. so, i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> reporter: at first it sounded like the usda employee was admitting to racist behavior. it turned out sherrod was talking about her experience working with a white farming family more than 20 years ago. >> worki

the blogger who started the controversy. >> in 48 hours, shirley sherrod went from a forced resignationinforced public apology. >> this is good woman and she has been put through hell. i asked for her forgiveness. >> miss sherrod has earned an apology. i would do so on behalf of this administration. >> the about-face developed as quickly, as conservative blogs and cable tv talked about a farmer who needed her help. >>> based on the speech they asked her to resign without pressure from the white house, but it turns outer the speech continued with how she helped the farmer and still has his support today more than 20 years later. >> i've come a long ways. >> what happened, it took too long but it makes me feel better. >> he visited the congressional black caucus where they said shirley sherrod needs a new place in government. >> she is going to talk it over with the family whether deciding the take with it. >> in concord, health officials are giving away free vaccines this evening. whooping cough has been on the rise in the state with five facts dying of the disease already this year, act

today shirley sherrod, fired by the u.s.d.a., got the call and another apology. are illegal immigrants raising the crime rate? some argue yes; others no. we'll give you the facts. and happy thursday-- or is it? tracking the mood of america tweet by tweet. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> couric: good evening, everyone. a tropical storm has just formed in the caribbean and by saturday it could be churning through the site of the massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico, disrupting the cleanup for days, even weeks. some cleanup boats were sent back to port today. the large oil recovery ships may follow. tropical storm bonnie is north of cuba right now, and over the next few days it's projected to pass through the florida keys and then into the gulf. even so, federal officials said today they will keep the cap on that ruptured well. and the white house said the president, who's been urging americans to visit the gulf's still-open beaches, will take the first family to the gu

thanks, jake. >>> we're joined by the official in the middle of all this, shirley sherrod. thank you for getting up so early this morning, ms. sherrod. >> oh, thank you. >> we learned that agriculture secretary vilsack was reconsidering the decision to have you leave the department a little bit before 2:00 a.m. when did you find out? >> this morning about 5:30. >> how did they tell you? >> the statement was read to me by someone i was riding with this morning. >> so, you haven't spoken yet to secretary vilsack? >> no one from the department has attempted to be in touch with me. >> you said many times, you thought the white house was behind the original decision to have you leave the department. i've been told by officials that they talked to secretary vilsack last night about having him reconsider this decision. do you think they forced this turnaround? >> i'm not sure who -- i'm not sure where it's coming from. i know that, you know, they're -- anyone looking at what has happened over the last couple of days would -- should be outraged at what happened. i don't know whether

posted on a conservative website, it shows shirley sherrod, a georgia-based official with the u.s. department of agriculture and obama administration appointee, at a naacp dinner in march of this year describing her initial reluctance to help a white farmer who came for aid. >> i was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farmland, and here i was faced with having to help a white person save their land. so i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> reporter: sherrod says the incident she was describing occurred more than 20 years ago, before she worked for the usda, a story she told as an example of overcoming her own prejudices. >> that's when it was revealed to me that it's about poor versus the people who have. >> and telling that story, how i changed while working with him, i used that to help others to see it's not about race. >> reporter: but the reaction was swift and certain. the usda asked her to resign. sherrod said she was driving when she got the call from an agriculture official in washington. >> she said, well, they want you to

president obama today told shirley sherrod he was sorry. >> he expressed his apologies for for the events of the last events of the l >> reporter: it was an apology that sherrod accepted and one she felt was she due, as she she felt said on "good morning america" this morning. said that iave people think that i as a racist, someone who has worked against racism all of my hufe, really, really hurt. theeporter: after all the speech she had originally told unfairlyspeech that was unfairly edited, was about her father a whikilled by a white man in ing her crow south during her teens and how she overcame her prejudice. this morning, aides to tom details, secretary of sriculture, e-mailed sherrod he men about a new job offer, as she told the women of "the view." >> he mentioned the position at usda, in the office of outreach that would deal with the issue of discrimination in the agency. and i said to him, i need time need time out this. .> reporter: the white house has been eager to put this issue to est. hite house night, white house operators tried to reach sherrod operator sherrodf of the p

which brings me to the story of ousted agriculture department official shirley sherrod, who was fired based on a single piece of internet video that was edited out of context and posted on a conservative website and air on fox news and bought lock, stock, and barrel by the obama administration. >> for someone to think i was a racist, someone who has worked against racism all my life, really hurt. >> a good woman has gone through a very difficult period. i will have to live with that for a long time. >> tom vilsack apologizes. at the white house, robert gibbs apologizes. on fox, bill reilly apologizes but finally, the president himself calls shirley himself. colby, what you make of this? >> it is a sad commentary on where we are as a country. if you listen to the speech, it was a good speech, made the exact opposite point that the right-wingers tried to make out of it. but everybody behaved bad up and down the line, including the president. i wrote an article that set the administration showed its two colors -- true colors, which is yellow. >> perhaps you ought to apologize for saying

well, the president became the latest public official to personally apologize to shirley sherrod today. in a seven-minute phone call this afternoon, the president also encouraged her to take a new agriculture department job that's been specifically designed for her. from his private study just off the oval office, the president phoned shirley sherrod to try to extinguish what's become a fire storm. >> obviously she's got a remarkable story. he expressed his apologies for the events of the last several days. >> reporter: during their media blitz, the former agriculture department worker has been on tv in back-to-back interviews and the president struggled to get ahold of her. >> the white house operator tried on at least two occasions last night and was both unable to reach her and unable to leave a voicemail. >> reporter: this morning sherrod indicated she wanted to speak to mr. obama, not to receive an apology, but to share her experiences. >> people at the grassroots level, people who live out there in rural america, people who live in the south. i know he does not have that kind of

. >> the head of the agriculture department now says he will reconsider shirley sherrod' resignation, after learning more about what she actually said. jake tapper reports. >> reporter: it was combustible. a conservative website posting a video clip of department of agriculture official shirley sherrod at an naacp event talking about meeting with a white farmer. >> i was struggling with the fact that so many black people have lost their farmland. and here i was faced with having to help a white person save their land. so, i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> reporter: an obama administration official called sherrod in her car and demanded she pull over and type a resignation letter in her blackberry. agriculture secretary tom vilsack said in a statement that there is zero tolerance for discrimination at his agency. none of them bothered to learn that the incident in question happened 24 years ago when sherrod worked for a nonprofit. the question is, why would you look at the white farmers differently than you looked at the black farmers? >> because i always, up to t

it was quick vindication for shirley sherrod. this morning she is considering a job offer from the agriculture department, not to mention apologies from the obama administration. all of this just days after sherrod was fired for what appeared to be racist remarks. tara mergener is in washington with much more on this story. boy, things have changed in a matter of, what, 24 hours, tara? >> reporter: that's right, betty. good morning. after accepting apologies from both the white house and the a agriculture secretary, sherrod weighs her option but the controversy rages on. shirley sherrod is still deciding on whether to go back to the department of agriculture. >> she has a unique set of skills which would lend assisting usda as we deal with trying to turn the page on our civil rights chapter. >> reporter: secretary tom vilsack offered to rehire the 62-year-old wednesday for a new role, just days after firing her over this speech. >> and here i was helping a white person save their land. >> reporter: the edited clip posted online b

caucus to discuss the circumstances which led to the ouster of agriculture department official shirley sherrod. it was vilsack's most recent act of contrition for the episode. >> it was a very good meeting, and we really believe that mrs. sherrod deserves our respect. >> reporter: this followed vilsack's apology to sherrod after it became clear that her words had been taken out of context in the short clip making the rounds on the internet and cable. >> this is a good woman. she's been put through hell. >> apparently she's watching this briefing, shirley sherrod, on cnn right now. is there anything you want to say to her? >> on behalf of the administration, i offer our apologies. >> reporter: a ore vilsack suggested he'd offered her a new job tha wll of the agriultutmen task of settling lawsuits from minority farmers who claim they were discriminated against farm l >> she has s skills which i think would lend themselves to assisting and helping usda as we deal with trying to turn the page on our civil rights chapter, which has been difficult. >> reporter: but for some conservatives, the matter

the strange tale of shirley sherrod. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> couric: good evening, everyone, president obama welcomed britain's new prime minister to the white house today, but there wasn't much time for pleasantries. there's a bit of tension between the two allies, in part because of the b.p. oil spill, but also because of the decision last year by a scottish court to release a libyan terrorist. and questions about the role b.p. might have played in that. chip reid is our chief white house correspondent. chip, the president and the prime minister are off to a bit of a rocky start. >> reporter: well, katie, the plan was for president obama and prime minister cameron to focus on the special relationship between america and great britain. instead, they focused on the not-so-special relationship between america and b.p. british prime minister david cameron came to the white house to find common ground with president obama

you'll remember our story yesterday about shirley sherrod. so, what happened today? here's jake tapper. >> reporter: late this afternoon, agriculture secretary tom vilsack apologized to shirley sherrod. >> this is a good woman. she's been put through hell. and i asked for shirley's forgiveness and she was gracious enough to extend it to me. >> reporter: the public mea culpa came after president obama privately expressed strong regrets about the whole affair. >> he talked about the fact that an injustice had happened, and that because the facts had changed, a review of the decision based on those facts should be undertaken. >> reporter: actually the facts had not changed. it's just that the obama administration finally learned all of them. the story started when a conservative blog, and then cable tv, ran this video clip of sherrod at an naacp dinner earlier this year talking about a meeting with a white farmer seeking her assistance. >> so i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> reporter: but that clip did not tell the full story. the meeting with the

he blamed the media for the resignation of shirley sherrod.e admitted the administration was at fault. >> a lot of people overreacted including people in my administration. >> he also talked about vacationing with the family and he talked about the flip side. >> well, where do i begin here. country is under a tough stretch since i took office. the oil spill, we've had two wars but you think the american people have gone through. >> he put his faith in economic turnaround. >> the reason i seem calm all the time, even if sometimes we're going through turbulence, i try to take the long view. >> critics say the message may not resonate as planned. >> they say enough about me, now about you. i don't think it's going to play well. >> but it's gives him an opportunity to go beyond politics. >> and then you tweet? >> i don't tweet. i don't tweet on a regular basis. i think there is an official president tweet. >> he says he won't be a guest at chelsea clinton's wedding. >>> he does keep his personal blackberry. >> still cloud hanging around the bay. y

he blamed the media for the resignion of shirley sherrod.e admitted the administration was at fau. >> a lot of people overreacd including people in my administration. >> he al talked about vacationing with the family and he talked about the flip side. >> well, where do i begin here. country is under a tough stretch since i took office. the oil spill, we've had two wars but you think th american people have gone through. >> he put his faith in economic turnaround. >> the reason i seem calm all the time, even if sometimes we're going throug turbulence, i try to take the long view. >> critics say the message may not resonate as planned. >> the say enough about me, now about you. i don't think it's going to play well. >> but it's gives him an opportunity to go beyond politics. >> and then you tweet? >> i don't tweet. i don't tweet on a regular basis. i think there is an official president tweet. >> he says he won't be a guest at chels clinton's wedding. >>> he do keep his personal blackberry. >> still cloud hanging around the bay. you have fligh

remains unclear what will happen next. >> from president obama a phone call, and an apology to shirley sherrod. her ouster has sparked a political firestorm. >> talked about experiences he had and written in his book, that in some ways were similar to the experiences she has written, talked about. >> reporter: hours earlier, sherrod laid out what she would like to discuss with the president. >> i would like to talk to him about the experiences of people like me, people at the grassroots level. people who live out there in rural america, who live in the south. i know he does not have that kind of experience. >> reporter: pushed out after a conservative blog posted edited video that seemed to show a racial virus. she's getting support from both sides of the political aisle. >> this whole episode has been unfortunate, and i think this lady's been through hell and back. this is not the way to treat a fellow american. >> reporter: the obama administration is taking criticism for its handling of the case, and racial issues. >> timid at this point. they have not realized that they can create an envir

a capacity to be made more perfect. >> reporter: shirley sherrod possesses that capacity.cide to listen more, talk less, and just get the facts. >> osgood: commentary from nancy giles. now to bob schieffer in washington for a look at what's ahead on cbs news "face the nation." good morning, bob. >> schieffer: good morning, charles. we're going to talk about race in america with cornell west and two conservative columnists michael gerson and john fund. >> osgood: thank you, bob schieffer. we'll be watching. ahead now here on sunday morning,. >> here is the unadult rated truth. >> osgood: mo rocca's read.... >> in such terms that even a fool can understand what i'm talking about. >> osgood: on celebrity tell- alls. fire was fire. and the first language, the language of chemistry, was universal and eloquent. and the unique ability of chemistry to change everything has never changed. it is still the hope of human history to come. it is still the bond in partial between the elements. hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and human. since our beginning, we've been there for clients through g

remain sensitive to the civil rights issues involving this department. >> reporter: two days after shirley sherrod was dismissed for comments that appeared to portray her as a racist, she seemed to be everywhere. >> you know, this is a whirlwind. >> reporter: this morning, sherrod told nbc news her comments had been taken out of context by a conservative blogger. she first got wind of the video via an angry e-mail she received last thursday. she alerted superiors and heard nothing back. >> and then on monday, as the saying goes, all hell broke loose. >> reporter: she was first told she was being put on administrative leave. >> so i immediately got in a car and started driving back toward athens and thinking, my gosh, this is so unreal. then to get the first call saying, shirley, you know, they want you to resign. >> reporter: this in spite of her efforts to make her bosses understand that her speech was about how she had overcome her own prejudices. >> working with him made me see that it's really about those who have versus those who don't. you know, they could be black, they could be white, they

including david's conversation with secretary geithner and a special roundtable discussion of the shirley sherrod debate here on nbc. >>> when "nightly news" continues this saturday, cracking down on pot in california. guess where they are growing now? >>> and you met him here last week. remember benny the dog left in the disaster of the gulf. >>> when it comes to marijuana and california, many people think of san francisco and the northern part of the state, perhaps harking back to the days of the counterculture. but today, southern california has become a hub for marijuana growth and distribution. nbc's kristin welker has our story. >> reporter: less than a half hour drive from downtown los angeles, the 650,000 acre ang las angeles national forest is as beautiful as it is dense. but hidden among the trees, elaborate and illegal marijuana farms, the work, authorities say, of mexican drug cartels. we hiked up the face of the mountain with the l.a. county sheriff's narcotics bureau to get a firsthand look. >> this is what we have to do. not only take the plant, but all the garbage they bring in he

. >> former usda ploimy shirley sherrod says she plans to sue the conservative blogger that posted an edited video that made her appear racist. >> he had to know he was targeting me. at this point you know he hasn't apologized. i don't want it. at this point. and and he'll just... >> sherrod resigned after the blogger posted the editing video online. it made it appear sherrod didn't want to help a white farmer. she was talking about overcoming racial prejudice. she's been offering a new job in the agriculture department. but hasn't decided whether to accept it. >> president obama broke tradition by appearing on late-night talk shows, today making television history once again, appearing with the ladies on "the view". it's something never happened before. commander in chief on a daytime tv talk show. the president discussed economy, jobs, afghanistan and racial tensions in the u.s.. he blames the media for the forced resignation of shirley sherrod last week but admitted his administration was at fault for condemning statements before viewing the speech on race relation autos a lot of p

shirley sherrod is with us from atlanta. ms. sherrod, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> what a 24-48 hours you've had. i mean, let's go through it here. you were vilified, forced to resign and when the most elementary investigation was put toward your situation, what i like to call the oops began, the naacp which originally came out against you, apologized saying they made a mistake, and now i even understand the agriculture secretary who originally stood by his decision has said he's willing to see more information. can you describe your emotions as we sit here and talk this morning? >> you know, it's so hard. looking at the last 24 hours, when the department -- when this first came to light, i said to them you need to look at the whole thing, that's not the message i was putting out there. and for them all day yesterday to say they were standing by their decision, and now at this late hour, to be saying they are now willing to look at the facts, you know, it's hard to take at this point. >> what's outrageous about this i

now shirley sherrod plans to suit blogger who posted the video that started it all. sherrod was asked to resign after conservative blogger andrew breitbart posted a clip of a speech in which he appeared to make a racist comment. but when the video was released in its entirety, many agreed her words were taken out of context. the usda has offered her a new job but she is not sure if she is going to accept it. >> i just put an apb out to recruiters i knew and my other friends and other consultants. >> still to come, how this week's jefferson award winner provides hope in the form of job leads. >> and still to come, a warmer temperature, yes, in the bay area. they are on the way. i see them! any day now. i have your seven-day forecast coming up. ,, with my friends we'll do almost anything. out for drinks, eats. i have very well fitting dentures. i like to eat a lot of fruits. love them all. the seal i get with the super poligrip free keeps the seeds from getting up underneath. even well fitting dentures let in food particles. just a few dabs of super poligrip free is cli

jake tapper has that story. >> reporter: president obama told shirley sherrod he was sorry. >> he expressedhat sherrod accepted on she felt she was due after this trying ordeal. ca"ing ordeal. >> to have people think that i was a racist, someone who's worked against racism all of my life, really, really hurt. >> reporter: after all the story she had originally told in that speech that was unfairly edited, was about her father being killed by a white man in the jim crow south during her teens and how she overcame her prejudice. aides to secretary of agriculture tom vilsack e-mailed sherrod details about a new job offer. as she told the women of "the view." >> he mentioned the position at usda, in the office of outreach, that would deal with the issues of discrimination in the agency. and i said to him, i need time to think about this. >> reporter: the white house has been eager to put this issue to rest. twice white house operators tried to reach sherrod on behalf of the president. but -- >> the mailbox belonging to shirley sherrod is full and cannot accept new messages at this time. >> repo

he's done it again with his out of context video clip that got shirley sherrod fired. but how does andrew breitbart manage to cause political chaos wherever he goes? wherever he goes? we went to find out. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, martin bashir and cynthia mcfadden in new york city, this is "nightline," july 21st, 2010. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin with business, and rather, remarkable news at facebook, which announced today that it had signed up its 500 millionth user. not bad for a website that didn't exist until six years ago. the story of its creation by founder mark zuckerberg has become almost mythological. soon a movie will bring that story to life. butch as the movie makers say, you don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies. so, who is mark zuckerberg? diane sawyer went to facebook's headquarters to find out what makes the 26-year-old ceo tick. >> reporter: 500 million. that's the mind boggling number of users facebook hit this week. to give you an idea of how many people that i

i mean, we are all kind of mixed up. >> reporter: as for shirley sherrod, she said today she's still thinking about that job offer from the administration, but she said she definitely plans to sue andrew breitbart, the conservative blogger who first posted excerpts of her speech. brian? >> savannah, thanks for all of that. savannah guthrie, our white house correspondent. >>> when our broadcast continues in just a moment, protesters angry about arizona's tough new immigration law being blocked by the judge. >>> and later, the books that have become an unlikely worldwide sensation. on the trail tonight of "the girl with the dragon tattoo." girl with the dragon tattoo." anncr: there are engines... and then there's the twin-turbocharging, 365-horsepower-generating, ecoboost engine in the taurus sho from ford that has the thirst of a v6 with the thrust of a v8. the most innovative full-size sedan in america... is now highest ranked in initial quality. the taurus sho, from ford. drive one. i'm more confident and i love this. [ male announcer ] to keep doing what you love, keep your heart h

white house officials say the decision to fire this official, shirley sherrod was solely at the discretion of the agricultural secretary, tom vilsack. the president was briefed afterwards and fully supports the decision. it's the video that became an overnight cable and internet sensation. >> the first time i was faced with helping a white farmer save his farm. >> reporter: posted on a conservative website, it shows shirley sherrod at an naacp dinner in march of this year describing her initial reluctance to help a white farmer who came for aid. >> i was struck by the fact that so many black people had lost their farmland. and here i was faced with having to help a white person save their land. so i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> reporter: sherrod says the incident she was describing occurred more than 20 years ago, before she worked for the usda. a story she told as an example of overcoming her own prejudices. >> that's when it was revealed to me that it's about poor. versus those who have. in telling that story how i changed while working with him. i used that to h

but president obama did tell abc news, about his phone call with shirley sherrod.fter landing in atlanta after her frenzied media tour, shirley sherrod said she was thinking about her job offer from the agriculture department. >> this has been a whirlwind. and i need a little downtime to -- and i really have not seen the offer in writing yet. >> reporter: in a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, both democrats and republicans, including house republican leader, john boehner, expressed sympathy for her. >> the whole episode has been unfortunate. and i think this lady has been put through hell and back. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with "good morning america's" consumer correspondent, elisabeth leamy, president obama explained how he told sherrod he related personally to her speech. the full one, not the unfairly edited excerpt. >> one of the things i shared with ms. sherrod was the fact that the stories that she was telling about her own biases and overcoming them, those are actually good lessons for all of us to learn because we all have biases. i've wri

the controversy started when a two-decades-old speech by shirley sherrod was posted online. appeared to indicate that she favored black farmers over white farmers when it came to giving help out. >> i was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their land and here i was faced with having to help a white person save their land. so i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> but now it appears those comments were taken out of context. the head of the agriculture department says he will reconsider forcing sherrod to resign. >>> it was an extremely frightening flight for passengers aboard a washington, d.c. to l.a. flight. their plane had to make an emergency landing in denver after a bout of severe turbulence. larry jacobs has that story. >> reporter: severe turbulence diverts a cross country flight and sends 25 people to various hospitals. united flight 967 took off from washington, d.c. tuesday night and was headed to los angeles when, according to united airlines, the wide body jet was shaken by heavy turbulence somewhere over kansas. >> hit a

so who is shirley sherrod and why is she so suddenly famous? >> she's a lifelong rural development expert from southwest georgia. who gave a very remarkable speech to an naacp group in march in which she argued that it's poverty, not skin color, that divides americans. which was also then twisted by a conservative website. into making her seem like a racist. and when word of that doctored video reached the white house earlier this week, someone there, we're not sure her, who, seemed to move with unusual dispatch to make sure that people at the usda fired her that day. later that night as she drove home from work she pulled over to the side of the road and resigned by email. the next morning, it's only tuesday, when the full context of that speech to the naacp became known it was clear that she was anything but a racist. and the apologies began. and until yesterday, they were still continuing. it was a ghastly 48 to 72 hours in which no one looked good and proved that an environment that's already pretty toxic politically and an attitude to shoo

shirley sherrod is with us again this morning. ms. sherrod, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> you have now received apologies from the usda, the white house and the naacp for their rush to judgment. you've accepted those apologies. you really are a woman, as the secretary put it, who has been through hell. how are you feeling right now? >> you know, i've gone from being at such a low on monday, as this was unfolding, and thinking, this is so unreal, to feeling so great about the support i've received from around the country. it's encouraging. it makes me feel that there are many others out there who think like i do, and so many who do not think like the individual who started this in the first place. >> let's talk about that. i want to talk about it in a minute. but first of all, do you think that you deserve a phone call from president obama? >> i think i do. >> you do? >> mm-hmm. >> an apology? >> well, you know, he is the president of the united states of america. i received the apologies that are important. i reall

well by now you've probably heard about the resignation of agriculture department official shirley sherrod her comments about apprehensive lee helping a white farmer have surfaced and ultimately led to the white house calling for her to resign over her racist comments and by now most people also know this video was captured years ago and when it was leaked to fox news they only showed a small little snippet of the entire story which debunks their claim that she was actually making any kind of racist comments so now that we know sharon's real story let's turn our attention to the white house how can we not call out the white house for acting too quickly for taking action before they learned all of the facts and you know why now that i think about it this isn't the first time this has happened how about former white house our van jones word spread that he sided with nine eleven truth and fox news hopped on that bandwagon pretty quickly van jones called republicans and not a name in february of this year well then jones has apologized he's sorry he said the word about republicans he's not sor

to say yes is the president's historic legislation seem to have gone unnoticed compared to the shirley sherrod story so we're going to find out what it will take to give the president a positive media presence there and we're turning the tables on the unemployment issue we'll tell you about the people who lost their we always tell you about the people who lost their jobs but what about the ones that can't get a job in the first place also down with the recent college graduate who can tell us about her struggles firsthand and a new study from the washington post reveals that seventy five percent of oil lobbyists used to work for the federal government should be shocked or does that explain exactly why we just can't seem to wean ourselves off of oil and it is captain america unpatriotic a feature film with the classic superhero features him as a less of a flag waver and more of a typical superhero protecting the people present really the right way to portray this historical figure that's later in the show but now it's move on to our top story today the legal battle over arizona's new immigration

. >>> that ander quick snippets from a speech from shirley sherrod with a accidentally posted on a tea party acvist. here is the problem, the words had been taken out of context. sherrod was taken about an incident that took place 24 years ago that transformed her perspective on race and a complete speech proves that. >> she needs her job back. i give her job back in a minute. >> after first reporting her firing, naacp is campaigning to have her reinstated. sherrod says she is not sure she wants r old job back. >> how will i be treated once i'm ba there. i have would to be reassured on that. >> the conservative blogger that posted it getting sherrod fired was neve his intent. he merely wanted to show that people in the audience was applaudi when she talked about her perception of the white farmer. >> governor swzenegger nominate the first philippine woman to appellate court. she is the next chief justice. she would give the state preme court a female majority for the first time in its history. 50-year-old sacramento native is a graduate of u.c. davis school ofaw and a republican. if ap