the. union status pioneer project for the integration concerning the customs union concerning the three. canonic space concerning the free trade space and so on so forth because the first this formula was worked out in relations between russia and bill russia and then it was you know extended to in other countries so that shortly speaking well you said it was pioneering but everybody gets a feeling that putin is really up to building a eurasian union so if if the this eurasian union is built and starts functioning would make the russian. naturally usually but when that happens so it's a big question. it might so it might happen so but when i don't know so far it's not the problem so so so so so you're not sure it may happen any time soon i mean in this presidential term a person where i don't think that it happened within the. you know the next three years no no i don't think so. but it might happen so we've if if the level of relations between the three countries now we're talking about. reaches the same grade of relations which exist between russia and. might happen so doesn't depend on the political will or there are other problems in creating. the great extent to years political yes and certainly and other proble

single citizenship and a common defense policy the first in the series of agreements create in the union between the two countries was signed in one thousand nine hundred six since that time russia's relations with belarus have grown closer than with any other former soviet republic the economic cooperation between the two countries has been considerable when belarus was hit hard by the credit crunch in two thousand and eight it was russia which gave its neighbor it to be when u.s. dollar loan after the international monetary fund refused to do the same military corporation has also been quite intense with joint military exercises been held on a regular basis however mutual misunderstanding has not been uncommon the two thousand and four gas dispute elect to a temporary reduce ruction in russian supplies to bella rose russia expected more support for maine's after the conflict with georgia in august two thousand and eight the bellows did not recognize south the said and the ha's is in the plan and moscow banned all imports of belorussian dairy products in two thousand and nine but despite that b

. >> i believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman. the president and democrats could talk about this all the one. >> the big question, will this become a campaign issue? the obama and mitt romney campaign say it is unlikely it will produce a major shift. >> some people feel differently. virginia voters could go either way, november. rebecca cooper is live with more on what virginians think about the announcement. >> as you know, this is a key swing state in the campaign. in 2006, they overwhelmingly approved an amendment to ban same-sex marriage. as you noted, in recent polls it shows attitudes shifting and voters more sharply divided. how do voters feel? we came here to prince william county to talk to them. from the barber shop -- >> it makes me more energized to get out and vote. >> -- to the bowling alley and voters today weighed in on his change of heart. >> i think it will cost him some votes with some older people that might have been voting for him, but for the younger people equality might help him out. >> some people may not

and they find marriage as the union between a man and a woman. that the judge panel said the law discriminates against the gay couples because it does not give them the same rights and privileges of the same-sex couples. today's ruling will not be enforced until the supreme court will weigh in. >>> a verdict today and just one of the six counts against john edwards. they were accused of campaign fraud by using money from the presidential races, here to hide the extramarital affair. but today, they returned one not-guilty verdict, telling the judge that they were deadlocked on the rest, which lead to the decoration of the mistrial. >> while, i do not believe that i did anything illegal or ever thought i was doing anything illegal, i did an awful lot, that was wrong. and there is no one else responsible for my sins. none of the people who came to court to testify are responsible. nobody is working for the government is responsible. i am responsible. >> no word yet if the prosecutors will plan to retry the case on the mistrial count. >>> tonight at 7

. >> i believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman. the president and the democrats can talk about all of this all they want. but the fact is, the american people are focused on our economy and they're asking a question where are the jobs. >> and much has been made of the timing of the president's declaration and how the vice president's own statement of -- the plan had been for the president to announce his support for same sex marriage on the view next week. >>> well, teddy roosevelt once called the white house the bully pulpit. now there is a possibility that the man that wants to live there next january might be a former bully. the washington post found the story from mitt romney's childhood and gary nurenberg is here to tell us more about it. gary. >> reporter: well, it happened in 19 65, derek, when romney was in a private high school where non-conformity was frowned upon and where romney according to five of his classmates led a group of students in an attack in a boy who later identified himself as gay. those classmates told the

i believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. now for me as a christian -- for me as a christian, it's also a sacred union. my feelings about this are constantly evolving. i struggle with this. i have friends, i have people who work for me, who are in powerful, strong, long-lasting gay or lesbian unions. and they are extraordinary people. >> that was just in 2008 during the campaign when he told rick warren he believes marriage is between a man and a woman. the president's position doesn't change any law, certainly. it does inject a prominent social issue into this race for president. yesterday, mitt romney affirmed his opposition to gay marriage but said states should be able to extend some rights to same-sex couples. states are able to make decisions with regards to domestic partnership benefits. such as hospital visitation rights. benefits and so forth, of various kinds could be determined state by state. but my view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman and that's my own preference. i know other

constitution defining and protecting marriage as the union of a man and woman as husband and wife. >> even barack obama called marriage the union between a man and a woman during the 2008 presidential campaign. he announced support for civil unions. he supported the repeal of the defense of marriage act. he also pushed for the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. but president obama did not openly support marriage equality until today. last sunday on "meet the press," vice president joe biden got the ball rolling. >> i am vice president of the united states of america. the president sets the policy. i am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marry men, women marrying women, and heterosexual, men and women marrying one another, are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. and quite frankly, i don't see much of a distinction beyond that. >> the timing of the president's announcement comes on the heels of an overwhelming defeat for marriage equality in the state of north carolina. last night the state added a same-sex marriage ban to its constitution by a vote of 61 to 39%. north carolina is, c

to keep track of these things, call me the obama night watchman, i have to call you out on this, mr. president. i seem to recall defined marriage as a union betweenan. right? >> define marriage. >> i believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. now for me as a christian -- [ applause ] for me as a christian it's also a sacred union. god is in the mix. >> eric: which is it, sir? obama three years ago or obama today? why not just come out and tell the american voters where you stand? kimberly, what is this all about? >> kimberly: this is -- i'll use another phrase involving cake. trying to have it both ways. they are able to say marriage is between a man and woman and biden supports what president obama's stance is. but nevertheless it puts out an olive branch, telegraphing, okay, we'll take care of you in the second term. smart political move. it's what joe biden really feels and thinks and i think it's what president obama would like to say but can't. >> eric: or won't. >> kimberly: both. >> eric: guys? >> greg: i always like it when they use the word "evolving." evolution will be completed right after election day. i also like t

north carolina is now the 30th state to approve a constitutional amendment detining marriage as the union between a man and a woman. unofficial returns show the amendment passed with about 61% of the vote to 39% against. north carolina law already bans gay marriage. the amendment effectively closes the door on same-sex marriages in that state and also eliminates other domestic unions from carrying legal status there. >>> and the biggest surprise actually from last night was long-time senator dick luther. he lost in indiana's primary. he was beaten by tea party favorite richard murdoch. senator luther has been a fix tour in the senate for almost four decades but was target as too moderate for the conservative state. >>> fairfax county police now say the driver charged in a woman's death did not intend to run the victim over. investigators believe this woman, gloria mcmillan and shalinda arrington exchanged words. they say arrington got out of her car here and approached mcmillan's suv. mcmillan according to police drove off and ran arrington over accidentally. >>> a fox 5 follow-up to a story we f

the poor in this country. >>> republicans in colorado kill a bill that would allow civil unions for some same-sex couples. pat roberterson, this guy couldn't be happier. he says the union between two men brings disease and suffering. the right wings attack on equality later in the program. stay with us. >>> i think what you'll see in this campaign is two very different visions about how we move the country forward. i believe we have to invest in things like education, making college affordable, science and technology, we building road, rebuilding the country and all those things can be done in a centuriable way. >> the guy wants to make america better on all fronts. it's not just about making a dollar. the centerpiece to the obama campaign is advocacy for the middle class and the poor. those who have been beaten up by the wealthy in america. burdens are increasing on these groups and people at the top are getting a lek of a lot more out of america. we show you this vulture top all the time to show the divide between the top 1%. i'm not making this stuff up. i didn't make that red line go where it is. i didn't make that blue line go where it is. there's also a chart showing wor

we have constitutional amendment in florida defines marriage as the union between one man and one womanicular institution. a lot of floridians believe that you will see reflected in the polling. >> bill: how about in the hispanic community and cuban community where you come from? is that? >> i don't think that's the issue that's going to decide the election. >> bill: is there passion behind that issue? >> i think so. i don't want to overstate that it's going to be one the decides the election. it's an important issue. if you ask people they will tell you they believe -- >> bill: for hispanic americans. >> i think so, yes. >> bill: because black americans, they don't like gay marriage we saw that in california. we saw that all over the place in florida itself it's a split. it's it like four different states, florida. you have got the north, you have got dade county like a universe unto itself you have the central part of the state and east and west coast. is it going to be a dogfight. >> yes. >> or republicans going to pull away. >> it is a competitive state. whoever wins will have to ea

. >> i believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. i'm not somebody who promotes same-sex marriage. >> i'm not in favor of gay marriage. i'm in favor of civil unions. >> i believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. >> sean: let's look at the positions on paper here. he had multiple positions in a period of time. 1996 he favored it. 1998 he was undecided. in 2004 he was opposed. 2008, opposed. 2012 now he supports. sounds like ear mark. sounds like lobbyist. sounds like cutting the deficit in hand. sounds like the president can't make up his mind very well on these thingsion juan. what is the problem? >> i think the country is evolving. >> sean: i don't care about the country, what about him? >> i think he initially -- >> sean: i care about the country, i don't care about the country's position on this. >> i understand what you meant. i wasn't going to attack you. back in 1996 he said he favored gay marriage and i believe he changed because of the political temperatures. i think the whole country has changed so i don't see it

the poor in this country. >>> republicans in colorado kill a bill that would allow civil unions for some same-sex couples. pat robertson, this guy couldn't be happier. he says the union betweenwo men brings disease and suffering. the right wings attack on equality later in the program. stay with us. [ kristal ] we're just taking a sample of all our different items in our festival of shrimp. the crab-stuffed shrimp are awesome! tequila lime tacos. [ man ] delicious! [ male announcer ] it's festival of shrimp! for $12.99 try any two shrimp creations like new barbeque glazed shrimp. offer ends soon. we're servers at red lobster. and we sea food differently. wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ] and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master

does my friend accept that irrespective of the european union act passed last year that such a fundamental change in the relationship between the european union and the united kingdom would with necessitate a referendum? >> i think the right position for the u.k., if we were to pass power from brussels to -- we should hold a referendum. where i do agree is clearly the single currency has within it the seeds of greater political union, and we have to work out in this country, the coalition how to respond to that, and how to get the best deal for britain as that situation develops. >> you talked about the continued importance of nato, and some of the things that had been agreed. but the changes that have been agreed are largely peripheral, and the need for reform is pretty profound. is there not a danger that the understandable focus of the economic crisis is sucking the life out of the need for reform in nato. we need to focus on that, and notwithstanding the understand able needs of the economy, make sure the change program that's so badly needed to get decent interoperatability within with nato doesn't lose its momentum. >

the poor in this country. >>> republicans in colorado kill a bill that would allow civil unions for some same-sex couples. pat roberterson, this guy couldn't be happier. he says the union betweenen brings disease and suffering. the right wings attack on equality later in the program. stay with us. ♪ ♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. [ clang ] my house is where plants came to die. ♪ but, it turns out all i was missing was miracle-gro potting mix. it's got what a plant needs. even plant food that feeds them for up to 6 months. you get bigger, more beautiful plants. guaranteed. who's got two green thumbs thanks to miracle-gro? uh, this gal. boom! everyone grows with miracle-gro. [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums >>> i think what you'll see in th

voters in north carolina became the 30th state to constitutionally banned civil unions and same-sex marriages. the approved amendment defines marriage solely as a union between a man and woman. this amendment becomes the only domestic union that is valid or recognized in the state. >> the four people accused in the st. patrick's day beating and robbery of a tourist from virginia faced fewer charges. more than half have been thrown out. there were charged for their alleged roles in this disturbing attacke. the victim was stripped and beaten before being robbed. 13 of the 24 charges were dropped. each was accused of first- degree assault. prosecutors revise the charges following a review of the evidence. jury deliberations wrapped up in ulius henson case. he blamed his cut-defendant for the call. he added he thinks -- is being punished for not being a member of the club. >> if you want to be in the club or the martin o'malley club, i do not want to be in the club. i want to help people get elected. >> jurors will continue to deliberate tomorrow. >> the special session begins on monday but the framework is in place. the governor and officers agreed to a plan. >

the union between a man and a woman. there were hearings, testimony and debates. this year, maryland's governor sponsored the defense of marriage act. opponents were vocal. >> we are here because we believe o'malley is wrong on same-sex marriage. we believe the children deserve a mom and a dad. this is the only thing that would legalize breaking the family tree. >> i totally oppose it, same-sex marriage. >> why? >> why? because it's not natural and it's totally against nature. it's totally against this planet. >> reporter: there were rallies like this one for equality and personal testimony. >> i retired back in '08. my partner of 22 years is only eligible for half of that. i just started drawing social security and she's not eligible for any of that, because our marriage is not recognized at all. >> like most young people, we're both in our mid-20s and we want to build a life together. that's going to involve, you know, finances, children, and we want the legal protections that come with marriage. >> president obama's statement today that he supports same-sex marr

one day after north carolina voters approved a ban on same-sex marriage, defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman. 30 states prohibit gay marriage. but by contrast, the district of columbia and six other states have legalized same-sex marriage. this year, the maryland legislature approved a same-sex marriage bill and governor martin o'malley signed it into law immediately. but opponents have challenging it in a referendum in this november's general election. president obama's statement today could play a part in his re-election campaign and in maryland's referendum on same-sex marriage. wendy and jim, back to you. >>> we're following some breaking news out of fairfax county tonight. a man kidnapped, robbed, and stuffed into a trunk. police tell us he was abducteded from his home on cumberland avenue in springfield. news 4's thshamari stone joins live on the scene with the search for the attacker. >> reporter: we're here in the 6100 block of cumberland avenue and this is where police say this entire ordeal began. fairfax county police say three masked men forced the man on this b

well to me i think one of the major difficulties is that we have this delineation between skilled labor and unskilled labor just the same we have the delineation between union workers nonunion workers to me the idea of the ninety nine percent means everybody you work for a living the majority of people in america work for pay we don't receive trust funds we don't have dividends we work for pay and i think one of the failures of the union movement in this country is not to mobilize nonunion workers to really reach out to the fact that we're one industry unionize is and those people have collective bargaining rights it's better for all of us but is that i mean is this taking shape in any different way for the occupy movement per say you know is this just supposed to be a day to remind everybody that hey we still like this and yeah it was a long winter now that rough let's be honest it wasn't that cold but we are back and then focus on our target actions you know what do you think the purpose really is today. well as usual there are so many things that are broken it's hard to tackle it from one angle to another but i think we can all agree on the basic princip

the 1996 law passed by congress defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman. it denies government benefits to same-sex couples. thursday's decision is in response to a lawsuit filed against calpers by same-sex couples refusing to -- >>> the uss iowa will begin the final trek to southern california on saturday. it was supposed to leave last weekend but was delayed because of bad weather. it's scheduled to leave at 11:00 tomorrow morning and expected to pass under the golden gate bridge by 3:00 in the afternoon. when "iowa" gets to los angeles, it'll be transformed into a naval museum. >> interesting stuff there. 5:45 right now, let's get the full forecast. christina loren talking about friday and a long holiday weekend ahead of us. >> yeah. that's a spectacular ship. i don't know if you've had a chance to see it. you still have an opportunity to. it's going to leave tomorrow. and you know, we've got a lot happening here. over the course of memorial day weekend, as you may know, it's the unofficial kickoff to summer. we've had a lot of congratulations happening i

the union trades in this city to get jobs in these proposed new hospitals. i would first like to see cpmc deal honestly with the current labor dispute between the union and the guys out on the street, looking for a contract. i do not want cpmc to give us all snow jobs so union workers get the short shift and the benefit of short-term jobs to give up long-term careers. cpmc needs to resolve their current labor issues and move forward, allowing all union trade to provide good middle- class livelihood to keep standards as though economically and socially strong. i encourage the planning commission lee's holding your decision in advanced until the resolution that's achieved between cpmc and stationary engineers local 39 san francisco. thank you very much. commissioner borden: thank you. >> thank you, commissioners. my name is edgar. i was born and raised in sentences go and i have worked at california pacific medical center for the past 33 years. i am also a member of the stationary engineers local 39. i wish i could stand here before you and tell you that i support the rebuilding of cpmc. sadly, i cannot. the cpmc eir is flawed to downplay the adverse affects o

i believe that marriage is the union between man and a woman. now, for me as a christian -- [applause] for me as a christian, it's also a sacred union. you know, god's in the mix. >> uh-huh. megyn: so there he is talking to rick warren, and he's talking about how god's in the mix, and that union is between a man and a woman. now, how does he keep the theological argument going? >> he argues he reads into the new testament and says that the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you that he can see in the teachings of jesus christ an argument for gay marriage. well, guess what? for those evangelical voters, that's not cool. they don't prefer to have that characterization made, and, in fact, his support, his expressions of support for what those folks call traditional marriage in 2008 was a big part of letting a lot of evangelicals -- especially young evangelicals -- say, you know what? this guy's okay. we usually vote republican, but this guy's okay. now you have all these pastors coming out saying obama's doing the wrong thing

the 1996 law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. justices said it discriminates against gay couples because it doesn't give them the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples. the appeals court did not address whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry. canadian authorities are searching for a man accused of killing an acquaintance, cutting up the body, then mailing the body parts to political party headquarters. the suspect is 29 year-old luka rocco magnotta... a self- described porn actor. police say he sent a foot to the conservative party headquarters. he also tried to send a hand to the liberal party, but the package was intercepted at a post office. a torso was found in a suitcase behind an apartment building. officials claim they discovered a video on the internet of him committing the murder. at least one death is reported, as syrian troops shelled the central region of houla again today.. the same area where more than 100 people were masscred last week. the latest shelling came as the united nations se

the shutdown of ferry service between american county and san francisco this morning much the protesters rallied in support of ferry workers, bridge workers and bus drivers. at issue, the ongoing contract dispute between the union and the golden gate bridge highway and transportation district. service was restored in time for the afternoon commute but union organizers say they are planning another strike for may 10th if a contract isn't reached. the protests, the traffic, the damage and the police response, we will continue to follow this developing story throughout this newscast tonight at 6:00 and 11:00. you can also follow the news online at any time at nbc bay area.com. brian williams will join us for nightly news at 5:30. >>> happening now, president obama just wrapped up a national address from afghanistan about america's future partnership with the war-torn country. the president made a surprise visit to afghanistan, arrive informing kabul under tight security and the cover of darkness. sihis vit comes on the first anniversary of the killing of osama bin laden. when he arrived, mr. obama went to the presidential palace yes signed a ten-year strategic partnership agreement with afghan president hamid karz

voters in north carolina effectively slammed the door on same sex marriage voting to define marriage as a union between a man and woman. wendy? >> reporter: the north carolina voters decided the state cannot even recognize civil unions between same sex couples. they are now the 30th such state to do so. and tonight the vote wasn't close. at last check, the constitutional amendment had 60% of the vote. voters weren't swayed by pleas from democratic leaders. over the last few days, barack obama's cabinet spoke out in favor of marriage equality. president clinton left phone messages telling them to reject the amendment. church leaders, reverend billy graham used their influence to support this ban. six states and the district of columbia do allow same sex marriages. maryland is waiting to see if it will go to the ballot this november. maryland governor martin o'malley tweeted, disapin tpoin to hear about north carolina but confident it will prevail in maryland. a gallup poll shows that americans as a whole are split on this issue. jim, doreen. >> al qaeda's would-be bomber worked for the cia. the informan