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 pull over to the side of the road and submit your resignation. it was just unbelievable, you know. it was just unbelievable. >> and that was nbc savanna guthrie reporting. meanwhile the ncaap initially called sherrod's actions, quote, shameful, but have since backtracked, saying they were, quote, snookered by fox news and the conservative blogger who first published the video. >>> well, english prime minister david cameron says he understands american anger over the gulf oil crisis and said it's bp's responsibility to clean it up. at a joint news conference with president obama yesterday, cameron also insisted bp had no role in the controversial release of the lockerbie bomber. brushing off calls for an investigation, cameron cautioned, quote, let us not confuse the oil spill with the libyan bomber. >>> meanwhile, bp has acknowledged it posted an altered ph

the white house has made a quick reversal and apologized to the usda official who was forced to resign. shirley sherrod has been offered another job at the agriculture department. >> the case had threatened to drag the administration through another embarrassing controversy over race. emily schmidt is joining us this morning from washington, with details on this really fast-moving story. emily? >> reporter: it's all happened within the course of just the past couple of days. good morning, vinita and rob. for a short time, it seemed like shirley sherrod's words had come back to haunt her. but instead, it's deemed the administration's making the apologies now. 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 ab

the usda. getting it. she spent her life doing this. she helped this one white couple who somehow had been -- in the video of being the victims of reverse racism and they at 82 are alive and had a great story to tell about her. the speed with which it turned around equaled the speed it had gotten screwed up in the first place. >> part question, part vent. this episode seems to embody everything that is stupid and sick about our political and media culture. >> exactly. >> all hormones, no brains, no particular integrity in the telling of the story and reaction to the story. all of us live in this world and are part of the world. do you have any optimism that anything good is going to come from this? that there will be any level of reflection that might alleviate the mistakes the next time it happens? >> i think the only thing that comes out of this that is good is actually shirley sherrod's story. she grew up in this tiny county in southwest georgia where her father was killed at the age of 17. murdered by a white man who was never even c

>> the president steps in, details of his phone call today regarding a racial controversy at the usda. >>> we saw a little bit of a warmup around the bay area today. san jose earlier in the 80s, right now, 77, a bit breezy. we have 90s pping up in your forecast. what this droid does will change how you do movies. with blockbuster on demand, this does hit films on a 4.3-inch screen so big, the way you see them will never be the same. introducing the new droid x. pre-loaded with blockbuster. the next generation of does. >>> jobs and politics. that's a flashpoint right now, and today the clash is over unemployment benefits. nbc's bay area business and tech reporter is here with more. >> reporter: more millions of people who have been out of work for six months or more. president obama signing an extension of unemployment benefits after a battle with republican lawmakers. the extension was approved today by the house, the senate approved it on wednesday. many republicans oppose the measure, because it would add $34 million to our nation's debt. >>> if you invest in the stock market, you p

the usda asked her to resign. sherrod said she was driving when she got the call yesterday afternoon from an agriculture official in washington. >> she said, they want you to pull over to the side of the road and submit your resignation. it was just unbelievable. it was just unbelievable. >> reporter: in a statement today, tom vilsack stood by his decision saying we have been working to turn the page on the sordid civil rights record at usda and this controversy could make it more difficult to move forward on correcting injustices. but the farmer sherrod is accused of treating unfairly today stood by her. >> i appreciate everything she done for us, and we got our farm back. >> reporter: a statement was released yesterday calling sherrod's statements shameful. but after looking at the full tape of those remarks, added it had been snookered by fox news and the conservative blogger who first posted portions of that video. brian? >>> another story involving race and politics. it's been gaining traction and attention. t

. >>> well, she was called a racist and fired from her job at the usda. 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 f

and he told her he would like her to return to the usda. >> he wanted me to know he's supportive. and he's been having to deal with the same issues he's been dealing with over the past five years. just a good conversation. >> reporter: sherrod was forced to resign after someone posted a video. >>> and now lawmakers are leading a charge to put an public option back on the table. >> the people on the street started to tell me in the bay area, this is a start. have health care reform, but we want it improved. >>> north bay congresswoman lynne woolsey says she placed the law on the table to follow through with promises made to the public. a public -- backers say the savings would come through lower administrative costs and reduced payments to doctors and hospitals. >> what it means is competition to the private insurance. and unless there's competition to the private insurance companies, the premiums are going to go up and up and up. >> reporter: insurance companies and other critics say a public option would hurt patient care and open the door to single payer insurance. republicans ar

the usda is trying to help local farmers. r the last 40 years in this country, we have developed a system of industrial agriculture which emphasizes the production at the most efficient levels. grow -- a lot of produce comes from california. there has been a the emphasis on production in other parts of the country. they are trying to encourage more local production again. host: houston, tommy. good morning. what is your question or comment? caller: i want to thank you for the history you have given. especially with the land grant colleges. i attended per view a&m -- purdue new mexico university -- preview -- prairie view a&m. he was talking about abraham lincoln and how that got set up with the land grant colleges. host: do you want to repeat that for people who are just tuning in? guest: in the latter part of the 19th century, congress passed laws to establish land grant colleges in each of the 50 -- there were not 50 states -- in each state. they set up these schools. today, they often do not have the same names that they di

it is the tens of thousands of families that benefit from the programs administered by the usda. ssue of trade. i'm afraid of america that is afraid of [inaudible] i want to open up markets. there is not as much daylight between i s as you might think. i'm happy to examine agreements with south korea and panama and colombia. many of use who might be soybean producers are experiencing an increase because asia is using more soybeans. that is a good thing that has been done by the work of usda, to try to go abroad and open up additional market. i will work with you as your next senator to make certain that more of that happens. i do have a concern that kentucky lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs in the last decade. whether we are working in the four plan nor not, we need to be concerned. we're still making stuff in this country. i am not opposed to free trade agreement. what i do know is that when we negotiate with one of these countries, we have to make certain that there are certain minimal environmental standards and certain minimal labor standards in place so that while we are doing

dcyf, in partnership with the usda, the housing authority, and rec and parks,, this year we will be able to provide 5000 meals per day. last year, we only provided 4500 meals per day. this year, it will be 5000 meals per day at over 113 sites throughout the city. it is meeting the basic needs of our families, making sure the young people have all the necessities so that they can enjoy the camp experiences and enrichment programs that we have. did i miss anything? thank you. mayor newsom: the person who inspired all of us to do this because of the bad news she provided aus. >> every day feels like bad news for me. we could not do so much of what we do as a school district without our partners here. this continues to speak to the leadership of the mayor and the relationships that we have together to ensure that our kids are off the streets and doing something meaningful during the summer. it was really difficult for the school district and knowledge that out of the 8000 kids would typically serve during the summer with a summer school, many of the kids are henry's kids, in public housing.

the usda is trying to help local farmers. over the last 40 years in this country, we have developed a system of industrial agriculture which emphasizes the production at the most efficient levels. grow -- a lot of produce comes from california. there has been a the emphasis on production in other parts of the country. they are trying to encourage more local production again. host: houston, tommy. good morning. what is your question or comment? caller: i want to thank you for the history you have given. especially with the land grant colleges. i attended per view a&m -- purdue new mexico university -- preview -- prairie view a&m. he was talking about abraham lincoln and how that got set up with the land grant colleges. host: do you want to repeat that for people who are just tuning in? guest: in the latter part of the 19th century, congress passed laws to establish land grant colleges in each of the 50 -- there were not 50 states -- in each state. they set up these schools. today, they often do not have the same names that they

then we started going down the list of what the usda was giving out. i have to read this. $10,000 to the prairie fruit farms in illinois for a feasible study on how to go from a farm to take goats milk to gelato. that's $10,000 of our tax money going to an illinois farm. so hm. you give a little, you get some money back. you just kind of raised our hackles a little when we thought all this money is going back and forth but i guess that's what federal money does. >> i'm sure the more you go over that list with a fine- tooth comb it's surprising. more and more. >> reporter: it was very surprising. >> yeah. >> reporter: ite like to taste the goat milk to gelato. >> you may get the chance. >> thank you, mike. >>> there are no grapes growing in the bay area in san francisco because it's too cold. >> yeah, that fog. if you love the fog you love the weather around the bay area today, fog and low clouds, plenty of it out towards the immediate coastline. check out ocean beach. sparsely populated right now and that's because it's cool out there. you have the fog

this clip hit the internet, sherrod in march describing her reluctance 24 years ago to help a white farmer. she was called by usdand fired. >> it was just unbelievable. >> reporter: sherrod said she was told the white house wanted her out. >> there was no pressure from the white house here, this was my decision. >> reporter: later into the video, sherrod described overcoming prejudice but some in the media did not wait to see that. >> ms. sherrod must resign immediately. >> reporter: now, sherrod gets her reputation back and if she wants it gets a promotion. from washington, i'm steve handlesman for nbc bay area news. >> now, we should also note that the naacp initially also accused sherrod of race. but has now also issued an apology, however, the conservative blogger who took excerpts from that speech and posted them has not apologized. >> important points to make. >> mm-hmm. >>> ahead tonight, the comeback kid, the bay area high school student and standout who is now a warrior. >>> and catching ten and watching out. we head to the beach where there are signs posted about yes, jaws cruising the coastline. >>> an

schwartz: the usda asked that i go to herminie and provide an independent evaluation of the problems to determine if it was severe enough to warrant funding. i've worked in a lot of communities in pennsylvania, i've seen a lot of things that were pretty startling, however, the trip to herminie absolutely, um... astounded me. i wrote a letter to usda, saying that it was the worst thing i'd ever seen in pennsylvania and that if they could award funding, that they do so. and they did. they did. over $15 million, grant and loan, for that project. mcmillen: and it took years to get funding. what kept this project going was the steadfastness of the community -- they knew they needed sewage, and they just kept plugging along till we got through every issue that came up. the project will consist of 44 miles of line that we're going to put in, and a treatment plant. it will permanently eliminate the problem, the health hazards. i anticipate a definite regrowth in herminie, and it will be a good thing for everybody. zdravecky: maybe it won't help me too much because i'm an old lady, but whoeve

. >>> and a roller coaster for the usda worker falsely accused of raceively. we have breaking details on what she says about the latest offer from the government. >>> and nerds unite. one of california's more colorful events gets under way today. >>> and this is what we're looking at as we head out. some of the coastal haze. the lights turned off on the golden gate. still a chilly one. we'll take a specific look atis ing hois smeisupomin up c snerk >>> feels more like fall than sumner some areas. >> actually broke out the long sleeves yesterday. craig herera is here with a look at some of the numbers. first nbc bay area's bob redell. he's outside brafg what usually is the coldest time of day out there. bob, did they tell you you were going to -- doesn't like like they told you you were going to be out there. you got your warm weather gear on. >> i am so underdressed. the hypothermia is about to set in. but i'm willing to -- it is one of the coolest summers in the bay area in over four years. it's not like people are out here wearing scarves. excuse me, sir? hey

>> you know, it's -- it's discrimination happens in the usda. that's why there are lawsuits by black farmers, hispanic farmers, native american farmers, women farmers. and it's there, because the agency that never deals with the people who call it. no one lost their job because they're discriminated against a black farmer or a native american farmer or a hispanic farmer or a female farmer. those individuals, many of them, some have retired, but many of them are still there. i would not want to be that individual that the department and everyone is looking to to solve the issue of racism in usda. it takes a lot more to get that job done. >> so i'm just asking very quick by, because we're running out of time, what is the job exactly that they'd like you to do? >> they talked about the office of outreach, and me dealing with discrimination within the agency. >> and you're inclined to say no to that? >> at this moment, i would think i would be. >> so as far as you're concerned at this point you're out of the usda for good? >> yeah. i haven't seen the

he says the usda has zero tolerance for discrimination and fired sherrod for those comments. >> when i saw the statements and context of the statements, i determined it would make it difficult for her to do her job as development director. >> reporter: as with so many issues of race, there's a lot more to this story. sherrod said later in the same speech she was wrong and ultimately helped the man save his farm, but that statement didn't get out on the internet. when the farmer and his wife heard the charges against the woman who helped them 24 years ago, they were shocked. >> she was just as nice as she could be to us. as far as racism, i think somebody wants to start something. >> reporter: sherrod angrily answered. she told cnn she was unfairly forced out by a white house skiddish about issues of race. >> i had at least three calls telling me the white house wanted me to resign. >> reporter: vilsack said the decision was his alone. >> it was my decision. nobody from the white house contacted me about this at all. >> reporter: in this growing controversy, this much is clear -- shirl

first of all, this is part of our responsibility at the usda. w that as a result of the first lady's advocacy, there has been a gater emphasis in this country on the issue of obesity and the impact it is having on people in school in terms of their education, the expanded health care costs, particularly as young people take diabetes and other chronic diseases into adulthood. what you may not realize is the national security component of this spirit we have many retired admirals and generals who are very concerned about the state of health of our armed services. it is important that we have a pool of people qualified to serve in our armed forces. today, only 25% of people ages 19-24 are qualified to serve. that is a small pool. when harry truman established the school lunch program, he realized that a strong nation is only as strong as it children. that is why he established the program. i am told that i am to speak to you today about ways in which governors can assist our efforts at the national level and how we can assist you at your state level

>> in addition, vilsack is offering her a new position at the usda, but she says it's been a whirlwind week for her and she needs more time to think it over. >>> next it was destined to cut down on traffic. the neighbors say it's been nothing but a nuisance. what facebook is doing that has them so upset. >>> the person behind me, he actually flew up and then he landed like across the aisle on somebody else's head. >> not the only one. a woman was thrown so hard she cracked the cabin wall. severe turbulence that forced an emergency landing. >>> and if you are expecting a baby, don't expect a mortgage. why a child could sink the deal. ,, ,,,, "meg whitman says she'll run california like her company..." seen this attack on meg whitman? who are these people? they're the unions and special interests behind jerry brown. they want jerry brown because, he won't "rock the boat," in sacramento. he'll be the same as he ever was. high taxes. lost jobs. big pensions for state employees. the special interests have chosen their governor. how about you? but how it drives employees to work, is where so

this morning, the agriculture secretary is reconsidering the firing of a usda worker over racism. the worker is saying she is not sure she would go back. this 24-year-old video of shirley sharrod is what sparked the controversy. it says she intentionally said she dismissed a white farmer's plea for help. but the family said sherrod did help them, and the clip was taken out of context. >> i used the story to get to the point where i could get beyond that with. >> reporter: she went on tv this morning and said she was shocked when she was forced to resign from the usda after a long career and is not sure how she would be treated if she returned. i will have more on the potential political fallout from the obama administration. allison burns, ktvu, channel 2 news. >>> the government's point man on the oil spill is down playing worries that the oil cap on the well is causing problems. soon to be retired, admiral, thad allen, said these 5 leeks have been found around the well, but dismissed them like small drips from a car. a relief tunnel should release the well by this weekend, meanin

. >> shirrod has been offered a, quote, unique opportunity at the usda. she says she has to think about it. >>> a lot more to come here tonight. a piece of san francisco folk lore is whole once again. that story is just ahead. and governor schwarzenegger gives tabloid humor a try. but first, a rare interview with the bay area's mark suckerberg. -- mark zuckerberg. >> when you give people power it ends up in a good place. >> facebook's camera shy ceo sit down with diane sawyer. x xñ >> closed captioning brought to >> closed captioning brought to >>> he is one of the bay area's best known and certainly most camera shy entrepreneurs. but today abc's diane sawyer had a sit down interview with mark zuckerberg, the harvard dropout who started facebook and a revolution. the interview came as facebook reached a remarkable file stone, 500 million users. >> 500 million. you are the third largest country in the world. what did you do to celebrate? did you do a yes! >> the main thing we did to celebrate is ef employee at facebook took a photo of themselves with a sig

applause ] >> reporter: the president made his most extensive comments yet about shirley sherrod, the usda official his administration fired in haste after selectively edited clips surfaced on a conservative website portraying her as a racist. the president said today a national conversation on race is necessary. >> a discussion that needs to take place not on cable tv, not just through a bunch of academic symposia, fancy commissions or panels, not through political posturing but around kitchen tables. >> reporter: sherrod herself said today the nation, including its first african-american president, still has much to learn. >> we have to make sure they understand the history so that they can do a better job in the positions that they have. >> reporter: the issue of race even followed the president to the set of abc's daytime talk show "the view" where he was asked why he doesn't refer to himself as biracial. >> the interesting thing about the african-american experience in this country is that we are sort of a mongrel people. i mean, we are all kind of mixed up. >> reporter: as for shirle

this is an example of the problem that happens with civil rights issues at usda. is a drag on and on. they rarely get settled. the other suits are all in different status. the usda is negotiating with native american farmers. as a class-action lawsuit. they're engaged in negotiations, along with the justice department, on the women's suit and the hispanic farmers suit. host: these payments average in the range of billions or millions? guest: we not know yet. most payments were $50,000 for those individuals, but there were some that were considerably larger. the dependent on what the farmer was willing to except for what they could prove -- it depended on what the farmers were willing to accept or what they could prove. host: we will do this regionally. you can start dialing in depending on where you are in the country. we want to show our viewers the farms and the united states according to 2007 statistics. total forms are about 2.2 million. total farms -- total farms are about 2.2 million. total farms operated by white farmers, 2.1 million. total farms operated by

the usda is providing fodder for those that called obama bias. the response has been a rather robust. you can respond to us at journal@c-span.org or twitter.com/cspanwj. coming up later in the show, brian bilbray will be here. dana priest will also be here to explain the genesis of that series. >> kenneth feinberg. the $20 billion fund financed by bp. he will testify under up the hill for the first time about how the compensation fund will be distributed. live coverage of the house judiciary committee at 10:00 eastern. hearings this week with ben bernanke. he will give his semi-annual monetary policy reports to congress and talk about efforts to stabilize the economy. as the senate prepares to debate the energy bill next week, finding out what the debate is a belt with the c-span and video library -- what the bill it is about with the c-span video library. washington your way. >> to spend is available in more than 1 million homes, giving you a link to politics, history, all as a public service. host: we want to welcome back to "washington journal"

larry, tonight president obama called shirley sherrod to express his regret and the president said the usda when they forced her resignation. we'll talk to ms. sherrod about the situation. the blogger is not apologizing and he says he's the victim. we'll talk about that as well. and breaking news from the gulf, instant commander thad allen announced that riggs and vessels working to stop will begin preparations tonight to move out of the gulf because the threat from tropical storm bonnie. we'll tell you what that means for the relief well efforts. those stories and a lot more at the top of the hour. >> larry: that's "ac 360" you'll live through another storm, anderson? >> it looks like it. >> larry: 10:00 eastern and 7:00 pacific. anderson cooper, if there are problems, he's there. what do you make of this whole shirley sherrod thing? >> a quick rush so judgment. sad. >> larry: taking a tape out of context? >> obviously, fed to us out of context. but you know, too quickly to rush to judgment, i think. >> larry: do you, over all these years, do you look at yourself, a successful man, do you

the land owned by usda adjacent to the national animal disease center is such a suitable location. if congress does not authorize this land for sale, then the city of ames may find itself in an unpopular position of using imminent domain to acquire land to move forward with the project. it makes sense to move this legislation quickly so that a needed infrastructure project can move forward, especially since the united states department of agriculture has expressed support for this legislation. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized. mrs. schmidt: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. schmidt: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today i rise in support of h.r. 5669. this bill will allow the agricultural research service to convey 44 acres of land in ames, iowa, to the city of ames. the funds derived from this conveyance will the

. >> reporter: sherrod said she was pressured to resign with her position from the usda after a videoced saying she withfeld services to a white farmer. but upon further review of the entire speech and these words from the white farmer in question -- >> she did us justice. there was no racism at all. >> reporter: it's clear to many, sherrod's comments were taken out of context. after first denouncing her remarks, now the naacp is fighting to get her job back. >> what we didn't realize, it was sliced and diced six days from sunday, so as to completely hide this beautiful story from transportation. >> reporter: a conservative web blogger was first to post the clip and said he was making a bigger point. >> this was the naacp affirming a racist sentiment. this was never about shirley sherrod. >> reporter: the white house says the president is fully aware of sherrod's situation and given all of the facts, the white house agrees her case should be reviewed. i'm sandra endo. >>> coming up next at 6:00, a driver who has trouble seeing at night forced to work the night shift and another driver

agriculture secretary tom vilsack also apologized to sherrod and offered her another job within the usdaidering the offer. >>> when we return, automakers opening two new auto plants in the south. why many in the auto industry are trying to put the brakes on the openings. >>> and a beautiful day around the bay area, but are we in for a change this week? we'll have the work week forecast, coming up. >>> flooding in eastern iowa has caused millions of dollars of damage to hundreds of homes and businesses. the flooding began yesterday, when the lake dell high dam failed, as rising flood waters created a 30-foot hole. small communities downstream from the dam were evacuated as water began surrounding the area. at least 200 homes and other buildings had been destroyed or damaged. iowa's governor issued a disaster declaration for two counties and toured the flood damaged areas. >>> wild weather ripped through western new york yesterday. the national weather service is investigating reports of tornadoes touching down there last night. at least one tornado was confirmed in the village of maryvill

sherrod was forced to resign from her post at the usda on monday because of racial comments taken out of context at an naacp meeting. she hasn't decided whether she will accept the job offer, but she says she does accept the apologies. go ahead, take over. >>> time now is 5:46, we're brent and laura. you're watching nbc bay area morning news. we'll look at your freeways and forecast coming numb a second. >>> but first an east bay family struggling to deal with the violent death of a 2-year-old boy. two family dogs mauled him to death and now police are blaming a relative. christie smith is live in martinez this morning. she's been following this story and has a look at what happened in that attack. christie? >> reporter: good morning to you. i can tell you the little boy's step grandfather is inside the county jail here in martinez. he's 52-year-old steven hayashi. he was booked on child endangerment and possessing mischiefious animal that causes death or great bodily injury. detectives say he was the owner of all five of the dogs. now, after spending most of the day at the concord po

sherrod was forced to resign from her post at the usda on monday because of racial comments taken outf context at an naacp meeting years ago. she hasn't decided whether she will accept the job offer, but she says she does accept the apologies. >>> closing arguments are set to begin this morning in southern california in a lawsuit trying to halt the militaries don't ask, don't tell policy. lawyers for a group of gay men say that they will ask the judge to declare that policy unconstitutional. now, that comes on the heels of news that a gay california soldier has been honorably discharged from the army national guard under the same controversial policy. lieutenant dan choi calls the move infuriating and painful. the iraq war veteran from orange county learned of the military's decision yesterday. he announced that he was gay last year on the "rachel maddow show" on msnbc. don't ask don't tell prevents the military from asking about a soldier's sexual orientation, however it does allow the discharge of openly gay service members. >>> army specialists chase stanley was one of four soldier

so did the usda. >> but there was racism that ame up in the health care debate.lification of john lewis at the capital. this is a conversation we just don't have. i mean, i really think eric holder was right. we're cowardly about talking about race. i had a cross burned in my front yard, too. i ha mynow what it was like to grow hosen the south in those years. ruthtruth is that the onversation is just different just whites and among blacks. it is. bd we have to be able to address that if we're ever going ver goingst this. wewe have any opportunity to perfect this union, that's what tohave to do. >> i agree. to do.n't you think one of the think one don't have this haversation about race is ecause of the kind of comments istnding republicans as racist oppopposing health care? this has nothing to do -- >> what about calling the president of the united states a tacist? st?is that racist, to call somebody a racist? people heardt she was saying, i heard y pippeech in its entirety. and i went public when i heard the speech. what she was what she was talking about was the

. >> my understanding is that the offer of a position within usda in the office of out reach to work on the issues of discrimination. >> what does that mean? >> that is what i need -- that is what i need to hear. talk to them about. what does that mean? >> and this president talked about sherrod calling her a classic victim of the internet era. >> we now live in this media culture, something goes up on you tube or a blog, and everybody scrambles fchl there is a lesson to be drawn, it's is that rather than us jumping to conclusions and pointing fingers we should look inward. >> there will be more of the interview tomorrow on good morning america. here on abc 7. >>> a army national guard lut tenant has been discharged. lieutenant took part in protests in uniform, including one he chained himself to a white house fence. the native continued servesing as an infan tri officer. it had been expected sometime. >> tropical storm bonnie is on >> tropical storm bonnie is on auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu woman: did you bring the camera phone? man: i did. do you wanna go first? i've been waiti

she's explaining that the clip was taken out of context and she says usda officials overreacted. >> ifd just taken the time to -- even without looking at the tape to look at me, to look at what i've stood for, to look at what i've done since i've actually been at the department, i don't think they would have been so quick to do what they did. >> reporter: the agriculture secretary issued a statement overnight saying he's launching a thorough review, something sherrod says should have happened before she was let go. reporting live from washington, d.c., alison burns, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> 8:47. the president of health insurer anthem bluecross has resigned but the company says it has nothing to do with the rate hike that became the poster child for increasing medical costs. leslie margo lin will go into healthcare consulting. she released a statement saying she's proud of dramatically improving customer satisfaction ratings while she headed up anthem. >>> 8:48. well, governor schwarzenegger has revealed his selection for the next chief justice of california. she's right now a third di

." >> 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 president, president, ng the mailbox belonging to -- >> shirley sherrod. is - is full, and cannot accept sages at thi at this time. time.porter: white house fficials tried again today. thisly, the two connected at sident had readrnoon. by then, the president had read the full transcript of her march speech, in which she described overcoming her own subject the pr had writtenect the president told her he had written about in his memoir, "dreams from my father." and george, this evening, herrod landed in atlanta and cccccld reporters there that she's not sure yet about that job offer. this has his has been a whirlwind, she needs some down time and she has george? yet to see the job offer in u. ting. e said? >> okay, jake, thank you. >>> as we said earl

the usda had to figure out how to regulate an herbicide- resistant variety of soybean. while some of these creative legal interpretations could be subject to legal challenge, the government's authority to regulate biotechnology companies under existing law has not been challenged today. the reason is largely because by technology companies have every reason to cooperate with agencies, rather than to confront them. it is important to note that one of the consequences of this technology-neutral approach is that biotechnology products receive widely different levels of scrutiny, depending on the product. under u.s. law, some products are reviewed as inherently risky and therefore are required to go through a mandatory pre- market approval process. agencies must find that the products are safe to be used before they can be marketed. examples include animal-human drugs, pesticides, and food additives. most products that are introduced into the marketplace get little or no marketplace review. they have to be legally responsible for safety. if you want to produce a dietary supp

since he announced his national exporttinitiative, we have looked at how we approach trade at the usda. we have looked at from a market standpoint. we have individualized our focus and our approach based on their market status. we have seen a 19% increase in exports in the first quarter of this calendar year. if it was a little over $37.1 billion in exports. emerginn countries are a critical market for us. china, indonesia, korea are three of our key markets in the terms of increased. as a result of ron kirk's personal efforts we are opening markets in china and russia which will allow us to increase significantly trade opportunities. we anticipate, as a result of the president of the leadership, that we will have the second- best year of trade since we began keeping track at the usda. every $1 and spend for the trade shows that gary talked-about generates about a $35 return for taxpayers in return on investment. we have done 14 trade shows this year. most recently we went to iraq and took 17 american countries pitching 150 different products. the trade promotion efforts have allowed u

. >>> trying to head off a growing controversy, the administration has apologized for firing a usda official wad to resign after the airing of racial remarks she made two decades ago. once it became clear the comments had been misconstrued, the white house press secretary apoloze, e sery of agriculture. >> i wanted to make sure that she understood that i regretted the circumstances and that i accepted full responsibility. i've learned a lot of lessons from this experience in the last couple of days. and one of the lessons i learned is that these types of decisions require time. i didn't take the time. i should have. >> sherrod says she needs time to think about the new job offer before deciding whether or not to take it. >>> the bush administration has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the firing of u.s. attorneys. the case dates back to 2006 when the attorneys were dismissed. a two-year justice department investigation has found the firings were politically inappropriate but not illegal. >>> thanks to the new financial regulation law the president just signed, the check really is i

he offered her another job at the usda. "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 start. you know, if my suffering over these last few days can help move that forward, hey, i'm willing to be the fall guy for that. >> reporter: and that was a point that civil rights leaders also were making. maybe all of this will spark a calmer discussion on race. betty? >> if nothing else, just a discussion as well. cbs' jan crawford in washington, thank you for that. >>> well, the search resumes this morning for a mountain climber missing in wyoming following an intense lightning storm. the storms struck yesterday afternoon in grand teton national park. 16 other climbers were rescued, all of them trapped above 13,200 feet. they suffered lightning burns and shock. some hit three or four times. park officials say the missing climber fell off the cliff. >>> there's been a deadly bus

then he offered her another job back at the usda. >> he told me he would send the offer in writing. i haven't had a chance to see that. >> reporter: the forced resignation were about comments made taken out of context and construed as discriminatory towards whites. but when all of the facts came out, officials were red-faced about how wrong they were about sherrod. >> a disservice was wrong for which we apologize. >> reporter: secretary vilsack says it was his decision alone and not pressure from the white house how he dealt with sherrod. >> this was my decision and i made it in haste. >> reporter: the new position would put her in the department doing outreach. >> i'm not sure going back to the department is the thing to do. it was so easy for them to make a decision to throw me under the bridge. you know, without looking, i was asking them, please, look at the entirety of this. no one was willing to do that. >> reporter: sherrod said she would like to talk to president obama about what happened to her. as for the conservative blogger who posted the videotape about her in the first

the internet. it started with a speech by usda official shirley sherrod describing her attitude 24 years ago towards a white farmer. >> saving their land. so i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> that part of the speech ended up on the internet. then lit up the blogs and cable outlets. yesterday agriculture secretary tom vilsack fired her for the comment saying the usda had zero tolerance for discrimination. this morning, vilsack changed his tune. saying in a statement i am, of course, willing and will conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts. now we know that the tape was heavily edited by the conservative website that posted it. biggovernment.com. the naacp which initially condemned her remarks now says it was snookered by the initial report saying that the speech was deliberately edited to create a false impression of racial bias. that's because other comments made in the same speech didn't make it on the internet like when she said she learned from that incident and ultimately helped the farmer. that farmer, rodger spooner, was shocked that the woman that helped

. >> and here i was faced with having to help a white person. [ inaudible ] >> the usda announced, heration this morning but she said she was forced to quit over a message that was miscon viewed a lock type. ago. in the -- misconstrued a long time ago. in the video she said she learned an important message even became friends with the farmer. >> i was telling him the story that working with him is about helping hi, it's not about race -- with him. it's not about race. it's about those who have versus those who don't have. >>> this morning the ncaa president's recommends her resignation. a blogger was ousted out because of a racist blog he wrote. >>> walnut creek back to normal after a loud demonstration that started as a show of support for former b.a.r.t. police officer, johannes mehserle. about 300 demonstrators took part, about half supporting the former b.a.r.t. police officer accused of killing unarmed passenger oscar grant. the rest were counter demonstrators, supporting grant's family. for three hours there was a lot of yelling from both sides. >> i hope that -- that he gets a f

the usda asked her to resign. sherrod says she was driving monday afternoon when she got the call from an official in washington. >> she said they want you to pull over to the side of the road and submit your resignation. it was just unbelievable. you know? it was just unbelievable. >> reporter: but sherrod says it was a rush to judgment. the incident she had described at the march naacp dinner had occurred more than 20 years ago, before she worked for the usda, and it was 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. and in telling that story, how i changed while working with him, i used that to help others to see it's not about race. >> reporter: the farmer who sherrod is accused of treating unfairly went public tuesday saying she is no racist and saved his family farm. >> i appreciated everything she done for us, and we got our farm back. >> reporter: still, in a statement tuesday, agriculture secretary tom vilsac

she was forced to resign her position at the usda, but when the full tape emerged, the apologies mounted culminating with a call from the president. >> i've been dealing with some of the same issues he's had to deal with. >> reporter: now the administration and nation wait to see whether this formerly obscure government worker will return to a job with the department that once let her go. the sherrod affair overshadowed much of the white house agenda last week. look for the president to try and turn the page next week with a major speech on education reform and a trip to detroit to talk about jobs. betty? >> thank you, joel. >>> four american service men bers were killed this morning in a bombing in southern afghanistan where the forces lead a major offensive against the taliban. today's deaths bring the number of americans killed in afghanistan this month to 52. >>> the former commander of u.s. forces in afghanistan retired. general stanley mcchris extol given a hero's send-off friday in washington. his career spanned 34 years. president obama relieved him of the afghan command last mon

the department. she has had a broad range of experiences at usda and understands many of the programs. she has an extraordinary history of helping individuals in trouble and she has gone through a very difficult period in the last couple of days. as a result of that experience, she has a unique set of 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 to great the last 18 months, we have spent a good deal of time and effort to try to resolve thousands of claims that have been filed against the usda. we are continuing that work. we had an opportunity to discuss a unique opportunity here at usda that might be of interest to her. she asks for the opportunity to think about it, which i certainly respected. again, i expressed my deep regrets in apology to her entire family. i advised her that i would be meeting with the press to publicly apologize to her and to express publicly my regret. with that -- >> you said that you take full responsibility. clearly, you seem to have jum