secretary tom vilsack took all the blame. he said the buck stops with him and he's offered her a new job. >> i didn't take the time. i should have. and as a result, a good woman has gone through a very difficult period. >> this story combines race, politics and media. it involves a black woman who was at first labeled a racist right before we learned she was anything but. it sounded like she was out to hurt a white family until we found out she saved their farm and became a hero to them. we begin our reporting tonight with our chief white house correspondent chuck todd. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. what started out as a simple speech about racial healing by shirley sherrod ended with apologies all around from the white house and the full obama administration. >> this is a good woman. she's been put through hell. and i could have done and should have done a better job. >> reporter: a humbled agriculture secretary, tom vilsack, took full responsibility for the fires. >> these types of decisions require

>> i have no second thoughts regarding the course that vilsack took. i have no idea why a video that was posted to draw attention between the conflict of the tea party and -- the tea party and the democratic party, are trying to attack -- >> let me stop you there. your original column said that the video lays out, in stark detail, that her, shirley sherrod's federal duties, are managed through the prism of race and class distinction. >> she does talk about race and class distinctions in it. >> not in the context of her job as an appointed bureaucrat. >> what this video clearly shows is a standard that the tea party has not been held to. the naacp, it shows people in the audience there, applauding her when she discriminates against a white farmer. that was the point that i was trying to make. what the naacp is arguing about the tea party is that there are people in -- >> she said. >> let me finish my point. there are people in the crowds of tea parties. and they're rebuking the tea party on that behalf. and i'm telling you, that this is a standard. if y

agriculture secretary tom vilsack reacted swiftly. he said today the u.s.d.a. had zero tolerance for discrimination and fired her for the comments. >> when i saw statements in the context of the statements i determined it would make it difficult for her to job do a job. >> reporter: but as with so many issues of race, there is 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. and 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. as far as racism, i think that's somebody who just wants to start something. >> reporter: sherrod then angrily answered. she told cnn she was unfairly forced out by a white house skittish 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. >> so i made this decision. it's my decision. nobody from the white house

agriculture secretary tom vilsack reacted swiftly. 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

the man who fired shirley sherrod, agriculture secretary tom vilsack, soon popped up on tv himself and offered her another job. all this while the nation watched her watch them. we begin tonight with jan crawford in washington. jan, this is a very bizarre two- day drama. >> reporter: oh, yes, katie. and we heard today the kind of thing you seldom here from the this white house or any white house. >> without a doubt ms. sherrod is owed an apology. i would do so certainly on behalf of this administration. >> reporter: that was a 180- degree turn from what administration officials said less than 24 hours ago when agriculture secretary tom vilsack abruptly fired shirley sherrod. >> i made this decision. it's my decision. >> reporter: after officials saw this edited clip of her speech. >> i was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farm lands and here i was faced with having to have a white person. >> reporter: late this afternoon vilsack talked to sherrod >> again, i express my deep regret. >> reporter: the controversy consumed almost the entire briefing by pres

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 officials wait to see if the system currently over haiti moves closer to the well site. if crews have to be evacuated, it could be two weeks before they can resume operations. >>> meanwhile, this morning's "new york times" reports many of the workers on the deepwater horizon rig were concerned about safety practices in the weeks leading up to the april 20th explosion. according to a confidential survey commissioned by the rig's owner, employees also feared backlash if they reported problems. >>> and in an effort to restore confidence

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 that point, i felt they had all of the advantages. >> reporter: then, in 1986, she changed her mind, as she said in the speech. >> that's when it was revealed to me that it's about poor versus those who have. >> reporter: in your view, your story was about how race shouldn't matter with people. >> right. and they turned it into saying that i'm a racist. >> reporter: and you're not? >> you better believe i'm not. >> reporter: and the white farmers in sherrod's story agree. and credit her with saving their farm. roger and eloise spooner from iron city, georgia, consider sherrod a friend. >> if it hadn't of been for her, it wasn't a matter of a few months and we would have lost it. >> reporter: the naacp was applauding secr

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 is not over. >> if a white public servant's referenced his own kind or one of his own when speaking ab

secretary vilsack is standing by his decision. diane? >> quite a tv drama today. thank you, jake tapper. >>> and still ahead, the letter carrier who saves lives while delivering the mail and delivering people to safety. a three-time hero.pe 2 diabetes, you struggle to control your blood sugar. you exercise and eat right, but your blood sugar may still be high, and you need extra help. ask your doctor about onglyza, a once daily medicine used with diet and exercise to control high blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. adding onglyza to your current oral medicine may help reduce after meal blood sugar spikes and may help reduce high morning blood sugar. [ male announcer ] onglyza should not be used to treat type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. tell your doctor if you have a history or risk of diabetic ketoacidosis. onglyza has not been studied with insulin. using onglyza with medicines such as sulfonylureas may cause low blood sugar. some symptoms of low blood sugar are shaking, sweating and rapid heartbeat. call your doctor if you have an allergic reacti

. >> lehrer: late this afternoon, secretary vilsack offered his own apology.ack at the white house this afternoon, spokesman gibbs said secretary vilsack was apologizing to sherrod. >> lehrer: sherrod accepted the white house's apology, but said she may not want her job back even if it was offered. the sherrod incident came after the n.a.a.c.p. had called for the tea party movement to address allegations of racism within its ranks. here now is "newshour" political editor david chalian. david, what does this say, this whole kind of strange, if that's the word, set of events, boom boom boom, all the happened in 24 hours, what does it say about how information is heard and how quickly it is reacted to, boom boom boom these days? >> you've nailed it that it is an information issue. i don't recall ever seeing an administration make a personnel decision based on the hour by hour news cycle. but in this 24-7 world, you saw the white house, the department agriculture react and act upon incomplete information and that is why robert gibbs hung his head today and that is

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 him nearly 25 years ago just lost her job. >> she saved our farm, almost 500 acres. she saved our farm. >> the naacp released sherrod's entire 43-minimum speech last night and says she's not a racist. she says the obama administration just caved to political pressure. harry? >> you can really tell from this just how sensitive this subject is and what

. >>> a complete turnabout in washington where the white house and tom vilsack are apologizing now tock agriculture department worker who was ousted from her job because of remarks she made about race. they now agree that her comments at a naacp banquet were taken out of context but as sandra endo reports, the worker says the apologies took too long and she doesn't know if she wants her job back. >> reporter: agriculture secretary, tom vilsack, said in a statement early wednesday, he will review his decision to ask sherrod to step down and "consider additional acts to ensure to the american people we're providing services in a fair manner." responding this morning, sherrod called vilsack's change of heart bittersweet. >> had the department taken the time at the very beginning, we wouldn't be doing this today. >> reporter: sherrod said she was pressured to resign with her position from the usda after a video surfaced 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. th

. >> 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 back in government. and shirley sherrod has a new job office from the usda. she says she needs some time to talk it over with her family before she decides if she will take it. vinita and rob back to you. >> emily schmidt, thank you. what will she decide?n she nd o talks to george stephanopoulos on "good morning america." >>> state employment offices are gearing up ahead of an expected vote in congress today. house members are expected to follow the senate to extend benefits to the long-term unemployed. officials in some stat

as. >> as it was unfolding, my whole thought was this is so unreal. >> reporter: vilsack apologized to sherrod and offered her another job. >> i express my deep regret. >> reporter: late last night sherrod responded. >> i was satisfied with it. i told him i appreciated the apology. >> reporter: the controversy started three days ago when the clip lit up the internet and cable outlets. in it sherrod reflected on her reluctance 24 years ago to help a poor farmer because he was white. it turns out sherrod didn't say anything racist at all. her comments were taken out of context. >> definitely didn't do the right thing because they didn't look deeper to see what i was trying to say to them. >> reporter: her message in the speech was one of unity and said she was wrong when she was downplayed the farmer's request for help. she ultimately helped him save his farm. sherrod said the administration forced her out because it was scrambling to head off criticism from the conservative media. something press secretary robert gibbs acknowledged. >> you live in a culture that things whip around. peop

. >> 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 by conservative bloggers appeared to show sherrod making racist remarks, but it soon became clear the comments were taken out of context. and there was actually nothing racist about the speech at all. >> without a doubt, miss sherrod is owed an apology. i would do so, certainly, on behalf of this administration. >> reporter: sherrod claims she resigned under pressure from the white house, but vilsack maintains the obama administration had nothing to do with his decision. >> i appreciate the concerns that folks are expressing, but this was my decision. and i made it in haste. >> reporter: sherrod says she tried to get the white house to watch the full tape. >> had that been done, we wouldn't be sitting here, having this conversation today. >> reporter: but some lawmakers are also blaming the media for jumping the gun. >> this issue is not about ra

>> 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

agriculture secretary, tom vilsack is criticized for acting too quickly in the case and not getting all the facts. this video of sherrod shows her intentionally dismissing white farmers for help, but the family comes out today saying sherrod did help them. it is said usda officials over reacted. >> if they had taken the time, even without looking at the tape, to look at me, to look at what i have stood for and done since i was actually been at a the department, i don't think they would have been so quick to do what they did. >> reporter: and, in that 2:00 a.m. statement, vilsack says he is now launching a thorough review, something sherrod says should have happened before she was let go. ktvu fox 2 news. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton is in south korea, killing solidarity with the government there. secretary clinton and robert gage held high level secretary talks with high level officials and they announced noisings against north korea, as the united states will freeze assets and prevent some businesses and individuals from traveling abroad. secretary clinton says the sanctions

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. this started with amateur video of two men standing at the entrance of a philadelphia polling place during the last presidential election. one of them was holding a club, many of those who have seen the video see it as a clear case of voter intimidation at a polling place. the justice department did not. they dropped the case without

. >> 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 white farmer was 24 years ago when sherrod worked for a non-profit and she ended up helping those farmers save their f

. >> reporter: secretary tom vilsack offered to rehire the 62-year-old wednesday for a new role justays after firing her over this speech. the edited clip posted online by conservative bloggers appeared to show her making racist remarks. but it soon became clear the comments were taken out of context. and there was actually nothing racist about the speech at all. >> without a doubt, miss sherrod is owed an apology. i would do so certainly on behalf of this administration. >> reporter: she said she resigned under pressure from the white house but vilsack maintains the obama administration had nothing to do with his decision. >> i appreciate the concerns that folks are expressing, but this was my decision and i made it in highs. >> reporter: sherrod says she tried to get the white house to watch the full tape. >> had that been done, we wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation today. >> reporter: but some lawmakers are also blaming the media for jumping the gun. >> this issue is not about race. this issue is about reporting and responding. >> reporter: and they say avoiding a r

sherrod was caught in the crossfire, a casualty of what vilsack admitted was a bungled situation. >>th that for a long, long time. >> reporter: sherrod told the agriculture secretary she'd need a couple of days to talk it over with her family before she decides on his job offer. vinita, rob? >>> an investigation into the firing of u.s. attorneys has wrapped up with no charges being filed. the case dates back to 2006 when the bush administration dismissed nine of the attorneys. democrats had charged the firings were politically motivated. now prosecutors who looked into the case have found no criminal wrongdoing. >>> president obama has signed into law the sweeping overhaul of the nation's financial industry. now mr. obama must decide who will head the powerful new bureau of consumer protection. elizabeth warren, who is a harvard law professor, is considered a leading candidate for that job. >>> the house is expected to follow the senate and approve a bill today restoring aid for millions who have been out of work for a while. prhe will quickly sign that legislation. >>> a storm gathe

. >>> reporter: agriculture secretary tom vilsack says he is sorry for firing shirley sherrod and has job for her. >> she has skills to help usda as we deal with trying to turn the page on our civil rights chapter. >> reporter: the former civil servant wants to think about it. it's been a long week. >> as it was unfolding, my whole thought was, this is so unreal. >> reporter: she gave a speech last spring to an naacp banquet in georgia. video clips of the speech posted online make it sound as if she supports discrimination. now she and others say the clips were taken out of context. sherrod and her supporters argue that the whole speech was about learning from mistakes and overcoming racial bias. civil rights leader wade henderson says the naacp acted too quickly when it first condemned the remarks. >> last week, they accused the tea party movement of tolerating racial bias and bigotry within their movement. and i think in the case of shirley sherrod they wanted to lean over backwards to make clear that they had to keep their own house in order. >> reporter: the clips of sherrod's spe

agriculture secretary tom vilsack released a statement early this morning saying he will, quote, conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts. nbc news white house correspondent savannah guthrie has the story. >> reporter: it's the video that became an overnight cable and internet sensation. 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 cha

were. >> reporter: vilsack offered sherrod a new job, helping deal with tens of thousands of farmers alleging discrimination by the usda that had fired sherrod, who had said today -- >> we seem to be going backwards instead of forward, in terms of race relations. >> reporter: her supporters rallied at the usda in d.c. ♪ and in georgia, where sherrod was a federal chief of rural development, a two-day fire storm sparked by a video. this clip hit the internet, sherrod in march describing her reluctance 24 years ago to help a white farmer. she was called by usda and 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

. >> 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 that fox news had on the air before the administration fired her bro. our story appeared on fox news later. -- her story appeared on fox news later. and the secretary about culture repeated his intention to have her fired -- secretary of agriculture repeated his intention to have her fire. the 6:00 news show, i call for reinstatement and an apology, as did the entire fox news channel. -- panel. >> nobody mentioned that the naacp called for her firing. that speech was to

did secretary vilsack said the same thing. did you learn anything from watching your colleagues go r colleathis? >> as the president said, i think you saw a general rush to eral rush everywhere. in the press and outside the e, it' i agree, it's something we should all take caution from. and look at these things and looky. he spoke to that, i thought, oiningearlier this week. >> secretary geithner, thank you so much for joining us. ingthank you. >>> and joining me now, new jersey's governor chris christie. thank you for joining me. islcome to "this week." happy t to be here. >> your victory last november in the very blue state of new jersey was seen as a blueprint for victories for the republicans. many people said you won by criticizing the incumbent overnor john corzine. do you agree? second, how do you see your victory in the context of what republicans can do in november? >> i think what we did last year >> i was say specifically what direction we wanted to take the ction we. wananted to have less spending, nt,ller governme

the white house and vilsack moved quite quickly to fix it. people need to do when they make mistakes. the broader question is how is this suddenly barack obama's problem? he has written an entire book of race. he dwoets an entire chapter. he made the speech in 200 8 -- he has probably -- >> is there a skiddishness about confronting problems when they spring up like this. however, whether there were screwups made, to deal with them head-on. >> it's funny to head-on. >> it's funny to me. this resulted from a false narrative that was developing last week. as you recall, you talked about context and president talked about context. the context for this was not that andrew decided to put an edited video to make a point. he was trying to make the point that the naacp is a racist organization so let's start with that fun box here. then the week before that, the naacp had a resolution that called on the tea party movement to expel from its group anyone that harbored racist sentiments. >> this is the broader context. let me bring you in, e.j. the obama

vilsack, the agriculture secretary now says, no, this was all my decision. of twists and turns. and shirley sherrod now coming out on the air doing lots of interviews this morning, including one you'll see shortly on the west coast on the "today" show saying, i don't know if i want to go back there. i'm not sure if i'll be treated fairly. >> thanks a lot, tracie. >>> now, the other big story that's coming out of d.c. this morning. of course, we're following the financial reform bill. what kind of changes can we expect now that this has been signed? >> reporter: yeah, it's finally going to be signed in just a couple of hours, and this is a big deal for consumers. there's going to be a new government agency, a bureau, a watchdog group here in washington, essentially to make sure that when you sign up for a loan, when you sign up for a new credit card, all of that fine print, all of those mounds of paper are clear, they're understandable, you know what you're getting into. also, a lot of mortgage loans will no longer have prepayment penalties, but you will have

rush to judgment over what he called a bogus controversy that prompted agriculture secretary tom vilsack to ask for sherrod's resignation. >> now, many are to blame for the reaction and overreaction that followed these comments, including my own administration. >> couric: and his administration has been trying to woo sherrod back with an offer to return to a new job at the u.s.d.a. as deputy director of advocacy and outreach... >> they've been calling me since 4:00 this morning. ( laughter ) >> couric: ...but for now, she says she isn't ready to answer that call. now, to the gulf. on day 101, the government's point man, admiral thad allen said the next attempt to plug the well, first through a new cap and then a relief well, could begin this weekend. meanwhile, a spill in michigan's kalamazoo river is worse than first thought. the e.p.a. now says more than a million gallons of oil leaked from a broken pipe. it's killed fish and left birds covered in oil. today, residents of 50 homes were advised to leave until the impact can be investigating. in montana, a deadly attack by grizzly bears.

that goes for secretary tom vilsack, who fired sherrod. >> he jumped this gun, partly because we live in this media culture where something goes up on youtube or a blog, and everybody scrambles. if there's a lesson to be drawn from this episode, it is rather to be jumping to conclusions and pointing fingers at each other, we should all look inward and try to examine what's in our own hearts. as a consequence, i think we will continue to make progress. >> president obama also urged sherrod to accept a new position, a job helping the agriculture department tackle discrimination. you can see more of the interview with the president, later on "good morning america." >>> the senate has approved a war funding bill, rejecting, though, $20 billion tacked on by the house for domestic issues. the bill authorizes $60 billion for the wars in afghanistan and iraq. and related spending. the house is expected to go along with the senate version in the end. >>> a congressional panel has charged new york democrat charles rangel with ethics violations. the specifics will be revealed at a public hearing

gibbs revealed the apology tom vilsack made to the president. >> i'm sorry. i made a mistake. i acted before i had the full benefit of what had happened. >> reporter: clearly this has been a distraction to the white house this week. they hoped it would have been about the president dealing with the fragile economy and signing into law -- as he did late today -- an extension of unemployment benefits for some 2.5 million americans, brian. >> chuck todd in washington tonight. chuck, thanks. >>> there is new trouble tonight for the former chairman of the house ways & means committee. the long-time new york democratic congressman charlie rangel has been investigated on ethics charges for the last two years. the next committee in the house found he has violated some ethics rules. there will be hearings, we learned today. while he told the media he's happy about the development, our own luke russert asked if he feared he would lose his job and the following exchange took place. >> are you concerned about losing your job? >> what are you talking about? you're just trying to make copy.

agriculture secretary tom vilsack said in a statement that there is zero tolerance for discrimination. only, none of them bothered to learn that the incident in question happened 24 years ago when sherrod worked for a nonprofit. still, abc news asked her why she would look at farmers differently than she did the black farmers. >> because i always -- up to tat i feall optheages the naacp speech. >> that's when it was revealed to me that it's about poor versus those who have. >> reporter: the white farmers in sherrod's story agree, and credit her with saving their farm. roger and eloise spooner from iron city, georgia, consider sherrod a friend. >> if it hadn't been for her, we'd -- wasn't ever just a matter of a few months, we'd have lost it. >> reporter: t.j. winick, abc news, washington. >>> democratic lawmakers are set to approve an extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed today. they broke through a stubborn republican filibuster yesterday, with the help of the newest senator from west virginia. carte goodwin was sworn in to succeed robert byrd, who died last month. repub

. >> reporter: agriculture secretary tom vilsack says those days must end. >> i made it as a goal when i took this office that we would try to reverse that history. >> reporter: as for the settlement compensation, congress has yet to approve it and even if it does... >> it would be a very bittersweet victory for us because i've seen so many black farmers pass waiting for justice. >> reporter: willie adams is waiting, too. mr. adams has wanted to expand his business for years, to build a new greenhouse or to buy up new livestock for his farm. today he's raising collard greens, squash and okra, but he says the farm's been starved without the government assistance other farmers take for granted. >> trying to save the land, that's the main thing, saving the homeland. >> reporter: he wonders why shirley sherrod was fired hours after that misleading tape surfaced but other department officials were not fired for years of discrimination, raising doubts about the government's commitment to close what it calls an unfortunate chapter. dean reynolds, cbs news, greensboro, georgia. >> couric: in w

>>> in other news, president obama says agriculture secretary tom vilsack, quote, jumped the gun when he decided to fire shirley sherrod for what turned out to be edited remarks on the internet. the president personally apologized to sherrod thursday. chip reid reports. >> reporter: the president joined the chorus of administration officials offering her an apology. >> she did accept his apology? >> yes. >> reporter: the white house says it took the president three tries over two days to reach her. she called it a very good conversation. >> he wanted me to know he's supportive. and i've been dealing with some of the same issues he's had to deal with. >> reporter: sherrod was fired monday after a conservative website released portions of a speech she gave earlier this year. she appeared to say that years ago she was reluctant to help a struggling farmer because he was white, but the full speech shows she was describing the need for racial reconciliation. >> when the president said, i think that's -- there's an opportunity for you to continue that work if you want to do so. >> reporter:

>> it is a decision that she is mulling over this morning after agriculture secretary tom vilsack admitted he should have done a better job of investigating the video that started the controversy. so is she ready to put it all behind her? does the president himself owe her a personal apology? well, she's sitting right over there. i'm going to talk with shirley sherrod right ahead. >> also a storm brewing in the caribbean has brought efforts to permanently plug the busted oil well in the gulf to a near standstill. we're going to get the latest on that story and a rare view of the disaster as crews use a submarine to search for oil beneath the surface. we're going to take you live to the gulf in just a couple of minutes. and check in with kerry sanders. >> and plus-sized and proud. the model who is furious that recent pictures of her were altered to make her appear thinner than she actually is. we're going to talk to that model, crystal brand, coming up. >> but we begin on this thursday morning with the fallout over the premature firing of an agriculture department official named shirley she

shriveting and shortchanging minorities, blacks, women, in agriculture, tom sill vack, the man who -- tom vilsack, the monday who apologized profusely, -- the man who apologized profusely, cast light on how far that department has come in the last few years. gloria: and although this isn't a question, it's a question in a could take a -- a question that could take a whole show. this is a white house, the first after can american president that goes out of its way to not be defined by race, yet things like this always occur. seem to occur. and so what are the risks here really for this first african-american president? >> when you take up race on your own terms, at your on time, say the 150th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation you can have an inclufsive conversation about it. when you find yourself talking about it because someone else raised it it's very hard to get past the division. gloria: and very difficult for this white house. and now for something completely different, we're going to turn to the topic of national intelligence. in the wake of the attacks of 9-11, the intelligence

and one of those people, of forced sherrodama's own agriculture secretary, tom vilsack, who forced sherrod to resign. >> he jumped the gun partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on youtube or a blog and scrybody scrambles. and i told my team, and i told makeencies that we have to make foc we're focusing on doing the thet thing instead of what ooks to be politically moment.ry at that very moment. and ve to take our time and think these issues through. >> now that is the hope. but will his administration take the the president's words to heart? what about everyone else nvolved in the process of creating, covering and influencing public policy and se, rics? in this case, racial sensitivity ideosned with viral videos made go system go haywire. harris toed dan harris to take on whatonight on what lessons were learned and whether any of this will change. a reporter: with pretty much nvolved in the shiin the shirley sherrod case apologizing -- -- y extending her my personal and profound apologies. >> i owe miss sherrod an sherrod an >> reporter: the question -- >

her former boss, tom vilsack, apologized to her wednesday for forcing her to resign earlier this week. 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

thomas vilsack will join us to talk about child nutrition.session will conclude with a cooking demonstration by the white house chef, and is then we will have some new chefs when we get finished. this is something we are all committed to, making sure we are able to put good quality home grown food in front of our children. karl are warning the natural resources committee will talk about ways we can capitalize on domestic energy. there will be the assistant secretary for energy efficiency. the executive vice president for generation of power, and the president and ceo of america's natural gas alliance. a special committee on homeland security will meet to discuss ways to improve our country's communication system. honthe chief of the federal communications commission homeland security bureau and the deputy chief of the new york city police department will take part in a panel discussion on medications. this will include discussions on .usion centers carr on sunday we will reconvene for a plenary session. all states are facing tough fiscal situ

tom vilsack demanded and received sherrod's resignation. even the naacp condemned her words. only one problem. she was talking about something that happened 24 years ago and told that tale as a confession about how wrong she'd be and how much she'd learned. the naacp is backing her. tonight, we want toed to ask you, should she have been fired or was this a rush to judgment? tell us on the "nightline" facebook page or on the "nightline" page at abcnews.com. that's our report for tonight. for all of us at abc news, good night, america. >> jimmy: hi, i'm jimmy kimmel, with a word from reebok runtones. the shoes designed to give you stronger legs with every step. they have moving air balance balls on the soles that force leg muscles to work harder as you run. no man wants chicken legs. even chickens don't want chicken legs. but sadly, it affects many of us good men. men like ralph macchio. >> skinny ass chicken legs anywhere, man. those are the same legs you had in the [ bleep ] movie. >> hey, hey, hey, take it down a notch. put the camera away. just put the camera down. >> i'm t