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

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

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

sherrod is owed an apology. >> couric: i'm katie couric. also tonight, small towns, huge salaries. outrage in california where the city manager makes nearly twice as much as the president of the united states. it's a reenactment, but investigators say this is what happened when a north korean torpedo struck a south korean warship. and he's no houdini, but he did turn a cell phone into a porsche. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> couric: good evening, everyone. it was an extraordinary scene on national television today. the president's top spokesman admitting the administration had fired an official of the agriculture department for alleged racism without knowing all the facts, and then he offered her an apology. but it didn't stop there. 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

her my personal and profound apologies. >> i owe miss sherrod an sherrod an >> reporter: the question -- >> amp downs episode tamp down america's warp-speed, hair political culture?culture? if you listen ton to media matters for america, the left-wing media monitoring od case bring the volume herrod case will bring the volume down at 't think it wi >> i don't think it will. i mean, i think, frankly, the right wing m right wing mob is committed to reporter: b >> reporter: but doesn't the left have a noise machine of its not like >> not like this. >> reporter: andrew breitbart, the right wing blogger who sparked this by posting the chine, and eo, says there is a left wing noise machine, and it's now going after him. so you're saying the rush to judgment here is against you? judgment. >> it's a convenient rush to judgment. ng on this lovs bad guy who's taking on this lovely, black grandmotherly type. >> reporter: despite the finger pointing, some agree with hat thent obama that the sherrod case could provoke change. >> the battles will continue, but hopefully people in the take just that

then, they changed their minds and wanted sherrod reinstated. jake tapper, the white house. >>> there's new reports from the agriculture department overnight. agriculture secretary tom vilsack says he will consider additional facts before making a final decision. we'll get shirley sherrod's reaction to these developments later today on "good morning america." >>> a panel of medical advisers has delivered a major setback to a top-selling cancer drug. they decided that avastin should no longer be recommended to women with advanced breast cancer because it does more harm than good. the fda may agree and withdrawal the. >>> lindsay lohan is waking up in jail this morning. the troubled actress appeared in court yesterday, to begin a 90-day sentence for violating probation. but she is expected to spend only about two weeks behind bars. lohan's struggles began with several arrests for drunken driving and drug charges. she is in jail for missing seven mandated alcohol education classes since december. >>> it now appears former governor rod blagojevich w

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. people want fast responses. we want to give fast responses. >> reporter: the controversy seems to show that on one of the nation's most complex social issues, race, the obama administration reacted impulsively. >> we need to get this out and public discussion. we can't hide from it. and i'm afraid the obama administration more often hides from it than confronts it. >> secretary vilsack said he hoped sherrod would come back to the department

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

vilsack fired shirley sherrod after a blogger posted a video of sherrod making racist remarks it turned out the remarks were highly edited and involved an incident almost a quarter of a century ago. jan crawford reports. >> reporter: it starts by a speech usda official shirley sherrod, describing her attitude 24 years ago toward a white farmer. >> and i was with a white person save their land. so i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> reporter: that comment and the speech to the naacp lit up the blogosphere after a conservative website this week aired it and suggested there was reverse racism in the administration. 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 fa

>> chris: i think we will cause sherrod. we will have you back to talk about the newt gingrich palin ticket. why do you they made such a judgment about a decision on shirley sherrod. >> the context of this, of course, is that the naa challenged the tea party and they put some members out and then they were targeted to prove that blacks were as racist as whites and there was a level of dialogue and, of course, when the news story broke it frightened the white house, as a matter of fact. they didn't want to be accused of being racist and, of course, they ignored due process and overreacted. >> chris: could a white house be frightened of a clip that was on a conservative website? >> well, you can be. in this age of social media, i thought when newt tried to equate this with how iran was a false comparison. if you are about to be hit by an avalanche of news media criticism and you feel you have no moral foundation the tendency is to buckle. now, the relatives that the shirley sherrod was a nondue process and the white house is w

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

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. >>> and news about the oil spill, not in the gulf, but this china, and the incredible pictures showing a heroic rescue. >>> and sunshine in san jose, but you're going to need a jacket in july. look at that. 66 degrees right now it is breezy and cool around the bay area. but your 7-day forecast shows 90s s.spot lo asps. lookt that a when we come back right. w woman: did you bring the camera phone? man: i did. do you

the sherrod case was about gender. the obama white house did not vet this person because a woman is not seen as a legitimate civil rights leader. so, among african-american people, we have to contend with the gender issue. i think the right wing understood... we bring to mind that we refuse to deal with the issue of gender as well. >> the only way you breakthrough this kind of superficial discourse i think is all of us should acknowledge we have a fallible believe quest for truth. the condition of truth is to allow others to speak. we don't like to talk about suffering among our poor people, of all colors, but especially black poor and red poor. we don't like to talk about the level of unemployment, the levels of underemployment, the decrepit school and the disgraceful school system and the decrepit housing and so forth. why? because then we're talking about power, privilege versus poverty and relative powerless that's the challenge. race is integral. race is part of this issue of joblessness. >> schieffer: that leads

sherrod's bosses forced her to resign after the clip came to light. the u.s. agriculture secretary apologized to sherrod and offered her another position. sherrod says she hasn't yet decided whether she'll take the job. >>> san francisco international airport is one step closer on completing work on terminal two. six departments have been relocated. terminal two is the home of international flights until the new international terminal opens. when renovations are finished next spring, american and virgin will operate there. >>> american airlines plans to add flights from san jose to los cabos next week. alaska officials say the flight to los cabos will leave at 10:30 in the morning on wednesdays, saturdays and sundays. >>> after just two seasons, ellen degeners is saying goodbye to american idol. that leaves two vacancies because simon cowel is also leaving the show. the show returns in january. and you can watch it right here on ktvu channel 2. >>> next up, sports, coming up. what this droid does will change how you do movies. with blockbuster on demand, this

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

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

and andrew's smear on shirley sherrod is -- >> this was not about shirley sherrod. >> apologize to her. >> this was not about the tea party. this was not about shirley sherrod. it's about the smears that have gone about the tea party. including the primary one that led the charge that got reinstigated by the naacp, condemning the tea partying saying "n" words were hurled at congressmans carston, lewis and cleaver. when i showed four videos that it did not happen, the mainstream media would not happen. it was meant to hurt the tea party. >> this was during the health care debate. >> the day before. >> it showed the members of congress. >> they were walking down the steps. congressman carson said when he was walking down the steps that the "n" word was said 15 times by 15 different people. 400 people gathered around him. he thought there would be rocks thrown at him. the police finally interceded. when they isolated that it happened on those steps, we found four videos that show them walking down briskly. cleaver, who says that he was with them, is not in the video. but congressman john

the sherrod case has put a spotlight on the u.s.d.a.'s long history of discrimination against black farmers. more about that now from national correspondent dean reynolds. >> reporter: willie adams 60- acre georgia farm has been in his family since 1938 and he wants to hold on to its red clay and green pastures for generations to come. but the fight to keep it is increasingly stressful. >> high blood pressure, almost a heart attack. ( laughs ) oh, yeah. a lot of stress. >> reporter: adams is one of a dwindling number of african american farmers, some 33,000 in all. >> we want equal justice! >> reporter: they're hoping congress will at last end decades of discrimination against them and appropriate the $1.25 billion they and their ancestors won in a settlement with the department of agriculture in february. a court found the farmers had been systematically denied aid solely because they were black. loans, grants, and subsidies that white farmers received. willie adams says u.s.d.a. officials always claimed to him and other blacks that the

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

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 about an african-american, that white person would be fired on the spot. >> reporter: and, george, so far this morning, white hou

he will now reconsider sherrod's forced resignation. the reversal comes a day after growing criticism over how the entire matter was handled. t.j. winick is now in washington with more. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. the agriculture official was apparently telling a story about how she learned a valuable lesson over two decades ago. but this morning she is without her job in the obama administration. the controversy exploded after a conservative website posted this video clip of department of agriculture official shirley sherrod at an naacp event talking about a meeting with a white farmer. >> 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: monday night an obama administration official called sherrod in her car and demanded she pull over and type a resignation letter in her blackberry. agriculture secretary tom vilsack said in a statement that there is zero tolerance for discrimination at his agency. only, none of them bothered to l

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 saying much about it. more on that story tonight from our justice correspondent pete williams at the justice department tonight. pete, good evening. >> reporter: brian, this does involve a case of what some see as voter intimidation outside of a predominantly african-americ

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

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 why secretary vilsack was out there apologizing. they had to admit that they actually took administrative action before they had all the facts. we in the press, many news organizations, showed these clips before we understood the full context of these clips. we didn't

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

. >> the conservative blogger that posted it getting sherrod fired was neve his intent. he merely wanted to show that people in the audience was applaudi when she talked about her perception of the white farmer. >> governor swzenegger nominate the first philippine woman to appellate court. she is the next chief justice. she would give the state preme court a female majority for the first time in its history. 50-year-old sacramento native is a graduate of u.c. davis school ofaw and a republican. if approved by voters in november, she would replace ron george. >> they are threatening to shut down efforts to bp well. thad allen the weather could force crews to abandon the watch over the experiment tell that has been bottling up the well. scientists have be examining cameras for days trying to determine if that cap is displacing pressure and causing leaks under ground. >> n.t.s.b. is investigating an incident that left 30 peoe injured after severe turbulence hit a jetliner. the flight originated out of dulles near washinon, d.c. and was heed to los angeles. it was diverted t

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

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 time. i didn't take the time. i should have. and i will have to live with that for a long, long time. >> reporter: vilsack said late this afternoon he called sherrod to apologize and discussed bringing her back to the department in a new capacity. >> 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. >> reporter: vilsack said a history of racial discrimination at the department of agriculture contributed to his hasty decision on monday. >> i was very sensitive and remain sensitive to the civil rights issues involving this department. >> reporter: two days after shirley

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 eveseeing 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 why secretary vilsack was out there apologizing. they had to admit that they actually took administrative action before they had all the facts. we in the press, many news organizations, showed these clips before we understood the full context of these clips. we didn't se

wanted sherrod reinstated. 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

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

sherrod was taken about an incident that took place 24 years ago that transformed her perspective on race and a complete speech proves that. >> she needs her job back. i give her job back in a minute. >> after first reporting her firing, naacp is campaigning to have her reinstated. sherrod says she is not sure she wants her old job back. >> how will i be treated once i'm back there. i have would to be reassured on that. >> the conservative blogger that posted it getting sherrod fired was never his intent. he merely wanted to show that people in the audience was applauding when she talked about her perception of the white farmer. >> governor swarzenegger nominated the first philippine woman to appellate court. she is the next chief justice. she would give the state supreme court a female majority for the first time in its history. 50-year-old sacramento native is a graduate of u.c. davis school of law and a republican. if approved by voters in november, she would replace ron george. >> they are threatening to shut down efforts to bp well. thad allen the weather could force crews to ab

i asked for her forgiveness. >> miss sherrod has earned an apology. i would do so on behalf of this administration. >> the about-face developed as quickly, as conservative blogs and cable tv talked about a farmer who needed her help. >>> based on the speech they asked her to resign without pressure from the white house, but it turns outer the speech continued with how she helped the farmer and still has his support today more than 20 years later. >> i've come a long ways. >> what happened, it took too long but it makes me feel better. >> he visited the congressional black caucus where they said shirley sherrod needs a new place in government. >> she is going to talk it over with the family whether deciding the take with it. >> in concord, health officials are giving away free vaccines this evening. whooping cough has been on the rise in the state with five facts dying of the disease already this year, actually six. it's very contagious and serious for young children. they say anyone who lives at home with a baby should be immunized. the vaccine which

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. 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

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

. >>> i'm sorry an apology today from the president to shirley sherrod. she's the woman at the center of a video clip controversy that sparked heated debate over race and the media. it remains unclear what will happen next. >> from president obama a phone call, and an apology to shirley sherrod. her ouster has sparked a political firestorm. >> talked about experiences he had and written in his book, that in some ways were similar to the experiences she has written, talked about. >> reporter: hours earlier, sherrod laid out what she would like to discuss with the president. >> i would like to talk to him about the experiences of people like me, people at the grassroots level. people who live out there in rural america, who live in the south. i know he does not have that kind of experience. >> reporter: pushed out after a conservative blog posted edited video that seemed to show a racial virus. she's getting support from both sides of the political aisle. >> this whole episode has been unfortunate, and i think this lady's been through hell and back. this is

it made it appear sherrod didn't want to help a white farmer. she was talking about overcoming racial prejudice. she's been offering a new job in the agriculture department. but hasn't decided whether to accept it. >> president obama broke tradition by appearing on late-night talk shows, today making television history once again, appearing with the ladies on "the view". it's something never happened before. commander in chief on a daytime tv talk show. the president discussed economy, jobs, afghanistan and racial tensions in the u.s.. he blames the media for the forced resignation of shirley sherrod last week but admitted his administration was at fault for condemning statements before viewing the speech on race relation autos a lot of people overreacted and when it comes to race, let's acknowledge of course there is still tensions out there and there are inequalities out there and discrimination out there but we've made progress. >> the president insisted the government will recover all $60 billion in taxpayer money used to wail out the u.s. a

all that concentration wiped away because of the sherrod story. it's something they very much want to get back to. the president will do that. he and other democrats want to try to campaign on the message of financial reform being the beginning of a real turnaround for the economy. >> got to ask you about the charley rangel story. the charges haven't been laid out but obviously they're serious enough for talk of a trial. that would probably happen in the fall november elections. could be a perfect storm for democrats. will they try to avoid this? >> by all indications they are trying to avoid this. there are talks ongoing with congressman rangel to try to avoid that full airing of the charges. that's not the kind of spectacle they want. republicans will pounce on that. remember back in 2006, it was nancy pelosi who said they were going to drain the swamp from all the corruption from the republican side. if congress is head in lower esteem it will be difficult for democrats in an already very difficult cycle. it keeps coming back to jobs, lester. w

twice white house operators tried to reach sherrod on behalf of the president. but -- >> the mailbox belonging to shirley sherrod is full and cannot accept new messages at this time. >> reporter: white house officials tried again. finally the two connected. by then the president had read the full transcript of her march speech in which she described overcoming her own biases, a subject the president told her he had covered in his memoir "dreams from my father." she told reporters she's not sure if she's going to accept the job. this has been a whirlwind, she needs some down time, she has yet to see the offer in writing. jake tapper, abc news, the white house. >>> a congressional panel has charged new york democrat charles rangel with violating house rules. their two-year investigation centered on his real estate holdings, fund-raising and financial disclosure. rangel gave up leadership of the house ways and means committee in march because of a sepate in marchhiccause of a sepate elc e c to prove his innoc >> i feel extraoriy that my supporters over 40 years wil

. >>> fired government worker shirley sherrod has accepted president obama's apology. sherrod was forced to resign over an internet clip that falsely showed her making racist remarks. the president is reminding his staff not to respond too quickly to media postings like that one. but to take their time and think through the issues. 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 t

it's been an interesting 48 hours for shirley sherrod. she's accepted apologies from the without and the secretary of agriculture, but is she ready to take a new job within the same administration that demanded her resignation just three days ago? >> 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 i

in other news, shirley sherrod spoke out today at a journalism convention in san diego. she said she hasn't heard a word yet from the blogger whose video clip led to her ouster from the department of agriculture, but she made it clear he'll soon be hearing from her. >> i will definitely do it. i will definitely sue, yes. >> couric: sherrod told the crowd blogger andrew breitbart has yet to apologize for posting an edited clip of the speech she made to the naacp that made her sound racist. >> here i was faced with that when i had a white person save their land. >> reporter: and she vowed to pursue a lawsuit against him. this morning at an urban league event, president obama accepted responsibility for the 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 t

sherrod was in san diego. the edited video led to sherrod's forced resignation. on the video she appears to say she discriminated a white farmer. later it was found to be taken out of content. >> whether he was targeting the naacp: he had to know he was targeting me. at this point, he hasn't apologized, i don't want it at this point. >> the u.s. agriculture secretary later apologized to sherrod and offered her another position. sherrod said she hasn't decided whether she wants it yet. >>> 37% of likely voters support democratic candidate jerry brown. meg whitman is not far behind with 34%. almost one in four voters are still undecided about their choice for governor. >>> new numbers are in and it appears some bay area drivers aren't willing to shell out more money to cross bay bridge. transportation authorities say since the fees have gone up, the commute has been lighter. >> the commute has been lighter, that has helped everyone including bridge drivers and bart. 30% fewer vehicles are using the car pool lane and more people are using bart. >> congestion has dro

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

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: sherrod says she hasn't decided if she'll accept that offer. there may be good reason for the president's public silence. the last time he stepped in

sherrod made that announcement today during the national convention of journalists. it led to a rush to judgment by some news organizations and ultimately led to sherrod's forced resignation. >> he had to know that he was targeting me. at this point he hasn't apologized, i don't want it at thispoint. and he'll definitely hear from me. >> sherrod added that her experience led to reviewing racism. >>> and later it has been (announcer) while there are some home disasters you can't avoid, there is one you can. septic system breakdowns affect 1.2 million homes in the us each year. septic backups can cost about six thousand dollars in expense, and countless hours of repair. rid-x costs only six dollars, and the new and advanced natural bacteria generate over twice as many enzymes which accelerate the waste digestion. use rid-x once a month and help save yourself from disaster. >>> friday's target forecast is for walnut creek. tomorrow morning when you wake up. clouds, there's already fog coming up in lafayette. 73degrees at lunchtime. 82degrees for a daytime high for your