All language subtitles for The Newsroom (2012) - 02x01 - First Thing We Do Let s Kill All the Lawyers

If Ben Furusho
hadn't broken his ankle,

if Jim Harper hadn't gone
to New Hampshire to cover for him,

if Jerry Dantana hadn't been
brought up from DC to cover for Jim,

if Mike Tapley had been
used on the panel

instead of Cyrus West,
do you think that--

- Genoa.
- Say again?

The name of the black op
was Genoa, not Geneva.

It's a kind of a jib
or foresail on a boat.

Did I say Geneva?

No, but Matt typed it
in his notes just now.

Mark.
And he's right, I did.

- How did you know that?
- Well...

I don't like to talk about it,
but I know things.

Ever since I was a boy.

People have called it a gift,

but it's really more
of a burden.

You want to stop
screwing around?

I can see his fingers
on the keyboard.

He typed Geneva.
We work in television.

- There's no reason we can't have jokes.
- You work in television.

- I'm a litigator at Lowell Tiller.
- Genuflect when you say that.

And there are a lot of reasons
we can't have jokes. Should I list them?

You went on the air
with a story

- that alleged the US used nerve gas...
- It was a mistake.

- during an operation, which is a war crime...
- On the enemy.

- We had two eyewitnesses and a three-star general.
- and a doctored interview

and a producer who says that
News Night conspired with the Pentagon...

- That's why we fired him.
- to cover up Operation Geneva.

- Genoa.
- Fuck me!

Well?

Would one of you fuck
Miss Halliday, please?

- That was a little funny.
- Finally.

Did you take calls from the DOD
asking you not to run the story?

That happens all the time.

The entire population
of the Pensacola Minimum Security Prison

is people who did things
that happen all the time.

- We ran the story.
- Then you retracted it?

- Of course we retracted it.
- At the urging of the DOD?

Absolutely not.

- Excuse me.
- Come on in.

Maggie Jordan,
this is Rebecca Halliday, our lawyer.

These are her associates Bob,
Tom, and Curt.

- Ross Kessler.
- Mark Gage.

- Ken Weinraub.
- What do you got?

Looks like Romney's gonna add
an event in Charlotte at 8:00.

He's gonna go on
around 8:15.

We'll cut in
if he's saying something,

- otherwise we'll stay with Sandy.
- Got it.

Maggie Jordan
is Margaret Jordan?

- Yeah.
- What happened to her hair?

I don't know.
Women try things.

What the hell
happened to her hair?

Look, she went out on a story.
She went to Uganda.

It got real very fast and she came back
a little messed up.

Well, if this goes to the next level,
she better get un-messed up in a hurry

because she's
a character witness

and she looks like the Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo.

Counsel, if what happened to her
happened to you,

you'd kill yourself
for the rest of your life.

You would sit in the middle of a room
and cry forever.

A year ago,
she looked like this.

Now she looks like that.
What happened to her in Africa?

- It doesn't matter.
- Can I decide that?

- I'm her lawyer.
- I'm her lawyer.

And your lawyer.
And MacKenzie's.

And everybody's.
And if you don't let me do my job--

You're gonna do what?
Jump up really high in the air and swat my chin?

I have the confidence
of a tall man.

Lose.

I was going to say lose.

And no one responsible for Genoa
will ever work again,

including, and especially, the anchor
and executive producer of the broadcast.

- If Jim Harper hadn't gone to--
- No.

Let me finish the question.

We don't have
that kind of time.

No, if Jim hadn't gone
to New Hampshire,

if Dantana hadn't come up
to cover for him,

if West hadn't been
on the drone panel,

if 17 different things
hadn't conspired

in just the right order,
we wouldn't be sitting here.

14 months ago,
you went on the air

and called the Tea Party
the American Taliban.

- I did.
- And?

The Taliban resented it.

14 months ago,
you went on the--

We're starting
at the beginning.

14 months ago,
you went on the air

and called the Tea Party
the American Taliban.

Yeah.

What happened then?

- A lot.
- For starters?

The president of AWM

got kicked out
of the Capitol Building.

- Have they started yet?
- No, sir.

I was at the Jefferson.
I couldn't get a cab.

You can pick up
your ID right there.

There's supposed
to be a card for me.

I don't see the ID here.

Reese Lansing, AWM.

- I don't see your name, sir.
- Lansing, Reese Lansing.

I don't have a Lansing here.

Maybe there's a typo.
Can you look under--

Everyone's accounted for.

This is a Judiciary--
Yeah, I see people I know in there.

It's okay.
I'm the president of AWM.

I can't let you in without ID.

- Who do I speak to?
- About what?

- About getting in the door?
- Me.

I honestly don't mean to be rude,
but you're the man with the clipboard

and I need to speak to
the chairman or ranking member

of the House
Judiciary Committee.

And what's standing
in between you and doing that?

You.

Okay.

No, it wasn't an oversight.
It was deliberate.

- Those two words are antonyms.
- Are you telling me--

Who'd have thought that
calling Tea Party congressmen

the American Taliban
would have consequences?

- Are you saying--
- There was absolutely no way to see this coming.

The consequence was that you were
left off of a guest list.

For SOPA!
Not the Met Gala.

It almost seems like when we
called them the American Taliban,

- they minded.
- Stop.

Are you telling me AWM
was left out of a meeting

with the US House of Representatives
because of the show last week?

Oh, don't be silly.

Wait. Yes, that is exactly
what we're telling you.

Do you know how much we lose
every year to piracy?

- No.
- No, me neither.

It could be 10 billion.
Could be 100 billion.

- Let's just assume it's 10 billion.
- Okay.

I want the 10 billion!

We own intellectual property

and I want the fucking pajama people
to stop stealing it.

Let's try to get to
the bottom of exactly why

they minded being called
the American Taliban,

'cause I don't get it.

- Is your suit mildewing?
- Yes, it is.

AWM doesn't
just create content.

We own the physical lines
and ISPs that bring it to you.

SOPA would allow you to sue us just for
pointing you toward a bootleg Chili Peppers track.

- Doesn't that screw you on both ends?
- Yeah.

That's sort of why we wanted
to help write the law.

But three members of
the Judiciary Committee

ran and won
with Tea Party support.

And kicked AWM
out of the country?

- Yep.
- They misinterpreted the Taliban comparison

and heard it as some kind of,
I don't know,

insult or whatever.

You know,
when he said it two weeks ago,

I-- I smiled.

I thought let the chips fall
where they may.

You know what I'm thinking now?

- I don't.
- Chips are falling.

People are mad at him, Charlie.

They're gonna be mad
at you, too.

Fuck 'em.

I don't know.

The rebels just took Tripoli.

Wait, what?

When roughly nine hours ago,

rebel forces swarmed
the Bab al-Azizia,

Muammar Gaddafi's compound
and less a presidential palace

than a military fortress
and a symbol of his reign.

After a siege of several hours

and an extended gun
and mortar battle,

Gaddafi's compound fell.

And while there's
celebration in the streets,

no one at this hour
knows the whereabouts

of the now deposed strongman
who ruled Libya for 42 years.

We go live
to ACN's Shannon Hammid,

who is standing outside the compound
just south of Tripoli's city center

where it's a few minutes
after 2:00 AM.

- Shannon?
- Go six. Ready SOT one.

Will, this is
a jubilant day in Libya.

While there remain a few
isolated patches of fighting

in the Gaddafi
loyalist suburbs,

the...

gunfire that you hear
is largely celebratory.

- SOT one.
- You can see some of the rebels

- on their way to the compound.
- 45 back.

We got to pull
the Strauss-Kahn package.

- Why?
- We blew the fact check.

We say the French police
charged him with attempted rape.

The French police are investigating him
for attempted rape.

We push play on that package
in 90 seconds.

- Is it on camera or VO?
- VO.

Show it to me. 16.
Get Ryan on the phone.

Use a landline.
Jake, let's go.

- 15 seconds live.
- 16's up.

- Play it.
- Package goes in 60.

Did you know that in '91,

20 Kuwaitis died after being
hit by falling bullets

while celebrating the end
of the Cold War?

- I didn't.
- The law of averages caught up to them.

Yeah.

118 people treated
at a Los Angeles hospital

for injuries sustained
from random falling--

- Shut up!
- Copy that.

Right there.

In three, two...

Shannon, at this hour,
do the rebels know

anything about where
Colonel Gaddafi might be?

- That's their frustration. He's vanished.
- Answer the phone.

But he's believed
to still be in Tripoli?

Nobody knows for sure.

Ryan, hey, it's Jim.

- I'm putting you on speaker at New York control.
- Play it.

- What's going on?
- Where are you?

- Benihana with my kids.
- Get to a quiet place. Hurry.

- 30 seconds.
- Play it for me.

But there's more trouble
ahead for the French diplomat.

Strauss-Kahn still faces
a civil suit here in New York.

And in an unrelated case,
French police have charged him

with the attempted rape of
writer Tristane Banon in 2003.

Ryan?

- You there?
- Sorry. Yeah.

Say "are investigating charges
of attempted rape brought by."

Are investigating charges
of attempted rape brought by.

- Two-tenths over.
- A little faster on my cue.

Say it like a phrase.
Stand by.

Shannon Hammid reporting
live on this historic day from Tripoli.

Turning now to
Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Today, New York Supreme Court
Judge Michael Obus

dismissed all charges
against the former IMF chief

after the prosecution
cited problems

with the accuser's credibility.

- Roll 16.
- On my cue, Ryan.

A smiling and
visibly relieved Dominique Strauss-Kahn

walked out of the courtroom
a free man today,

more than three months after the
former head of the International Monetary Fund

was arrested and charged
with sexual assault.

But there's more trouble ahead
for the French diplomat.

Strauss-Kahn still faces
a civil suit here in New York.

- And in an unrelated case, French police...
- Go.

Are investigating charges of
attempted rape brought by...

...writer Tristane Banon in 2003.

In addition,
despite the Manhattan District...

- Go back to your kids.
- 55 back.

This graphic isn't loading.

- What?
- G-9 isn't loading.

Yeah, I've got
a switcher problem.

- Are you kidding?
- None of the--

Shit, I'm losing the board.

- Stay cool.
- We've got to reboot.

There go the monitors.

- We've got green.
- Is the mainframe down?

The whole board's down.

♪ 7:00 AM, waking up
in the morning ♪

♪ Got to be fresh,
got to go down... ♪

Listen up.
We're gonna bypass the switcher.

Hard-patch the camera output
to the one by 10.

- 30 back.
- Is this affecting our air?

It will in 20 seconds.
Heads up.

You're gonna come back
with only one camera.

We can't roll the graphics
without the switcher.

Can we route them
to the desk monitor?

- They'll be hard cuts.
- Do it.

♪ Partying, partying, yeah ♪

♪ Partying, partying,
whoa... ♪

Pull your shot back
so we can see the monitor.

Mike, go wide
and get the monitor.

Will, your graphics
aren't gonna be full screen.

They're gonna be
on the monitor behind you.

- I don't have a monitor behind me.
- Turn to camera three.

- In three, two...
- Now you do.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn
had spent 50 days under house arrest

as well as four days
in jail on Rikers Island.

Today, he is free
to go home to France.

We'll be back after this.

That's optimistic.

- Good show.
- Thanks.

- Seamless.
- Thank you.

Like running on autopilot.
I don't even think--

- We blew the fact check and there's a virus.
- Fix it.

- Yeah.
- So you ready for this?

Ben Furusho bet another
embed on the Romney bus

that he could jump
from the second floor

of the Nashua Holiday Inn
and land in the pool.

- And?
- He broke his ankle in two places.

These guys are drunk
every night.

They're 23,
they're on a bus in Nashua.

They're drunk
in the mornings, too.

You need to send
someone on the road

for a couple of weeks
until Ben can hobble again.

Send whoever
you want to punish.

♪ Partying,
partying, whoa... ♪

- Can I--
- No.

- You got a minute?
- Yeah.

Yeah, I'm just gonna change.

Remind Sloan we've got
the draft in 10 minutes.

Hey, money skirt.

- The day will come...
- Oh!

when we have an HR rep who cares
what goes on on this floor.

And on that day, sir,
I will dance upon your grave.

Reciting stock quotes
and wearing a skirt?

How much time do I have
to formulate a comeback?

That was it. The first thing
out of your mouth is the comeback.

You wasted yours on
a question about comebacks.

Fantasy football draft
starts in 10 minutes.

I know.
I'm the commissioner.

- Your parents must be proud.
- They are.

- I was elected unanimously.
- You were unopposed.

Just like when you were
elected class treasurer.

- That was an important job.
- It wasn't.

Why does it have
to be like this?

Because you're a nerd
and I'm a nerd

and you make nerds look bad.

No, I make nerds look good.

I've been meaning to tell you
you've been doing

a perfectly adequate job
filling in for Elliot this week.

There's a wire report about
a drone strike in the FATA

- that killed five suspected militants.
- Excellent.

- You heard me say suspected, right?
- Talk to your EP.

- Mac.
- Just a minute.

Ben Furusho broke his ankle.

- Is he all right?
- No, he's an idiot.

But let me know who to put on
the Romney bus for a couple of weeks.

- I'll check out what people are working on.
- Sloan, you want me?

- M.J.
- Yeah?

- Is your cousin--
- Crazy?

- Yeah.
- She is.

- She's spamming me to death.
- Why'd you give her your e-mail?

She asked for it and I thought
it would please you.

Everything I do
I do to please you.

- She's crazy.
- Thanks for the heads up.

So what do you
want to do tonight?

What would please you?

Romantic drink?
Dancing?

- Romantic bowling?
- What does that look like?

It looks a lot like
regular bowling.

- Walk through the park?
- A romantic mugging.

- I know how to defend myself.
- Do you know how to defend me?

I shout "run" really loud.

- I'll see you at home.
- Perfect.

- Have a good show.
- Not a chance.

- Excuse me.
- He'll be out in a minute.

- I'll come back.
- Do I know you?

- I'm Jenna Johnson. I just started as an intern.
- You look familiar.

Say "Why is America
the greatest country in the world?"

- Why is America the greatest--
- You're the sorority girl!

- That's what I'm most famous for.
- You hired her?

I'm benevolent.
There are eight Broadway musicals

that have won
the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

In five minutes,
I need you to name them, the composer,

lyricist, librettist,
and source material, if any.

- I need your--
- Go.

You make the interns learn
musical theater history?

You're welcome, America.

Gaddafi's done.

Things you thought
you'd never see.

I want to talk to you about
the 9/11 anniversary coverage.

I like how it's coming
along so far.

It has a good tone.
It looks up.

I'm gonna pull you
from the coverage.

Elliot and Sloan
will coanchor in prime time.

- Because Reese got kicked out?
- It's not Reese.

- Leona?
- It's me.

I made the decision.

All right.

We're gonna be officially condemned
on the House floor tomorrow.

That's a good use of time.

- And Giuliani pulled out.
- Yeah?

9/11 widows,
first responders--

Some 9/11 widows
and first responders.

I know.
It's the critical mass.

The op-eds, the boycotts,
the advertisers,

Reese getting kicked out
of the SOPA meeting,

which you know
we're gonna read about.

I just think
on this one day--

- No, I totally get it.
- Okay.

- Let me talk to Reese.
- It's not Reese.

- Leona.
- They haven't said a word about 9/11.

They've got bigger fish.

For the record, I compared
the Tea Party to the Taliban

and we were attacked
by Al Qaeda.

I don't want to ask people to make
that distinction on the 10th anniversary.

No, we've never gone wrong
getting our enemies mixed up.

It's just not the day
to have the argument.

How do you want to handle it?

You'll get the flu
around the 9th or 10th.

Okay.

Listen, they'll do it at your desk
under the News Night logo,

but I'm gonna take your name
off of it for the night.

Contractually I need
your permission.

I'm sorry.

No, man. It's the price
of doing business.

For what it's worth,
I didn't know you were gonna say it,

but I was happy when you did.

Me, too.

All right.

Don't worry about it, Charlie.

I'll see you upstairs
for the draft.

All right.

Of Thee I Sing, 1932.

Music by George Gershwin,
lyrics by Ira Gershwin,

book by George S. Kaufman
and Morrie Ryskind.

- Fiorello! 19--
- All right.

I need your suit.

Yeah.

- How's it going?
- Me?

- Yeah.
- Good.

I'm just, you know.

Is this brutally awkward?

No.

'Cause I was thinking
if we could just say so and name it,

then we could go back
to the way things were.

Yeah.

- So...
- I don't want to go back to the way things were.

I meant being friends
and it not being awkward.

It was always awkward.
That's the way things were.

You want to say it wasn't a big deal?
Okay, we're friends.

But you're also staff
and at some point

this conversation
is inappropriate.

I don't understand
what you're saying.

It's only awkward
because you want it to be.

That's a big accusation.

All right.
We'll try again tomorrow.

You blew the fact check on DSK.

- I know.
- Okay.

Yeah?

- I'll go.
- Where?

- New Hampshire. I'll cover for Ben.
- Why?

I've never been on
the road with a campaign.

I didn't know you wanted to.

Wait 10 months
till he's the nominee.

- I'd like to go now.
- Nothing to cover.

- Of course there is.
- There isn't.

It's the same three rallies
and three diners a day.

Ben puts down a stand-up
at each of them.

When was the last time
you saw any of them on the air?

- I don't know.
- Send Martin.

I'd really like to go.

You're the senior
producer here.

- That's great.
- No, I'm saying

you're gonna be fighting
it out with stringers

- to get access to low-level staff.
- I know what they do.

Romney's not McCain if you've got some vision
of kicking it in the RV with the candidates.

- I don't.
- You're gonna be bored--

Mac, fire me or send me
to New Hampshire!

Sorry.

What's wrong with you?

I just want to get out of town
for a couple of weeks.

Mm-hmm.

You know when you
blew it with Will,

you went to Peshawar.

There aren't any Taliban
fighters in Concord.

It'll just be two weeks.

You should bring Jerry Dantana
up from DC to cover for me.

Five suspected militants
were killed

by a US drone strike
in the FATA.

The unmanned Predator drone
fired two missiles

at a vehicle driving on a main road
in North Waziristan.

Is it illegal? Yes.
Is it immoral? You bet.

Are we going to investigate it?
Of course not.

Jerry, you're gonna drive me
crazy with the drone shit.

I'm gonna have one
target your car.

That's my other line.

Sorry for annoying you
with the news.

- Jerry Dantana.
- Jerry.

It's MacKenzie in New York.

Oh, hey.

Cats and kittens,
grab your mittens.

It's Will McAvoy
and Van Morrison

takin' you through the night
and "Into the Mystic."

- Why didn't you tell me?
- Let's take some calls.

Who do we have on the line, Freddy?
It's MacKenzie from Midtown.

You're talking
to the Nightbird.

Why didn't you tell me you were
taken off the 9/11 anniversary?

What are you doing up this late,
MacKenzie from Midtown?

Charlie just called me to ask
how you were handling it

and I said,
"Handling what?"

It was the right thing
to do, caller.

- Bullshit.
- Freddy, you better grab that seven-second delay.

- Knock it off.
- Let's not make it a big deal.

- You're okay with this?
- I am.

- Can I go back to sleep?
- You're in bed?

It's the middle of the night.

Why is there music playing?

Same reason your night-light's on
right now.

All right.

All right.

♪ I don't have to fear it ♪

♪ And I want to rock
your gypsy soul ♪

♪ Just like way back
in the days of old ♪

♪ And magnificently
we will float... ♪

Hey, how you doing?

- Hey, excuse me.
- Yes, sir?

- Are you the lead advance?
- Yes, sir.

I'm Jim Harper.

I'm gonna fill in for Ben Furusho
for a couple of weeks.

- How's Ben doing?
- His ankle's broken, but he'll be okay.

I just drove up from New York.

Do I have time to check in
and drop off my stuff?

Sure, we'll wait
as long as you want.

Thanks.

That was sarcastic?

No, I'll just tell the governor
not to start speaking until you get there.

- Got it.
- So you're with ACN?

- Yeah.
- I'm sorry, but the bus is full today.

- You'll have to drive.
- There's--

there's like 40 empty seats.

I wasn't wild about
the American Taliban broadcast.

Dude, you can't keep me off the bus just
'cause you didn't like our reporting.

- I can.
- Come on, man.

- I've been driving all night.
- Then you better get some gas.

What's Obama got it at,
4.50 a gallon now?

Morning!

♪ Just like way back
in the days of old ♪

♪ And together we will float ♪

♪ Into the mystic. ♪

You could have checked
into the hotel first.

I can do that tonight.
You heard about the latest drone strike?

We reported it at 10:00.

Yeah, but that's all we did.

You and Sloan Sabbith
are gonna get along very well.

You're gonna meet
Will now, okay?

- We've met.
- He's not gonna remember.

- Will, this is Jerry Dantana.
- We've met.

Of course we have.
How you been, man?

We had a long talk
the last time he was in DC.

Great. Jerry's gonna cover
for Jim for a couple of weeks.

- I have no idea why you let him go.
- 'Cause I did.

- I'm sure Terry's a good guy and an excellent senior...
- Jerry.

but I fear change
and that should be respected.

- You'll get used to me.
- And then Jim will come back and it'll be a hellscape.

- Why don't we send Harry to new Hampshire?
- Who's Harry?

- He is.
- Jerry.

- See what I mean?
- No, no one does.

- Can I mention something?
- Sure.

I think this network
should be doing stories

about the administration's
counterterrorism policies.

And I think while
I'm in New York,

it would be a good time
for me to get it started.

It's actually not
a great time for me.

But that go-getter
initiative you have,

I'm not crazy
about that, either.

Remember that long talk
we had in DC?

- Mm-hmm.
- Do you want to lead or do you want to follow?

- He wants to follow.
- And barely that.

Come in.

- It's my office.
- Drone strike.

- I don't believe this.
- Drone strike.

- This is Jerry Dantana.
- There was another one?

- This morning.
- What you got there?

- Drone strike. Drone strike.
- Hmm?

Can't understand
what you're saying.

You can too understand
what I'm-- Reuters.

This is what
I was talking--

United States Predator drone
strikes vehicle in northwest Pakistan.

- Can I see that?
- It's a blank piece of paper.

I left the wire report
in my office

and on the way here,
I decided I wanted a prop.

You didn't think to just
have someone print it out?

A lot of better ideas are
coming to me as I'm standing here,

- but why don't we let the past be the past?
- It was 12 seconds ago.

Two US officials
identified the target

of the drone attack as Abu Hafs al-Shahri,
a Saudi national.

They declined to provide
more precise details.

Hold the roll.
The government is declining to reveal

highly classified intelligence
and expose the methods

by which we find and kill terrorists?
That is just plain wacky.

- All this is is a press release.
- It's a blank piece of paper.

No reporter gets to ask,
"Did we kill any civilians?"

Or how does Pakistan
feel about us

invading their airspace
to kill people occasionally?

- Or who authorized the strike?
- Or who's Abu Hafs al-Shahri?

He's the head of Al Qaeda
in Pakistan.

And the Commander in Chief
authorized the strike.

I'd like this for
my five minutes tonight.

- It's not an economic story.
- Watch me make it one.

It should be a full panel
right after the A block

where presumably
we'll stay with Libya.

- An ethicist, a military analyst--
- And me.

I'd rather have a human rights expert.
No offense.

We're not loading
the panel to the left.

Why are we having
a panel at all?

- I'll take the economist.
- That happened fast.

You can get in touch
with Mike Tapley.

I'd like to use a guy
named Cyrus West.

Jim uses Tapley
for military analysis.

Yeah, I know, but I think
you're gonna like Cyrus West.

He's a retired
Air Force captain,

teaches public policy
at the Maxwell School,

and he's a hard-liner
on drones.

You're sure you don't
want to use Tapley?

Got to start
producing sometime.

All right.
Start now.

We've got a rundown meeting.

- Drone strike.
- Hey.

Keep your eye on Jerry for me.

I think he wants
to win a Peabody.

Who's Jerry?

Okay.

Ben Furusho jumped from the second story
of a Holiday Inn in Nashua.

I've been in that room.
He didn't make it, right?

No, he's out
for a couple of weeks.

Jim drove up last night
to cover for him.

So say hello to Jerry Dantana,
who most of you already know.

- Hey, Jerry.
- Jim went on the Romney bus?

- He wanted to go.
- Why?

For the experience
and to be a team player.

Couldn't you make the argument
that he just left the team?

You could.
Do you want to?

- Not this second, but--
- Seriously, what's going on?

Ben Furusho broke his ankle.

Jim's covering for him
for a couple of weeks

and Jerry's up from DC
to cover for Jim.

He's gonna produce a panel
tonight in the B or C block.

- B would be great.
- What everyone's asking

- is why would a senior producer--
- No. No.

The clock's run out
on this conversation.

If I'm gonna sit in
on our rundown meetings,

they can't get mired
in these kind of detours.

It's like playing golf behind
a foursome of blind people.

Also, Don will be in
our rundown meetings.

Charlie wants us doing
more cross-network stories.

So think of 10:00
as our second act.

- Or 8:00 as our warm-up.
- How should we think about 9:00?

It's Washington.
It doesn't matter.

That's not something we think.

- They're on speaker.
- Huh?

- You guys there?
- Yeah.

The search for Gaddafi
continues.

Journalists and dignitaries
are being freed from the Rixos Hotel,

and Mustafa Abdul Jalil
is offering what amounts

to a million and a half dollars
and amnesty to anyone who finds Gaddafi.

- Did he call anyone?
- Did Gaddafi call anyone?

- Jim.
- He hasn't run away from home.

- He called me last night.
- Tamara.

The earthquake was a 5.8
and AP is reporting

it caused a crack in
the Washington Monument,

- which will now be closed indefinitely.
- What else?

PPP has Rick Perry at 22
and Romney at 19.

- Tess?
- Steve Jobs is going to officially resign today.

Let's close with that.
Martin?

BP's paid five billion in
claims to compensate victims

and the deficit reduction committee
is launching a website for public input.

Public input on deficit reduction.
I feel better already.

- Anything else?
- Yeah.

And are you very sure
you want to pitch this?

- Yes.
- Bring it.

About 11 weeks ago,
June 9, the domain name

occupywallstreet
was registered.

And?

I believe America
is on the verge

of starting
its own Arab Spring.

Really?

Yeah.

Gaddafi, drones.
Let's keep working the others

and I'll make
my first cut to the two.

It was registered by Adbusters
and they sent out an e-mail saying,

- "America needs its own Tahrir."
- We call them elections.

Hang on. On July 13,
Adbusters sends an e-mail

to 90,000 people telling them
to gather on September 17.

That's roughly three weeks from now
at the charging bull on Wall Street.

The e-mail goes viral
in 15 minutes.

New websites were formed
and there's been instant

and substantial support
across Twitter and Reddit.

August 2,
they staged their first organizing meeting

and have been holding
weekly planning meetings,

which they call
general assemblies.

They always start
by making a new language.

50 to 100 people
have been showing up.

50 people out of
an e-mail blast to 90,000?

50 to 100.

And is there a list of incoherent
and unrealistic demands?

Just one thing and
it's perfectly coherent.

A presidential commission
to get money out of politics.

Come with me.

Here's a fax I get every day.

It's the protests that are
going on in New York,

just New York.

Today, Jews Say No

are protesting the air attacks
on the Gaza Strip.

Topless protestors are
demanding that lawmakers

repeal codes
against toplessness.

On the East River,
residents are protesting the building

of a high-rise
near a soccer field,

and union members
are protesting

the United Brotherhood of
Carpenters' new leadership.

And at any given moment,
a group is protesting

ads in the subway,
standardized tests,

horse-drawn carriages,
and fracking.

I know how much you want this,

and I like how much
you're going for it,

but you've gotta wait
until something's real.

All right.

- Neal.
- Yeah?

- What was it called again?
- Occupy Wall Street.

- When's the next general assembly?
- Tonight.

- You should go.
- Sure.

A minute ago,
your issue was with legality.

Now it's with the morality.

I'm able to hold as many as
two thoughts in my head at once.

The Fifth Amendment--

The Fifth Amendment,
like all the other amendments,

guarantees certain rights
to US citizens.

If an American vacationing

in the Khyber Pass gets
targeted by a Predator...

We need to ask are we creating
more terrorists than we're killing?

- We need to ask...
- We don't know exactly what that collateral damage is

because of the lack of
any transparency or accountability.

Now factor in that the BDA,
the bomb damage assessment,

counts all military-aged
males as militants.

- But to your second point, the fact that drones are...
- Aren't they cheaper?

I prefer to be arguing the legality
and the morality, but, no, they're not.

An F-16 costs 50 million
and a drone costs 30.

But we procure the drones
in groups of four--

combat air patrols, or CAPs.

We buy them as a set,
so it's 120 million

versus 50 million
for the Falcon.

What we should
be talking about...

...costs in terms
of human lives.

- That's about all I can stand.
- Here we go.

I've had all I can stands
and I can't stands no more.

- Did you want to jump in, Captain?
- I do.

Because my concern is with
the cost of American lives,

here and in combat.

Sloan, you didn't mention
that a $50 million F-16

has to be flown by a pilot
who is somebody's father

and that he can be shot down by
a shoulder-mounted, point-and-shoot Stinger.

Now, Dr. Cochran,
I can appreciate that you're an ethicist,

but we don't face
an ethical dilemma.

Can a drone distinguish between

an Al Qaeda operative
and a goat herder?

I don't care
and neither should you.

- Get in there, Will.
- And as for the legality,

the authorization for
the use of military force...

Ask him if the AUMF said we were at war
with terrorists or the Pakistani civilians.

...authorized the president
to pursue terrorists

with all necessary
appropriate force.

Drones represent the safest
form of lethal action

against terrorist targets,
period.

- It's more complicated than that.
- Period.

Ask him about the AUMF.

...AQ and Taliban senior
leadership in Afghanistan,

Pakistan, Yemen,

and the Horn of Africa, period.

- Get in.
- So, naturally, here comes the Human Rights Watch...

AUMF.

The United Nations treaty
on international humanism--

The UN gets four blocks
of free parking

on the east side
of Manhattan and that's it.

- That's not it.
- Period.

We're going to have
to end this there.

This is News Night.
We'll be back right after this.

2:30 back.

I like to use the full
range of punctuation--

commas, colons, parentheses.

- He was trying to get noticed.
- No shit.

Why'd Will go quiet?
I teed him up--

Will's not your problem.
The panel's your problem.

I'll have a word with him.
He's very good.

Use Jim's guys.

Yep. I will.

Two minutes.

- Good?
- What was with period, period?

- I meant it.
- Cy, you're a little over the top.

Somebody say something?
Did Will say something?

- No, he's still on the air.
- I'm gonna get asked back?

It's not up to me.

All right.

I'm gonna give you a story now.

I'm gonna give you
a name to call,

but you have to use me
to help you follow it.

What kind of story?

You have to use me
to help you follow it.

What kind of story?

The kind that makes careers
and ends presidencies.

Look, man,

I'm trying to help you,
but you've been fucked up since--

I'm trying to help you.

I'm trying to help you.

Makes careers
and ends presidencies?

A black op called Genoa.

That's News Night
for August 24, 2011.

Terry Smith is coming up next
with The Capitol Report,

followed by Sloan Sabbith
filling in on Right Now.

I'm Will McAvoy.
Good night.

And clear.

You know what?
I agreed with everything he said.

- How about the way he said it?
- It wasn't my style, but...

The AUMF-- you were able
to hear me, right?

There didn't seem
to be an opening.

You didn't have
a problem making one

when you went to break
41 seconds early.

Sorry about that.

- Good show.
- Thanks.

- Good night.
- Good job.

- Hey, everyone.
- Good to see you.

If there are no announcements,
we'll get started.

No announcements?

Okay, I see some new faces,
so I have to say up front,

no police and no reporters.

Everybody?

Dude.

- Me?
- You're wearing ACN credentials.

Yeah, that was pretty stupid.

My name is Neal Sampat
and I'm with ACN

and I'd love to observe
the meeting.

No journalists.
No exceptions.

Do you mind if I ask
a question?

Question?

Why wouldn't you want to get the word out
about the sit-in on the 17th?

I'm John, and we don't
call it a sit-in.

Why wouldn't you want
to get the word out?

We do, we just don't
need your help to do it.

We want to make sure,
no offense, our message is clear

before it's distorted
by the press.

Your message was clear
in the e-mail blast.

You want private money
out of politics.

- We may want more than that.
- We do want more than that.

Can I ask--

Yeah.

Are you in charge?

My name's Shelly
and no one's in charge.

The findings were bleak

with results showing that less than
half of high schoolers

were able to correctly
identify the century

in which the Civil War
was fought.

One in four thought Columbus
discovered the New World

sometime after 1750.

And if the Bill of Rights
were abolished,

a third of high school students

wouldn't be able to name
a right they just lost.

Things get worse in Oklahoma...

- They almost always do.
- ...where a majority of high school students

failed the test
given to immigrants

seeking to become
naturalized citizens.

Three-fourths couldn't name
the first US president...

- Ben Franklin. Nailed it.
- ...and only a third knew

the term length
of a House member.

- On that note...
- That's all for Wednesday, August 24.

I'm Sloan Sabbith
filling in for Elliot Hirsch.

- Have a good night.
- Good show.

- We're clear.
- You don't have to say it like that.

I said it the regular way.

- Great show.
- You saw it?

I've got it DVR'd.

Listen, was Will okay
on the panel tonight?

Sure.

You and me?

I don't know why
he didn't jump in

on the AUMF door
the guy opened.

I don't know why he didn't cut him off
or throw it to the ethicist.

He seemed to want to make sure
it was clear ACN is antiterrorist.

Maybe he was just
getting out of the way.

Yeah.

- Good show tonight.
- You saw it?

- Keep it up.
- Mm-hmm.

So...

- Are you talking to me?
- Yeah.

And you know you're
not speaking right now?

When you asked me
why I was single

and I said it was because
you hadn't asked me out,

- I thought it was my last day.
- I know.

And, honestly,
it just sounded like a good line.

I hardly ever land those.

I took it as a joke.

- You did?
- Yeah.

I mean, it was.
Good.

All right.

All right.

I'm heading home.

I've got a 13-day streak going
of being a good boyfriend.

What do you get
if you hit two weeks?

A healthy conscience.

See you tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

- Tell me about yourself.
- You tell me about yourself.

I run our show's website

and I'm trying to get my EP
interested in this story.

Why isn't he
interested already?

She.
It's not that she's not interested.

She's just waiting
for it to happen

and I'd rather get in
on the ground floor.

She doesn't like ground floors?

She doesn't think there's
gonna be a second floor.

That's all right.

I still don't have
your last name.

I'm Shelly Wexler.

I'm a PhD candidate in anthropology
at NYU, where I also teach.

Is this your first
experience with activism?

When I was a minor
I was arrested in Seattle

at the WTO protests.

By minor you mean you were...

Not coal.
Minor, under 18.

Okay, were you
involved in Seattle?

- Were you involved in the--
- In the violence? No.

I'm nonviolent,
as is Occupy Wall Street.

"On September 17,
we want to see 20,000 flood

into Lower Manhattan,
set up tents, kitchens,

peaceful barricades
and occupy Wall Street."

Then what?

We stay until
our demands are met--

the arrest and prosecution of the people
responsible for the crash,

the formation of
a presidential commission

to investigate
corruption in politics,

the ratification of
a constitutional amendment

outlawing the legal designation
of "corporate personhood."

You're gonna sleep in a park
until a constitutional amendment

is ratified by three-quarters
of the states?

We mean business, Neal.

What's with the hand signals?

It's a Quaker tradition

and a peaceful way
of maintaining order

when your movement
has no leaders.

Doesn't a movement
need leaders?

We believe in
a horizontal structure.

Are you worried that
the horizontal structure

is gonna give power to people
who shouldn't have it?

You mean Joel and John?

Shelly, you started off

with one clear
and not unreasonable demand

and now you've got,
like, 14 of them,

including arresting Bear Stearns
and the Lehman Brothers.

You doing a story
or giving advice?

I haven't been assigned the story,
so I'm giving advice.

And you can't have a protest
unless the media's covering it.

The media is gonna cover it.

But they're gonna cover
the drum circles

and crunchy, uninformed college kids
yelling at the earners,

who, coincidently, are the same guys
running Time Warner News Corp.

and AWM.

You don't have the patience
for complicated things.

I do.

Then why do you take
Wall Street bullshit

like limited government
seriously?

You and I and God
and everybody knows

that the banks couldn't
survive until lunch

without zero interest loans
from the government

and bailouts when they bet
a hard eight and lose.

There was straight-up fraud
and you covered Casey Anthony.

In our defense,
we were the last ones to do that.

That's a lame defense.

Where was Will McAvoy
when Goldman sold its clients

mortgage-related securities
without disclosing

that the hedge fund manager who chose
the mortgages was betting on them to fail?

Or when Citigroup sold
its clients a mortgage fund

with securities
it knew would fail

so the banks could bet
against its customers?

Citigroup made 160 million

off its investors
losing 700 million.

I expect I'll see your cameras
the first time girls go wild,

but until then, frankly,
I just don't trust you

to get a fucking story
anywhere close to right,

especially one
with distractions.

I want this to succeed.

Then you're on the wrong side
of the camera.

Sooner or later,
you're gonna want this.

Go back to one clear message

or you guys
are gonna be a joke.

You can bring that up
at the next meeting.

I'll show you the hand signal.

Sorry. Sorry.

- Go back to sleep.
- What's going on?

It's okay.

Honey, what are you doing?

I'm just grabbing
a couple of things.

I'm gonna be at the Sheraton
on 7th Avenue, okay?

- What?
- It's all right.

- No, no. What's going on?
- I don't want you to--

- I don't want you to get upset.
- Wait.

Did you just say
you're going to a hotel?

Yeah, I called Lisa.
Everything's fine.

- Wait.
- You can move back into your old place,

but I figured it would take a few days
and I wanted to give you some room.

You have to slow down
and tell me--

I came home and you were asleep

and I was at the computer
for a little while and I got an e-mail.

Your cousin sent me an e-mail
with a link to a YouTube video.

What does YouTube
have to do with--

what's going on?
Why are you going to a hotel?

Why are you packing?
Slow everything down so I can--

...writing her 800-word column

for a newspaper
no one's ever heard of,

but I just spent my last $7
having a fight with my best friend,

who, by the way,
isn't available at 3:00 PM

on a Wednesday to console me
about some guy

because she too has a job.

And mostly,
when you fall for a guy

and he's going out
with your best friend,

it doesn't work out.

Things get really--

Shit.

Just stand there, okay?

'Cause this isn't
what it looks--

Why are you laughing?

Oh, if you can't
laugh at this...

I mean,

if I weren't a cast member
in this story,

I'd think it was pretty funny.

It's on YouTube, Maggie.
You're a news producer.

You didn't think that
on a busload of tourists,

somebody wasn't
gonna record that?

- Please let me explain.
- Nah.

I spent this whole time
thinking I was a bad guy

for not being in love with you,

- but it turns out--
- Don't say that.

I know that Jim
was on the thing.

He heard you say all that.

My cousin told you?

She doesn't like you.

And she has a crush on me.

She's gonna get married
and stab her husband one day,

but that's beside the point.

- Lisa--
- I didn't tell Lisa about the video.

I just told her
it didn't work out.

You should call Jim.

Tell him to get off
the fucking bus.

We're trying to do the news.

I should be the one to leave.

Come on.
I should really be the one to leave.

Take it easy, Maggie.

Why'd I get hit in my head?

- I want to pursue drones.
- You won't catch them.

- They fly pretty fast.
- Ha ha. Yeah, yeah.

- Jameson rocks?
- Thanks.

I don't think there's
an immoral way to kill terrorists.

- There's an illegal way and we're doing it.
- I don't care.

'Cause you were taken off
the 9/11 anniversary coverage?

- Yes!
- I knew you were upset.

Of course I'm--
Are you kidding me?

I'm flipping out!

- Holy shit, Mac. What the fuck did I do?
- I know. It feels bad.

I used to be exactly the person
that you wanted to see in these moments.

- I don't mean the old days. Like a year ago.
- I know.

- You still are.
- I remind people of the enemy? Jesus!

Every blond-haired guy
from Nebraska

reminds people of Muslim extremists.
There's nothing you can do.

- Don't try to make me laugh.
- You can blame it all on me.

If there was a way
to blame it on you,

don't you think I would
have done that by now?

I've got Roger Daltrey
screaming,

"You better, you better,
you bet" in my ear.

- Why?
- "You better, you better, you bet."

It's about a really deman--
Know British rock.

Why can't there be
British rock?

No, K-N-O-W.
Know British rock.

"When I say I love you,
you say you better.

You better,
you better, you bet."

Why is Daltrey screaming
that in your ear?

It feels like the relationship I have
with the audience.

You can't believe
what this feels like.

As a matter of fact, I can.

- I got that.
- Did you?

Were you really in bed
when I called last night?

Yeah.

It's Pete Townshend.

Townshend wrote the song,
Daltrey's singing it.

When does Jim come back?

Couple of weeks.

Oh, what can possibly happen
in a couple of weeks?

Let's finish our drink.

"When I say I love you, you say you better."
That person's just mean.

- Are you able to notice the irony?
- I see the irony.

I'm gonna pay for these.
She'll take the Jameson to go.

"I don't really mind how much you love me.
A little is all right."

You get that in a completely
different context

Roger Daltrey could be me
singing what I'm--

- What I would sing--
- You're saying it works on different levels.

Your relationship with strangers
or my relationship with you?

- The first one.
- I don't think either of us

has the first idea
what that song's about.

AUMF.

I've never seen you leave
a rebuttal that fat on the table.

- I don't care whose side you're on.
- I know.

Don't do it again.
And I can pay for my own drinks, pal o' mine.

- Fine.
- Damn right it's fine.

I said fine.

I left my purse
up at the office.

And I'll need
some cash for the cab.

And for the cab
tomorrow morning.

If Ben Furusho
hadn't broken his ankle,

if Jim hadn't gone
to cover for him,

if Dantana hadn't come up
to cover for Jim,

if Mike Tapley

had been on the panel
instead of Cyrus West,

if I'd caught it

before instead
of after--

God damn it!

You know, nobody believed
Genoa at first.

It was impossible to believe.

But...

piece by piece,
the evidence started coming in

and suddenly it was
impossible to deny.

It was the biggest thing
any of us had ever touched.

Including Charlie.
It was...

the Pentagon Papers and we were
the only ones who had it.

We average about
1.5 million viewers.

Genoa got 5.5 million.

It was the most viewed program
in the history of cable news.

So, yeah, definitely,

if Ben Furusho
had landed in the pool

instead of on the pavement,

we wouldn't be talking
right now.

And Will wouldn't be
standing out in the hallway.

He's there, right?

It's because I'm in here.

He's worried
he got me in trouble

and not the other way around.

And you've got to admit,
for a guy who lives to be liked by the audience,

he lets us put his life
in danger a lot.

When I was little,

I asked my uncle
how much a lawyer costs.

He said if it's bad, ã300.

If it's really bad, ã400.

And if it's really bad
and you're guilty...

How much do you cost?

1,500 an hour.

It's after midnight.
Are you okay?

- Yeah.
- Let's start from the beginning.

♪ You better,
you better, you bet... ♪

Can you grab some more coffee?

We ran out a while ago.

♪ You better,
you better, you bet ♪

♪ Ooh... ♪

State your full name
and current occupation, please.

MacKenzie Morgan McHale.

I'm the executive producer

of News Night with Will McAvoy.

And when did you start
at this job?

Sync: Stevo