to become various ambassadors. reporter: that s right. but what some of these experts say and former ambassadors say, look, a political appointee is fine, but there s a lot of qualified ambassadors and if you re going to be appointed to an ambassador in a state, it should be that you have knowledge of international affairs and you should do your homework. you should have at least visited that country before going there as a u.s. ambassador. just ahead, michelle obama comedy star? stand by to see the first lady joking around busting a move on late night tv. [ female announcer ] a classic macaroni & cheese from stouffer s starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer s mac n cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer s. made with care for you or your family.
the former democratic senator who declared he s no real expert on china was just sworn in as the next u.s. ambassador to beijing. max baucus was easily confirmed despite his sort of eyebrow-raising remark. but some of president obama s other diplomatic nominees have stirred major controversy. reporter: president obama under fire for his picks to be ambassadors after some nominees all fund-raisers for the obama campaign made a series of embarrassing gaffes listen to soap opera producer colleen bell struggle on what should have been an easy question for a potential ambassador to hungary. what are our strategic interests in hungary. protect the security both for both countries and for and for the world to continue working together on the cause of human rights.
home. reporter: two other living vietnam veterans will receive the medal. radio operator santiago arivia was under fire all day on may 21st, 1969. in total peril, he assaulted a line of enemy bunkers throwing hand grenades and firing his m-16. he came home to work for the postal service for 32 years. his son roland served three tours in iraq. sergeant first class jose redellas battalion was under such heavy fire september 1st, 1969 it suffered 42 casualties in minutes. army records say the unit was on the brink of panic when he stepped in, physically pushing men to fight even as the unit was still under fire. today, he is in frail health. of the recipients who have passed away, some died in action in europe, cree and vietnam.
remember the owe 70s, we were there was global cooling and then that nfaded and then we wee told by al gore that there was global warming a he that was going to be a problem and that faded and then it became climate change. and the problem with climate change, there s never been a history in the day of the world where the climate is not changing. reporter: so you don t believe that there s any manmade reason for global change? the data are not supporting what the advocates are arguing. the last 15 years, there has been no recorded warming. contrary to all of the theorys that they are expounding, there should have been warming over happened.15 years, it hasn t they don t have an explanation for that. reporter: the idea that the arctic is going down, that it is melting but other parts are going up. it is not you know, you always have to be worried about something that is considered a
toothpas toothpaste tubes and shoes may just be the beginning. there is increasing intelligence showing al qaeda operatives inside syria are recruiting americans and other westerners who go there to fight in the civil war to actually train to attack in the west. the u.s. believes when they arrive in syria they are encouraged to go to special training camps to get crucial bomb-making skills and ultimately return to their home countries to launch attacks. we re seeing now the parents of training complexes in syria to train people to go back to their countries and, of course, conduct more terrorists attacks. reporter: yemen is deeply involved, u.s. officials say. that group has tried to continue to attack the united states. u.s. officials estimate about 70