Tonight there are still more than 42,000 still serving. edward snowden, criminal or hero? i know. it depends on who you ask. but this is clear. he is willing to offer up more of what he knows. today he reached out to brazil s government, perhaps offering up a deal. cnn s chief national security correspondent jim sciutto reports. reporter: six months after fleeing spying charges all the way to russia, today edward snow den made an offer back across the globe to brazil. help fighting nsa surveillance in exchange for political asylum in a letter addressed to the brazilian people snowden writes many brazilian senators have asked for my assistance with their investigations of suspected crimes against brazilian citizens. i have expressed my willingness to assist. snowden appears emboldened by the ground-breaking decision by a federal judge monday ruling the nsa program that sweeps up
yes. reporter: senator patrick leahy, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee, told me the administration has overstated the program s successes. well, i believe the nsa and general alexander and those speaking for him greatly exaggerated. we went from 54 which became sort of the symbol until we got down to the substance which was really one. reporter: now, u.s. officials have specifically cite add small number of other terror plots averted, including one involving a yemeni extremist who plotted to bomb the new york stock exchange and other members of the senate standing behind this program even after the court ruling, including senator diane feinstein, the chairman of the senate intelligence committee. she released a statement saying that she believes it is constitutional and helps keep the country safe from attack. jim sciutto, cnn, washington. jim, thank you. next on icymi the trail-blazing journalist barbara walters. here s a question. what is her biggest reg
Controversial topic. he canceled today. here with me now shall we say the incomparable ms. ann coulter. her new book is never trust a liberal over 3 especially a republican. also cnn political commentator mark lamont hill. thank you for joining me tonight. sure. we re using the n word to spark a larger conversation about personal and professional consequences of saying the n word. we ve seen a lot of people lose their careers and become stars because of it. is it okay, mark, to say this word dozens of times in movies or albums? does that make it okay? it depends what you mean by okay. let s get this out of the way. as a first amendment matter i think the three of us agree that you have a right to say it. up don t think anyone want to remove anyone s legal right to say it. we can end that part of the conversation. do i think a person should use it? it depends on context. in a movie about slavery it would seem sort of odd for someone not to use the n word. i would feel odd if a s
That is took her up a. people were still buying her products and said they were going to watch her show. her book was number one. i m not sure the markets decided that. the companies didn t want to look bad. you think they did it out of feeling bad? ann coulter, mark lamont hill, thank you. tomorrow on the 11th hour are electronic cigarettes safe or is big tobacco lying to us again? in case you missed it starts right now with brooke baldwin. take it away, brooke. good evening. i m brooke baldwin and welcome to icymi showcation cnn s best reporting all day and any breaking news tonight. we have a lot to get to. first, show me the money. we will show you the numbers hot off the presses. they were just chosen just a short time ago. and we re waiting to go hear if anyone has won what may just be the biggest megamillions lottery jackpot ever. also tonight, fire tearing through the iconic big sur area.
An anti-gay slur against a photographer. baldwin clearly in a rage. but of all the words out there, it is still the n word with its brutal history that america struggles with the most. whatever its use today, at its root the experience of slaves like solomon northup more than 150 years ago. it s a story nearly lost to history. we don t know the circumstances of his death. we don t know where he s buried. but to me, he is everything that is good and great about the world and about america. to have that material have that effect on me the way solomon s words did, the way his work did, i can absolutely say i will never have an experience like this as a writer. i survive. i will not fall into despair. for the 11th hour miguel marquez, cnn, los angeles. you heard about matt barnes of the los angeles clippers in that story. he accepted our invitation to come on the show tonight and talk about what is admittedly a