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Michael Schulder
CNN Senior Executive Producer

I just learned some things that have me really excited about turning 50 – and more excited than ever that this 50on50 series may help bury the 18-49 audience demo worshipers in time for my big birthday in December. I learned these things from one of the leading jury consultants in America.

Pick a Juror, Not Any Juror

Doug Green knows a leader when he sees one. Trial lawyers pay him good money to identify the potential leaders in a jury pool, men and women who will have the influence, the stature, the respect, the inclination, to persuade the other members of the jury to vote one way. And, Green has found, there is a correlation between age and influence.

I’ll share one of Green’s many stories from the courtroom to illustrate the point. It involved an intellectual property case in Texas.

“A juror comes into court in a coat and tie. He’s wearing a tie chain. Well turned out for a country setting. He’s about 60. Retired. Does some farming and ranching. He had been a foreman on a jury before. If we lose him, we know we’re in deep trouble. If we win him we may not necessarily be ok. But if we lose him, he’ll take the rest of the jury with him.”

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CNN

As the United States and other countries plan to send more troops to Afghanistan, take a look at some of the other struggles in history where war and economic upheaval are nothing new.

Tami Luhby
CNNMoney.com senior writer

The same economic pressures that pushed California to the brink of insolvency are wreaking havoc on other states, a new report has found.

And how state officials deal with their fiscal problems could reverberate across the United States, according to the Pew Center on the States' analysis released Wednesday.

The 10 most troubled states are: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

The list is based on several factors, including the loss of state revenue, size of budget gaps, unemployment and foreclosure rates, poor money management practices, and state laws governing the passage of budgets.

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Program Note: Tune in tonight for Randi Kaye's report on this alleged case of stolen valor. AC360° 10 p.m. ET.

AC360°

The Legion of Valor was organized on April 23, 1890, in Washington, DC, by a group of Civil War and Indian War Campaign veterans who were recipients of the Medal of Honor. At its inception, the name was "The Medal of Honor Legion".

Legion of Valor comprises of members who have received either a medal of honor, a distinguished service cross, navy cross or air force cross. And uh of course other top two awards in each of the respective services.

It also condemns instances of stolen valor.

According to Thomas A. Richards, the membership chair of Legion of Valor, "Every time somebody steals valor and is recognized publicly, other people wonder when they see somebody else who who is decorated, who are served honorably, they wonder, “is that person a fraud too?” It chips away at our credibility a little bit at a time, every time that it happens."

Learn more about the Legion of War here.

Patrick Oppmann
CNN All Platform Journalist

More than 2,500 miles from Fort Hood, the US Army also honored fallen soldiers at a ceremony at Fort Lewis in Washington state today.

Seven soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, were remembered in a service that family, soldiers and Vice President Joe Biden attended.

All seven soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan last month. Fort Lewis officials said they believe the attack was the largest loss of life for the post since the wars began in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“As hollow as it sounds to say,” Biden said, ”we grieve with you. We don't have the sense of the profound grief you're experiencing today, but we grieve with you. And we owe you - we owe you more than you can ever be repaid.”

Speaking of his own experience as the father of a National Guard member who served in Iraq, Biden told the crowd, “In a sense, those of us who've had children, husbands and wives who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, I guess we all share a sense of relief and a sense of guilt that we're here, having our loved ones back.”

The seven soldiers were remembered by fellow soldiers, some of whom had returned to Fort Lewis, some of whom  were still serving in Afghanistan.

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AC360°

John Allen Muhammed who became known as the DC sniper in 2002 after the string of 10 deaths around the suburbs of Washington DC is scheduled to be executed tonight by lethal execution at 9 p.m. in Virginia.

Professing his innocence throughout his trial and subsequent appeals, Muhammed petitioned for a stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court last week and was rejected on Monday.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine also released a statement today that he saw "no compelling reason" for granting Muhammed clemency closing one of the last opportunities for appeal.

Muhammed claims that he was a victim of racial bias and the prosecutors have lied to the American people.

Read John Allen Muhammed's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court

Mishan Afsari
AC360°

“What says the law? You will not kill. How does it say it? By killing!”
-Victor Hugo, author of 'Les Miserables'

It seems so complicated – killing by lethal injection. Strapping an inmate to a gurney, sticking on heart monitors, inserting needles in veins, connecting intravenous drip tubes.

And then the wait: drip drip drip. First saline – harmless. Then sodium thiopental – puts one to sleep. Then a paralytic agent – stops the breath. And last, potassium chloride – stops the heart. Drip.

All this, versus one bullet.

It only took one bullet to kill each of the 10 victims when John Muhammad and his young accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the D.C. Beltway for three weeks in October 2002.

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AC360°

'DC Sniper' John Allen Muhammed is scheduled to be executed tonight for his role in the shooting spree that in the fall of 2002. Although his accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo will spend the rest of his sentence behind bars as he agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors in which he confessed to shooting thirteen people, eight fatally. Malvo is serving a 99 year sentence.

Read Lee Boyd Malvo's Plea Agreement

The Washington Post

Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, the Army psychiatrist believed to have killed 13 people at Fort Hood, was supposed to discuss a medical topic during gave a presentation to senior Army doctors in June 2007. Instead, he lectured on Islam, suicide bombers and threats the military could encounter from Muslims conflicted about fighting wars in Muslim countries.

Go here to view Hasan's entire presentation.

Stamps on one of Chris Guillebeau's passports.

Chris Guillebeau
AC360° Contributor

This post is relevant for readers with U.S. passports who travel frequently. If you don’t fit in that group, feel free to skip this one — or just read it for the entertainment value.

I’ve mentioned a few times that I have two U.S. passports, and each time at least one person asks me how that works. Well, I’ll tell you exactly how I got the second passport, and what you need to do if this would help you too.

First, the need for a second passport. Why bother?

U.S. passports are good for a number of reasons: notably, they are valid for 10 years, and when you fill up the pages with lots of stamps and visas, the State Department in Washington, D.C. or any embassy abroad will issue more pages at no charge. I’ve had three passport page extensions so far, and without that option I would have needed at least four passports by this point. No other major country of which I am aware offers a passport that includes both of these important features.

As good as a U.S. passport can be, there are still two problems with having only one passport of any kind. First, when you visit politically sensitive countries (especially in the Middle East), the ensuing stamps can cause delays and other problems for you later.

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