Transcripts For CNN American Morning 20100812

way. >> reporter: absolutely, kiran. a lot of anxiety all across the country reflected in this new nbc/"wall street journal" poll that has really bad numbers for the president. they say they don't govern by polls but they can hardly be ignored. finding the president's approval rating at 4 had 7%, disapproval at 48%. more worrisome for this white house perhaps is that 6 in 10 americans, including 83% of those all important independent voters that went with barack obama in 2008, 6 in 10 now saying that they are only somewhat or not confident that the president has the policies to improve the economic situation. that's why once again the president was here at the white house trying to deal with this issue. >> so while we have fought back from the worst of this recession, we've still got a lot of work to do. we've still got a long way to go. and i'm more determined than ever to do every single thing we can to hasten our economic recovery and get our people back to work. that's why i'm pleased today to sign into law a bill that will strengthen american manufacturing and american jobs. >> reporter: but obviously, they're fully aware here at the white house even signing that manufacturing bill into law, it's not going to have necessarily a major impact in the short term that's going to please a lot of americans. in this nbc/"wall street journal" poll for example two-thirds of the americans say the economy still has not hit bottom. worrisome for this white house. >> 60% of respondents also said the country is going in the wrong direction. as you look at this as a time when people firm up their opinions who they're going to vote for in the november elections, how does that bode for the white house and democratic party? >> reporter: it's very difficult. they're trying to get rays of hope here. when you look at the results of the tuesday primaries, white house advisers keep pointing to results in colorado, for example. the democratic senate primary there. you had an incumbent in michael bennet that a lot of pundits were saying he's going to lose. he had allen romanoff in that primary. former president clinton got behind him. president obama got behind michael bennet. bennet pulled it out. white house advisers believe that's because he had the president behind him saying the situation is bad but do you want to go back to the republicans that they believe led to all this or move forward that will take time and dig out of this. in the end he won but that's just one of many difficult senate and house battles ahead. we're now just a few weeks away from the midterms. you can feel that intensity getting hotter by the day. >> ed henry in washington. what do you think? is the government doing enough to fix the economy? just go to cnn.com/amfix. if there's any ray of hope for the white house is people seem just as dissatisfied as the gop as well. >> nobody is getting good numbers. programs another sign of lean economic times. thousands of people waiting days to get on a waiting list for federally subsidized housing in suburban atlanta. there you see pictures of the crowd. calm turned into chaos when far more people than expected showed up. some 30,000, three times more than officials in east point, georgia, had planned for. >> they should have let us know something, a time, when to be here. some people have been here since sunday morning, monday morning. this is ridiculous. >> this was unorganized, completely unorganizationed. >> i don't have housing for my kids. >> well, despite the probproble the east point housing authority says 13,000 families received applications. after steven slater had his meltdown, his possibly soon-to-be former employer is showing it has a sense of huor. jetblue issued a statement that said in part while this episode may feed your inner office space we just want to take this space to recognize our 2300 fantastic, awesome and professional inflight crew members for delivering the jetblue experience that you have come to expect of us. the man of the hour is also speaking out, albeit reluctantly. >> what do you have to say to all the people saying you are a hero? >> oh, it's so encouraging and so special and some really great people out there and i'm getting a glimpse of that. it's a surprise because i obviously have been away for a little while. to come back to that -- >> what about your mom? your mom was so sweet. >> she's a wonderful woman. >> she said you may have had just a little breakdown. >> i can't go there right now. >> a lot of people -- >> he answered your questions. >> that's about as far as i can go. >> but another passenger on the flight is telling "the wall street journal" it was slater who started the confrontation, not the passenger, whose luggage hit slater in the head. >> always nice to hear from him, though. seems so amiably. >> this is going to go on for a while. new, a memorial for former alaska senator ted stevens set for monday in anchorage. investigators trying to determine why his plane crashed into a mountain on monday. an autopsy on stevens should be completed today. four people who survived the crash have not been interviewed yet, so it's still not known whether stevens and four others were killed on impact or perished waiting for help. a manhunt under way in arkansas this morning for a modern-day bonnie and clyde. law enforcement officials are searching for a couple suspected of robberies after a prison break in arizona. u.s. marshals say that john mcclusky and his alleged accomplice, casslyn welch are cousins as well as lovers and have likely changed their appearance and are extremely unpredictable. good news from louisiana. officials there have made an arrest in the so-called grand dad bandit case. the fbi says their suspect 52-year-old michael francis mara was arrested in baton rouge after a six-hour standoff and a tip led to the suspect serial bank robber's arrest. he's wanted in at least 25 bank heists in 13 states. a roofer in new brunswick, canada had a close call saved by his safety harness. cbc saying he slipped on rotted wood, fell and was left dangling about four stories above a paved driveway. thank goodness for the safety harness. he was hanging there until firefighters arrived and got him down safely. 73-year-old golf legend jack nicklaus played a charity match yesterday with palmer and check out jack on the 10th green showing heals still got it. one more glorious, glorious moment from the golden bear. watch this. >> yes, sir. from 100 feet. shades of 1986 at augusta all over again. afterward, jack was asked how he managed to sink that long uphill neighbori snaking putt. hills answer, pure freaking luck. >> he was also humble. let's get a check of this morning's weather headlines. all in a day's work for you. you can sink that thing. >> 100 feet, hit the back of the cup and drop it down. a couple of things. remember talking tropical depression number 5 fizzled. not completely. 12 foot waves by the well site so slowing things down there. the other issue of course the heat and the amount of water that iowa has seen over the past couple of months has really done some damage. we're looking at record-breaking flooding in some parts of that state. ames, iowa, has shut down the drinking water for maybe as much as seven days for 50,000 "people." people having to move to higher ground there. that's about 30 miles north of des moines. down river from there in colfax, folks moving to high ground as well. not a lot of rain expected today but searing heat as these people wade through the waters to clean up in their homes. a little relief from the heat in coming days, but a number of heat advisories and heat warnings out again for the same spots. d.c. almost touched 100 yesterday, guys, so it continues to be a warm summer. more weather in about 30 minutes. >> thanks, see you then. embattled new york congressman charlie rangel facing a bunch of ethics violations but feeling the love at the same time at a combination fund-raiser and 80th birthday party last night. we'll tell you who showed up to celebrate just ahead. 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[ female announcer ] ask your rheumatologist about simponi™. just one dose, once a month. basic.? preferred. okay. at meineke i have options, and 50% off brake pads and shoes. my money. my choice. my meineke. 15 minutes after the hour. we're back with the most news in the morning. he's under an ethics cloud that could get him expelled from the house, but last night new york congressman charlie rangel was all about the good times at a combination fund-raiser and 80th birthday celebration. >> you wouldn't know about any of his problems last night. many prominent democrats were there to show their support and that included a rather surprising gesture from a former new york city mayor. cnn's mary snow is following the story for us. quite a happy birthday yesterday. >> it was. good morning. the big question was would politicians shy away from congressman rangel with this scandal unfolding. the answer was no. let's set the scene for you though. outside the plaza last night, this was a birthday party doubling as a fund-raiser. there were a few protesters gathering outside, some calling on him to resign. when his friend dinkins was outside, a protester shouted rangel was a crook. at that time he turned around and raised his middle finger to the protester and said he wouldn't be anywhere else, that rangel was his brother. inside the plaza hotel, as you can see, congressman rangel looking very ebullient there. he faced a packed house. this is with new york's top political leaders all in attendance. of course a lot of speculation whether democrats facing re-election would show up including both new york senators, who did attend. rangel thanked the crowd and made it clear he's not going anywhere. >> this damn sure ain't no funeral, is it? i ain't thinking about giving it up. >> there was almost no mention of the ethics violations rangel is facing. some guests, though, have pointed words for everyone watching. >> now, i know a few people couldn't be here tonight because, as they tell it, either they had to get a haircut unexpectedly or they were sure they'd have a headache. but charlie, as you know, they were with you as long as they could be. >> charlie rangel will rise from the ashes and show that we will never fall on such allegations. we will rise as the phoenix and keep on fighting. happy birthday, charlie. >> sharpton there having the strongest words last night. it ended up with dionne warwick performing singing "that's what friends are for." last night was all about the past. now his campaign is saying he's going to be campaigning today and the focus now is on re-election. he said all he has to say about the charges. >> it was funny that michael bloomberg referred to people who didn't want to show up because there certainly is some liability associated with it for some people. >> yeah. and for the democrats running for re-election of course, they're expecting republicans to pounce on this. some of the politicians leading up to last night were a little cagey about whether or not they'd actually be there. so of course they knew that all cameras would be there. >> governor paterson and michael bloomberg there. a lot showed up. >> both u.s. senators, andrew cuomo running for governor. >> thank you. still ahead, the legal hurdles have been cleared, but the outcry over an islamic senator and mosque going up two blocks from ground zero is not letting up. a new cnn opinion research poll shows the majority of americans oppose building the mosque near the world trade center site. 68% say they're against it. just 29% are in favor of the mosque being built there. india, the world's largest democracy, is a massive growing market for smartphone companies but will the government issue a ban on the business-friendly blackberry? a decision was expected today but is put off. why? we have a live update from new delhi. my name is rachel robinson. i am a banker with quicken loans. this is kathy, who i helped do her first home loan, and this is her sister tina, who i also helped do her first home loan. it was unbelievable how well it all fell together. we wanted to stay in our same neighborhood. kathy said, "well, let me give you rachel's number." rachel just made it effortless. i didn't have to do any of the work. rachel did it for me. extremely friendly... easy. i'll say, "i need this," we'd say here it is, and she says, "great. let me get back to you." so she spent a lot more time with me on the phone, face-to-face. she knows that's what my personality is and what i prefer. whereas if it was somebody else... like me. like tina. i'm on the computer all the time. it was emails and emails and faxes. she was just willing to do it the way we did it. clients i work with develop a relationship that lasts well beyond closing their loan. middle of the day at work i'd be emailing her. i don't know what to do. she's like, "don't worry. i got it." i don't want to say brainless, 'cause i'm smart, but i didn't have to think about any of it. easy. easy. easy. the whole loan process was simple and convenient! that's why i love quicken loans! ♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. 20 minutes past the hour. we're minding your business. for weeks we've been tracking possible blackberry bans across the middle east and asia. now it's india's turn. today was supposed to be the day india's government was to decide whether to put a ban on the business-friendly smartphones. >> much like a proposed ban in other countries it would block access because blackberry messages are highly encrypted and difficult for security officials to monitor. live from new delhi this morning, you have a new development to tell us about? . >> reporter: everyone thought there would be a big development and a statement that came out of a meeting the government had today. the ministry of home affairs met today. there was a lot of confusion about exactly who was in that meeting. then, to make things more confusing, the government refused to say anything about what happened in that meeting except for the fact that they were not going to handout some kind of a statement and were not going to let anybody know what transpired in that meeting because it was a, quote, internal affair. they did, though, indicate that more meetings are expected. so a lot of people are wondering what's going to happen today little device that they love, the blackberry, and some of the services that the government is very concerned about that are highly encrypted and their intelligence agents cannot get access to. everything seems to be working right now with blackberry as it is for today. >> you mentioned all the secrecy around it but it's still up and running, still going on and there is this delay. any speculation programs this could mean they're coming close to a deal? >> reporter: you know, it's really hard to tell, because for whatever reason, this has been a very secret -- nobody wants to talk. research in motion says it does not comment on any kind of conversations it's happening with governments over security. it has been very tight-lipped. the government here was very tight-lipped. they didn't even want to say that they were meeting. a lot of this is source-based information that we're getting of people with knowledge of the meeting. no one wants to say exactly what the government is going to do. we do understand there are certain services like blackberry messaging the government is concerned about because of the encryption and because it is extremely, nearly impossible for intelligence agents to cracked. they're really worried if a terrorist organization decided to use that to plot against the country, that the government would be blindsided and not able to try and thwart an attack. right now, though, like i said, everything is up and running and we're waiting to hear more information from the government which says it's still going to continue meeting on this. >> sara sidner with the latest for us. hundreds of marines massacred on a tiny pacific island during world war ii, their bodies left behind. a cnn exclusive. ted rowlands takes us back to the battlefield where present-day marines are trying to find their remains and bring them home decades later. 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first of six sites to be excavated. historic researchers believe more than 100 marines could be found during this mission. >> if we run into a row of missing individuals that were buried, that's fantastic. we have additional anthropologists on stand-by in hawaii. >> reporter: this is the u.s. military unit that specializes in finding the remains of missing americans around the world killed in battle. the team is made up of members from every branch of the military, but on this mission it is almost all marines. >> tarawa, that holds a soft spot in the marine corporals' heart. it's important to bring a large marine corps contingency here. >> reporter: it was one of the bloodiest battles in marine corps history. more than 1,000 men were killed in roughly 72 hours of fighting with the japanese, many gunned down in the water before they could make it to shore. when you come to tarawa, you really understand why there were so many casualties. it was low tide when the marines came on shore just like it is now meaning they had to walk on to the beach. waiting for them were huge japanese guns and these bunkers which were so fortified, it gave the japanese an opportunity to just sit inside and fire at point-blank range at the marines who were coming on to the beach. >> they were wading ashore for the most part. i can't imagine it. >> reporter: clay's grandfather was one of the marines killed on tarawa. he was awarded the congressional med alf honor for his heroyics wisconsin includes leading a charge on this sand-covered bunker. more than 100 japanese soldiers were crammedin side what is now a storage facility. outside, the sand is gone revealing the cement fortress. we climbed with clay to the top where his grandfather was killed. >> frankly, most of my life i knew vaguely of the story but i didn't know much detail. and i feel like i know a lot more now. >> reporter: as these photographs show he and the other marines killed in the campaign were originally buried in graves all around tarawa. but because there were so many bodies including about 4,000 japanese, tarawa was bulldozed by the navy. years later, the government came back to get the bodies but couldn't find them all. it's estimated the total number of marines still buried here could be as high as 500. >> exchange of u.s. remains on 11 august 2010. >> reporter: on wednesday, local officials turned over remains to the u.s. military. over the years, sets of remains like this have been found on tarawa, something we experienced firsthand while at this bunker which is located next to a police station. here at the police station they have told us that they have some remains and they're now opening them up to show us. police say the bones were dropped off about a month ago. >> i don't know where it come from. but we just keep it in our storage for someone who come and collect it. >> all you have to do is let the pick do the work. >> reporter: the military is planning to spend more than a month on tarawa collecting bones that have been found and digging for the rest of the marines left behind. >> it's basically a promise by the united states government that they will do everything in their power to bring their fallen warriors home. and that's the way we roll. >> reporter: and the team from jpac -- that's the name of the military unit here on the island -- has finished up the first site of the six sites which it's 10:30 at night here. tomorrow morning they'll start on the second site. they did not find any marines at the first site. i should also note we told the folks from jpac about the remains we looked at at the police station. they're aware and plan on going to get them. >> it's a fantastic story, ted. it's amazing to see them after this long go back and make sure no one is left behind. crossing the half hour now, your top story. economic hangover this morning. wall street now in the red for the year after the dow dropped 265 points yesterday. new polls showing voters losing patience with the recovery and taking it out on the white house. an immigration bill modeled after arizona but maybe tougher unveiled in florida. it requires police to check suspected illegal immigrant status during a traffic stop. it also increases penalties for illegal immigrant withes who commit crimes and also allows judges to consider immigration status while setting bail. and by this afternoon, same-sex marriage could be legal in california. right now there's a temporary stay in place overturning the state's ban on gay marriage. a federal court in california will rule today whether to make that stay permanent pending all the appeals. a group of young and tech-savvy moderate muslims are trying to turn the tide against the growing number of radical messages online. >> it's an uphill trek but they say one that has to be done. deb feyerick is tracking islam's virtual battle. >> the people who are committing acts of terror are really the ones getting all the attention while moderate mainstream voices, millions of them, who are vital parts of communities across the country have been drowned out. that's about to change and the target are people they call keyboard jihadists. >> reporter: with wannabe jihadists being recruited online -- >> they're plotting to kill this religion. >> reporter: it's radical voices of islam getting the most attention, the reality not lost on mainstream muslims. >> osama bin laden or any of the extremist figures can videotape a message in any cave in any corner of the world and it will be played on air translated for free. >> islam is a religion of peace. >> reporter: now a new video on youtube is designed to counter the message of violent extremism. >> we cannot kill innocent people. >> reporter: aydina produced the five minute video. >> we realized it's time to step up and engage in that virtual battle online. >> reporter: nine influential imams and scholars across the religious spectrum are featured. all denounce terrorism. some are converts. most like this man are well known to american muslims and popular with younger generations. >> have to help the oppressed and help the poor and help the weak. >> reporter: we met with imam yassir and other clerics in houston. >> all various stripes of muslims look up to they denounce violence and al qaeda and osama bin laden. >> reporter: not just them but young clerics fighting as well. >> the big reason they get radicalized you have 40% lack of general knowledge. >> reporte >> reporter: the website that counters arguments made by extremists. >> it can be confusing especially between the muslim identity and western identity and find the right path. >> reporter: the site's creators say they've gotten close to 5 million hits. >> our goal was to be able to present an orthodox voice online and show you can be 100% orthodox and 100% american. >> reporter: you're trying to counter by putting out something very positive that deals with real issues so if somebody is having a crisis in their life, it's not about building a bomb and taking it into the middle of time square. that's not a rational response to having a bad day. this man, a convert to islam, defines the mission. >> so they have enough skepticism and common sense to say that's ridiculous. >> our religion is not about violence and terrorism and killing people. the primary purpose of our religion is to establish a relationship between man and god, a relationship of love. >> reporter: it's not an easy sell. the moderate message put up on youtube has garnered less 20,000 views in a month but the fight back has to start somewhere. >> and another part of the fight, top imams in canada have issued a fatwa or religious edict saying anyone who attacks the u.s. or canada attacks all 10 million muslims that live in the country. he says it's the duty of every muslim to safeguard their countries. they have turned the tables issuing this fatwa and reclaiming their religion online as well. >> you talked about some of the ways they're trying to reach young people. what else do they find on these sites that give a more positive message, the right message. >> they're also talking about things like marriage, jobs, finances. when you're having these kinds of problems, these everyday struggles, they become a touchstone so you understand exactly how you're supposed to deal with it. frustration, anger, politicizing the religion is not what the message is supposed to be about. >> at the end where you said it hasn't gotten that many hits what's the most compelling message? the message of tolerance or the message to come to radicalism? >> depends who is looking. the keyboard jihadists are the ones looking online going for the more radical revolutionary ideas. what's so interesting is the imams said these are angry young men going to sites where they know they'll get validation. they're trying to push other people toward the modern mainstream message of what islam really is. >> thanks so much. coming up on the most news in the morning primary winners all with something in common, their absolute political inexperience. we'll ask john avalon about what's hapg up as the year of the outsider just ahead. what i wouldn't do for a do-over. 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[ male announcer ] the star safety system. standard. because we know, there's nothing more important to you than your safety. all our new safety features are at toyota.com/safety. it is now 39 1/2 minutes after the hour. no experience required. it's turning out to be a theme for the midterm election cycle with the number of new candidates new to politics scoring big primary victories. helping us to make sense and see where we're going in 2010, john avalon. let's take a look at three people who won big the other day, because this really sort of sets an interesting trend. people have asked in politics why don't people who are ceos of companies, people really responsible get involved in politics. now they are. wins by linda mcmahon, meg whitman and carl fiorina? is this happening? >> we are seeing a new trend. the ceos are getting in and significantly the three you just mentioned all female ceos. that may be the secret ingredient that the gop is hoping for this fall. it's one of the dominant trends in recent years, self funded candidates. political consultants love them and so do political parties. in the time of finance reform it is the secret bullet that allows more money to enter the system. self-funded on the gop versus professional politicians on the democraticside. >> the question is also asked why don't they get involved? it's because they don't want to open up their personal lives to the scrutiny. we've seen a lot that certainly with linda mcmahon and carl fiorina. looks like they're ready to play rough-and-tumble. >> and linda mcmahon has chosen throughout her professional life. she's chosen to put her own personal life out in the public for a long time. as you say the rough-and-tumble nature of politics and the fact it is a full contact sport and blood sport in many cases these days have kept a lot of good people out of it. but you're seeing ceos opting for a retirement package of public service. >> those three and ken buck winning, rand paul throwing his hat in the ring, this is shaping up to be the year ft outsider. >> that's another dominant trend. the other are the tea party backed candidates. the problem there is people who can do really well playing the red meat crowd in the primary may not translate as well in the general election. look at the states you just mentioned -- colorado, connecticut, nevada. these are seats, big swing districts that look like the gop could make some gains. the anti-establishment candidate makes it tougher. >> recent poll in "the wall street journal" tells the tale on why this is happening. 60% say the country is going in the wrong direction. 45% hold a negative view of the republican party. 44% hold a negative view of the democratic party. if you're an outsider you probably have a pretty good chance. >> you do especially if you throw the messages that both the republicans and democrats failed us in the past. that taps into the anger and feeling that washington is broken. that message especially in economic downturns is a time for angry voters to make their feelings felt. >> who is more effective? >> no question the outsider candidate both self funded and insurgent is much better than the democrat. michael bennet appointed never run before defeat romanoff. blanche lincoln, labor put a lot of money for her opponent but she held on. more taken out on the primary side than democrats. it's a decisive shift. >> how much of that with the republican party is tea party influence? maybe not direct influence because they're not behind all of the candidates we talked about this morning but they have sort of permeated -- there has been sort of a general attitude that permeated the public and part of it status quo is not acceptable. >> exactly right. many of these first-time candidates have surfed the wave to victory, rand paul among them, schharron angle. it is especially in the republican primaries. tea party anti-establishment anger has propelled a lot of these folks unlikely candidates in some cases to a general election. >> how do you think it's going to play out in november? >> self-funded candidates can do very well in the primary but there's a history of them famously imploding in general elections. michael huffington for for example. the tea party candidates have played to the base and very effectively but sometimes with rhetoric or policies that don't translate to independent voters in the center and those are the folks who ultimately decide who wins or lose. colorado, connecticut where independents outnumber democrats or republicans. to make that sale that's a broader thing. you can't just play to the base and win a general election. >> with 2 1/2 months we'll see how they do. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. 45 minutes past the hour. flooding and extreme heat in the midwest. rob marsian yoe following all of this. also coming up in ten minutes, jeanne moos, it ain't easy being steven slater these days. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless, too? new aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers, with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on, to even skin tone in four weeks. new aveeno tinted moisturizers. 47 minutes past the hour right now. you may remember this sketch. a manhunt was on for a serial killer, a serial slasher who stabs his victims to death. look like the manhunt is over. according to local affiliates in the detroit area police have a suspect in custody. authorities say this suspect appeared to be targeting african-americans and lured victims with a plea for help. they also say he may be behind attacks in three states. it was a stabbing spree that began in flint, michigan, in may. the most recent attack friday in virginia. again, detroit affiliates reporting that police do have someone in custody now in connection with this serial slashing case. we'll update you as soon as we learn more details. 48 minutes after the hour, let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. rob marciano in the extreme weather center. what's going on with the storm in the gulf coast. >> it dissipated as far as a tropical depression system. it's part of a circulation that continues to bring heavy rain to the new orleans area. this is pretty much the area of disturbed weather, the center of which is pretty much over the new orleans area. here's the radar picture. and you can see all this moisture swirling across the lake pontchartrain area. there's a flash flood warning for jefferson and orleans parish. for the next couple of hours these thunderstorms continue to dump heavy rain across the area. certainly street flooding and small stream flooding and the drains not working well are going to have issues throughout the rest of the morning. flood watches and warnings have been posted for not oblg the mississippi delta but on through mobile, alabama, for what's left over of tropical depression number 35. we do have flood warnings for parts of iowa. historic flooding for des moines and ames. ames water supply shut down four to seven days, contaminated because of heavy flooding. the worst since 1993. 105 to 115 heat indexes across this area. so not only flooding but record-breaking heat in some of the areas. west plains, missouri, hit 103 in d.c. 97. a little cooler today. jackson kentucky 97. 101 kansas city. 82 in new york, not too shabby and 92 in minneapolis. record-breaking july on the cool side for california. talk about how cool southern california has been? they've had one of the coldest julys on record. so, again, fly out west if you're tired of the heat. >> quick question. i know it's still early in the season, but we've had a number of these systems that begin to develop and then peter out and blow away. what's going on? >> the way the upper level wind pattern is. we've had bad sheering winds at the upper levels. that pattern will change i think in the next couple of weeks and we'll probably see the systems when they do develop hold together a little bit better unfortunately. >> at least for now dodging bullets right and left. this morning's top stories now just minutes away. red arrows on wall street and the desperate need for housing turning into a dangerous situation. we'll talk about whether we just took another turn for the worse. your money still issue number one just ahead. was it the pedal or the driver's fault? new questions about toyota's runaway cars and whether people were really hitting the gas when they meant to hit the brakes. who started it? questions about the fed-up flight attendant steven slater. is he the hero or the guy on the plane you love to hate. i don't want you going out on those yet. and leave your phone in your purse, i don't want you texting. >> daddy... ok! ok, here you go. be careful. >> thanks dad. >> and call me--but not while you're driving. we knew this day was coming. that's why we bought a subaru. but look below the surface. your mouth is no different. brushing leaves teeth looking clean, but millions of plaque and gingivitis germs are left behind. a 30-second rinse with listerine® antiseptic cleans deeper. 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[ sighs ] [ male announcer ] listerine®. clean deeper. get healthier.™ and for a deeper clean and brighter teeth, try advanced listerine with tartar protection. six minutes to the top of the hour. it's time for the moost news in the morning with jeanne. you've seen him everywhere. you can't avoid steven slater. >> now the flight attendant s. finding it hard to exit in an orderly fashion. here's jeanne. >> reporter: run! run for your life! it ain't easy being a hero. one minute you're telling passengers to buckle their seat belts. the next thing you know, you're being shoved into a van like a kidnap victim. reporters are begging you to roll down the window. >> one more little bit. >> one more please. >> just one. just one. just one. what do you have to say to all the people who say you are a hero? >> oh, it's so encouraging and so special. >> reporter: oh, it's special all right to be followed into an elevator by the "new york times" and asked if you had planned to deploy that emergency chute. >> we all thought about it for 20 years. we thought about it. you never think you're going to do it. >> reporter: probably never thought he'd be pursued through a parking garage either. >> any regrets? that sfas says it all. >> that scar on your head, is that from the suitcase falling? is it? >> reporter: and when the press is swafrming in front of your house. >> do me a favor. just leave, leave, leave. >> reporter: it's enough to make your significant other significantly annoyed. >> i have a medical condition and each and every one of you is causing me to have my arrhythmia and i will pass out. >> reporter: on the other hand, it's nice having a facebook fan page with 150,000 or so fans. exiting the plane via the emergency slide is so popular, someone posted cats going down a slide in tribute. it's entered the political lexicon with denying that he's -- >> added an emergency exit to my office. >> reporter: when the magic wall is not working magically. >> having a problem. i'm going to pull a steven slate they are about three, two, one. >> reporter: jetblue is giving every passenger on steven slater's flight a $100 voucher. the company says that's what it often does when customers experience a disruption or abnormal circumstances. ♪ you later, steven slater ♪ didn't need no escalator ♪ just slid right down that airplane door and ran ♪ >> reporter: underneath this latest balad to steven his boyfriend posted, this is the best. we love you. when slater finally arrived home. >> welcome home, steven. >> reporter: the press was waiting. if we keep this up, he'll be pulling a slater on us. this microphone needs an escape chute. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> just keeps getting better. the medical condition, every one of you, you, you and you are going to cause me pass out. >> makes your heart go pitter, pitter, pitter, pitter pat. top stories right after the break. 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[ whimper ] [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and its whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. good morning. welcome to the most news in the morning. it's thursday. it's the 12th of august. i'm kiran chetry. it may seem to many we just went in reverse, wall street waking up in the red for the year this morning. the markets and bad economic news from around the world becoming a major problem politically as well for the white house, which may have mistakenly said at one point this was the summer of recovery. our ed henry has the brand new poll numbers. riot police are called in to calm a chaotic scene in east point, georgia, where 30,000 people showed up to get on a list of subsidized housing. officials brace for more crowds today. a live report just ahead. it was one of the largest recalls in automotive history but was it even necessary? government investigators still cannot find a flaw in all of those wrecked toyotas. so what really caused all of those sudden acceleration claims? up first, down arrows and bad vibes today. a general feeling that we are going in the wrong direction the morning after a dreadful day on wall street. >> the dow will try to bounce back today after a 265-point plunge yesterday, a sell-off that put wall street in the red for 2010. on top of that, president obama's approval numbers are also in the red. obviously some tough numbers to deal with this morning at the white house on both fronts. that's where our ed henry is for us this morning. talk to us a little bit more about the white house's plan this morning. as we had eluded to they had called it the summer of recovery. >> that's right, kiran. it's certainly looking like that is facing a stiff challenge right now. they say they don't govern by polls here at the white house, but you can hardly ignore these new numbers in the nbc/"wall street journal" poll showing the presidential approval rating at 47%, disapproval among the american people at 48%. that's in line with some of our recent cnn polling. more worrisome for the white house when you dig into the numbers is the fact that now 6 in 10 americans including 83% of those all important independent voters that stwung barack obama's way in 2008, 6 in 10 americans saying they're either somewhat or not confident that he has the right economic policies to turn this economy around. that's why even yesterday here at the white house when the president was touting his signature on a new manufacturing law that he hopes creates some jobs, he was still a bit on the defensive. >> now, we knew from the beginning that reversing the damage done by the worst financial crisis and the deepest recession in generations would take some time, more time than anyone would like. >> and obviously, when you look deeper into these polls swlt, the nbc/"wall street journal" poll saying 2 in 3 americans basically are saying that they do not believe this economy has hit rock bottom. that would obviously run counter to this whole white house push for what they call the recovery summer, if there is a recovery. americans are saying they're just not feeling it yet, kiran. >> take a look at it $1.2 trillion spent by direct economic stimulus by this administration since the recession started. is it a miscalculation that things would have gotten better? there's a true belief that things would have gotten better by now and they just simply haven't? >> what they would say inside the white house is that bottom line when the president took office things turned out to be even worse than they expected then and it's run a pattern throughout that despite the stimulus, despite other policies that they believe have sort of cushioned the blow at least, they believe this has just been a global recession that's exceeded anybody's worst expectations. they're looking for little rays of hope as they read the tea leaves in the election results this weekend. one example tuesday night the colorado democratic senate primary, the president got behind the incumbent michael bennet, a lot of pundits thought he might lose. former president clinton was behind the opponent andrew rowe mannoff. in the end he won with fund raising and help from president obama and the white house is taking that as a positive sign if the president gets out there and makes the case that things are not perfect but would be worse if you went back to some of the republican policies they think started the whole thing. they think that message would resonate. but look at what democratic pollster peter hart is saying. he's saying this is a jetblue election. people are hurling in vektives and running for the emergency exit. >> i think we're going to hear that reference a lot. many americans, as we've been talking about still don't feel we've hit rock bottom. are we headed from bad to worse? we'll ask shawn tully from "fortune" magazine where the arrows are pointing long term. police in east point, georgia, bracing for more crowds this morning a day after 30,000 people turned out to apply for public housing. riot police were needed to control the crowd, which was three times larger than the city planned for. the east point housing authority will begin collecting applications for the waiting list today. there are currently no vacancies. by this afternoon same-sex marriage could be officially legal in california. right now there is a temporary stay in place due to the overturning of the state's ban on same-sex marriage. a federal court in california will rule today whether that stay is permanent. here's why you wear your safety harness. just ask this roofer in new brunswick, canada, who had an extraordinary close call. he was working on the roof when he slipped on some rotted wood and fell over the edge of the eave. he was dangling about four stories above the paved driveway but firefighters quickly showed up and got him down. there he's coming down the ladder the right way as opposed to going off the edge of the roof. the guy was kind of indignantly hanging there. who started the argument that led to the flight attendant's steven slater legendary meltdown. there are passengers, one in particular on the flight now telling "the wall street journal" that slater is the one who started the confrontation, not the passenger whose luggage fell on slater's head. the man of the hour meantime is still speaking out alt be it a little reluctantly. >> what do you have to say to all the people saying you're a hero? >> it's so encouraging and so special. really great people out there. i'm getting a glimpse of that. it's a surprise because obviously i've been away for a little while. >> what about your mom? your mom was so sweet yesterday. she talked to some folks -- >> wonderful woman. >> she said you may have had a little breakdown. >> i can't go there right now. >> he answered your question. >> and now jetblue is showing that it's not without a sense of humor in all of this with this online statement which reads, in part, while this episode may feed your inner office space, we just want to take this space to recognize our 2300 fantastic, awesome and professional inflight crew members for delivering the jetblue experience that you've come to expect of us. in other words, all you 2300 other passengers don't go out the escape slide. >> inner office space. all over stapler from milton. his job may be in jeopardy but you couldn't tell that last night. charlie rangel celebrating his 80th birthday/fund-raiser in manhattan. while facing a public ethics trial that could get him expelled from congress he doesn't appear too worried. >> celebrating with new york's powerful political figures. cnn's mary snow following the story. he seemed to have the look on his face, what, me worry? >> no jetblue references last night. this party tested political loyalty for the man considered the dean of the new york congressional delegation serving 20 terms. leading up to the bash not all politicians were eager to say they'd be there but in the end they did show up. setting the scene outside last night's party, a few protesters did gather, some calling on congressman charlie rangel to resign. at one point our cameras were rolling. a protester heckled mayor dinkins saying he was a crook. he turned how he really felt turning around and raising his middle finger. it was a very different mood inside the plaza hotel. rangel showed no signs of the troubles he faces. he was clearly in a mood to celebrate his 80th birthday. he faced a packed house with new york's political leaders showing up, even democrats facing re election knowing the scrutiny they can fails for attending. rangel made it clear he's not going anywhere. >> this damn sure ain't no funeral, is it? i ain't thinking about giving it up. >> while there was no mention of the 13 ethics violations rangel is facing, the reverend al sharpton did reference it blaming the media and new york city mayor michael bloomberg joked about those who didn't show up. >> now, i know a few people couldn't be here tonight, because as they tell it, either they had to get a haircut unexpectedly or they were sure they'd have a headache. but, charlie, as you know, they were with you as long as they could be. >> charlie rangel will rise from the ashes and show that we will never fall on such allegations. we will rise as the phoenix and keep on fighting. happy birthday, charlie. >> ending the night, dionne warwick sang "that's what friends are for." the friends at last night's party also paid. this was a fund-raising event for his re-election campaign, tickets ranging from $200 to $2500. with last night focusing on the past, his campaign says now focusing on his re-election bid he will be out campaigning today. >> interesting how many people referenced his ethics allegations or the charges at this party knowing the cameras were rolling. >> there were a few who did but the majority did not and kind of steered clear of it. >> got enough fodder for a campaign ad, though. the golden bear still has some game left in him. look at this. 70-year-old golf legend jack nicklaus opens his newest course on the shores of lake michigan yesterday playing a skins match for charity. check out jack making a little bit of magic on the 10th green. good thing he hit it dead center because that's the only way to drop it in the hole when going that fast. it was from 100 feet. afterward jack was asked how he managed to sink that long uphill snaking putt. his three-word answer, it was just pure freakin' luck. the man ho tried to break his record for major victories has fallen on pretty hard times. at the bridge stone tournament he shot 18 over par, 30 shots off the lead. tied 78th out of a field of 80. we'll ask amy alcott what is wrong with tiger woods in the next hour of american morning. we get a check of this morning's weather headlines. our rob marciano following all of it in atlanta. if you're tired of the heat the only place you want to be is san francisco or other parts of california. >> it's been unbelievably cool summer for them. things are going to change, though. rough weather across parts of wisconsin where the pga is being held and also all the snow this winter and all the rain this past spring has led to epic flooding across iowa. we have pictures out of both des moines and ames. ames just north of dee moinls where the skunk river is up and over its banks. people are being evacuated there and des moines proper. some of these rivers and tributaries won't crest until later this afternoon and go down towards the weekend. nonetheless, bad news for the folks who live in the heartland of america. down across the coast, td number 5 has dissipated but you still see a swirl there on the radar. new orleans getting crushed right now with heavy rain. that's what we thought would be the main concern with this system. not a lot of wind but torrential rains and flash flood warnings in effect for the crescent city and points eastward. hot and hazy weather midsection of the company. a slew of high temperatures up and over the century mark. we'll slowly change this pattern but today is another sweaty one across parts of the central u.s. john, kiran, back to you. >> thanks so much. see you back in a half hour. we're following breaking news right now as well out of bogota, colombia, this morning. a strong explosion being reported outside of a radio station. more on that coming up. also ahead, president obama saying the worst is behind us but there's a poll out showing many americans aren't buying that. they're worried about the economy and don't necessarily think it will improve in the coming year. we'll talk about whether this is the start of a double-dip recession that we've been dreading. when something's safe? you talk to these guys. they go through every car and truck we make with a big fat red pencil. because they know a family's going to be inside. a teenager. a guy on the way to the job. the engineers of chevrolet. just another reason why we can offer a 5-year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. and another reason why a chevy's a chevy. a 5-year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. hey, it's great to see you're back after that accident. well...i couldn't have gotten by without aflac! is that different from health insurance? well yeah... ...aflac pays you cash to help with the bills that health insurance doesn't cover. really? well, if you're hurt and can't work, who's going to help pay for gas? ..the mortgage, all kinds of expenses? aflacccccccccc! it's the protection you need to stay ahead of the game... exactly! aflac. we've got you under our wing. aflac, aflac, aflac... aflac, aflac, aflac a few minutes after the hour. breaking news just coming in of a strong explosion in bogota, colombia. a column of smoke and considerable damage being reported at the headquarters of a colombian radio station, television station. not surety point what the source of the explosion was but there are reports that it was a car bomb. our karl penhaul is actually in the columbian capital. these are pictures from caracol tv. he'll give us an update on what's going on there. you can see there's a lot of damage to the outside of the building. don't know about any casualties at this point. >> we'll continue to follow that. meantime, a lot of people are waking up saying that this is what a recovery looks like? think again. there's been some rough economic news and yesterday it sent stocks into the red for the year. a new "wall street journal"/nbc poll shows nearly two-thirds of americans believe that the economy has not yet reached rock bottom. here to talk about it is sean tully editor at large at "fortune" magazine. everyone asking with weakness in overseas economies driving the markets down yesterday are we headed for a double-dip recession? >> we don't know because you have to kind of put a probability on all of these things. probably not. we've only had one double dip, really bona fide double dip in history which happened during the depression. we know economic policy was completely wrong-headed. so it's very, very unlikely. most recoveries simply recover. the problem is this one is very, very slow. with the kind of monetary stimulus we have now, we're going to come out of this. it's going to probably be slow but we don't know know that. the problem we face now -- and this is the problem really bothering voters, is this tremendous buildup in government debt. i think what a lot of consumers and voters are re acting to is the possibility we just can't pay the bills. in other words the deficit is so enormous and the buildup in debt so huge that not only will we spend $1.08 on interest in the debt by 2020 but that spike could have happen much earlier. we have the possibility of debt crises in other countries prp greece, for example, could trigger a crisis in america. it could drive rates up, make it impossible for us to borrow. this is undermining confidence in the u.s. economy. this is an issue voters understand. they understand deficits. this is what ross perot ran on. he was a marginal candidate who got 20% of the vote. we know this is a big populist issue. whether we have some more growth or not, this is bothering voters. and they know that this is casting a pall over our long-term economic outlook and has to be addressed. >> this is at the crux for our lawmakers and policymakers, long view, you're right, this debt is a problem. at the same time, how are you going to tell people long term unemployed, relying on food stamps and need as you talked about this incredible amount of stimulus that's come out there that we can't afford to pay for this so we're not going to do it? how do you balance those two things? >> you have to have the plan to address it because you have to restore our confidence by both consumers and the small businesses that create jobs. right now confidence is being very severely undermined not only by the long term debt outlook but short term things you're talking about. for example we're going in the beginning ever 2011 to much higher tax rates for high earners. that's supposed to be the rich, right? i call them the henrys -- but the point is these aren't rich people. these are small businesses that file personal tax returns for their businesses. half of all small business income is taxed above that rate on personal returns. therefore, companies are looking at the fact that a big increase in their cost. now they have to pay in 2014 $2,000 for every employee they don't insure for health care cost, right? so what people do, what companies do in tough times -- the easiest thing to cut is labor. this is the difference between us and europe. in europe it's hard to cut labor. in the u.s. it's easy. but then it's hired back in a recovery. it's not happening this time. so the cost that's easy to cut is labor. it's not being hired back because they see future costs rising so rapidly. >> that they don't want to hire those employees back. you said it this morning there are no double-dip recession which if you're correct is good news. >> thank you. we're telling you about breaking news, an explosion in the capital of bogota. it just so has our karl penhaul is in the city and joins us on the telephone. what do you know about what's going on, karl? >> reporter: well, about three quarters of an hour ago now on the main street in downtown bogota, a loud explosion occurred, sending black plumes of smoke about 150 feet up into the air. i'm now down there on the scene. and the explosion occurred outside a bank branch that also at the foot of the same building where one of colombia's main radio stations is based. initial reports, there are, as one can see, parts of a vehicle shooting across the six lanes of this main street, of this main avenue. and the initial reports from police, that this may have been a car bomb. forensic teams and explosive experts are on the scene trying to work out exactly what may have happened. what i can tell you is that it's not a mass casualty scenario. initial reports are from police and from health care workers on the scene speak of two injuries, but certainly no reports of dead at this stage. that could have been due to the hour. it was about around 4:00 and about 15 minutes before 4:00 when this explosion occurred. bogota is not a city that comes to live very early. so at that time of day, there were not that many people here on the ground. but certainly what is no clear from police or from the explosive experts yet is exactly what the cause of the explosion was, nor what the intended target was. and even less is there any word yet about which group may have been behind this, though of course, if it is confirmed it was a car bomb, then the suspicion will of course fall on the farc leftist guerrillas or possibly drug traffickers as well. >> do they have -- karl, as you talk about that, is there any history of attacking media? as you said, this was a radio station there. >> reporter: again, there is a history in colombia, a past history in colombia whereby both guerrilla forces and drug cartels have targeted media organizations. and the radio station in this case at the explosion is caracol radio. that is one of colombia's largest and most prestigious nationwide networks. in fact, the explosion occurred right at the foot of the building where caracol radio is housed. and certainly, the building -- that building is about a ten-story building and there are windows that have been blown out throughout that building. so i would expect the caracol radio has sustained some damage, although i do know that the radio station is still on air at the moment. but certainly not out of question the radio station could have been the target. what is also important to note is that the main financial district of bogota, indeed of colombia, is just about three blocks away. that's where the major bankhead quarters are housed and, also, that's the place for colombia stock exchange as well. unclear whether that may have been an intended target as well. >> karl penhaul from the colombia capital of bogota this morning for the very latest. you can see by the small amount of debris left from that vehicle very, very powerful bomb but doesn't appear to be a whole lot of structural damage and as karl said because of the early hour no known casualties at this point. just a couple of injuries. good news in this event this morning. 24 minutes after the hour. we'll be back in a moment. ♪ coming soon to a shopping mall near you a smartphone app that sends money-saving coupons to your cell phone as soon as you step in the shopping center. a joint venture between mall owner simon properties and silicon valley company called shop kick. here's how it works. speakers installed at the mall entrance send out a signal only read by smartphones. it identifies which store you're entering and sends shop kick bucks for the store to your device and get on the spot coupons. macy's and best buy already signed on. >> and also install a small microchip in your brain and lead you to the food court. kidding. could be quite a show come 10:30 eastern when the perseid meteor shower starts. astronomers say it will light up the sky as many as 50 shooting stars an hour. if you're in a place where you can get a good look. >> unlike new york city where there's so much light you don't know there's a sky. authorities in east point, georgia, on high alert after a chaotic scene in the atlanta suburb yesterday. police tried to calm an angry crowd of 30,000 people who showed up to apply for government-subsidized housing. the crowd was triple what the city had expected. doug richards with affiliate wxia has the story from east point. >> from what i see, this is a conspiracy -- >> reporter: an unhappy crowd had stewed in a hot parking lot over much of a three-day period. >> it is rid clus. it's like animalistic conditions. it's inhumane. >> giving out right here. >> reporter: they had gathered to get a piece of paper, an application for federally subsidized housing, a chance to merely get on a waiting list. >> there are no open slots and we made that very clear to the applicants that were coming here starting monday when they started showing up. we made it very clear that we did not have vouchers to give out, we did not have any public housing vacancies at this time. >> reporter: but they had spots on a waiting list. and for folks in this crowd, it represented sufficient reason to clamor on to a lot of hot asphalt and stay for hours or even days. >> the economy is bad right now and they're willing to offer assistance with housing. if they are, it's something you wouldn't want to pass up. >> reporter: the east point housing authority had 10,000 applications, and it seemed as if that many hands reached toward housing officials and police officers as the applications became available. >> you see it right here. it's not organized. they should have did a little bit better. some folks fell out out here. >> as far as the housing authority is concerned, it was a success today. >> everybody is having a hard time because they have no type of structure officials say they gave applications to everybody who wanted one. >> people passing out. for a minute, i thought i was going to lose my life in the crowd trying to get a package. people knocking you down. just all kind of things. it's chaos out here. this shouldn't have even been legal. >> when you look at the economy and you look at the desperation that folks have of having affordable housing, this is what you get unfortunately. >> the part that makes it even worse is knowing that they don't have any vacancies at these public housing buildings right now and there's so many people. >> they said they made it clear but it seems to me there might have been some sort of breakdown in communication. doug richards from wxia reporting. meantime you may remember they recalled 9 million cars after drivers claimed their toyotas were accelerating out of control. there were questions was it a sticky gas pedal or electronics flaw. government investigators now say they can't find anything wrong with dozens of toyotas that were wrecked. so is one of the largest recalls in history really necessary? we'll talk about it coming up. 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[ male announcer ] wells fargo. together we'll go far. crossing the half hour right now. time for a look at our top stories. this is just in to cnn. the reports that the hunt for a serial slasher, person wanted for stabbing victims to death, the hunt is over. our local affiliates in the detroit area say police have a suspect in custody. this is a suspect -- there you see an artist rendering -- who may have targeted african-american men primarily as his victims. we're just a few minutes away from a news conference. we'll bring you all of the information when we get it. a strong explosion in bogota, colombia. looks like a car bomb. cnn's karl penhaul heard the blast. considerable damage is being reported at the headquarters of a colombian radio station. a lot of winws blown out. some nearby buildings damaged as well. no building collapse, though. and apparently when it comes to casualties, a couple of minor injuries but nothing else because it was so early in the morning when this bomb went off. a baby boom among illegal immigrants in the u.s. according to a new survey, the pew hispanic center reporting an estimated 340,000 of the more than 4 million babies born in the united states were born to illegal immigrants. that's about 1 in every 12 babies born in america. it could add fuel to the debate over automatic citizenship for children ever the illegal immigrants. . the united nations says it's the worst natural disaster in pakistan's history and about to get worse. more torrential rain is in the forecast as the death toll from catastrophic flooding tops 1300. 15 million lives may change forever from this. in a country where the united states is not well liked, our war machines are now saving lives and maybe, as barbara starr shows us, helping keep a friendly government from collapsing. >> reporter: 14 million pakistanis, 6 million of them children, affected by the floods. here in washington, pakistan's ambassador trying to reassure local pakistanis his government is doing everything it can. >> so how prepared can any government be for an event that happens only once in 90 years? no one can. >> reporter: pakistanis wonder if their already weak government can handle the crisis. just in the area days ago -- >> i didn't see a lot of presence from the government of pakistan over there. this is rather disappointing. >> reporter: that sentiment a concern for the u.s. if pakistan loses the people's confidence, it could mean a new security crisis. >> pakistan has had four military coups in the past. and the failure of the civilian government to respond to this enormous human tragedy is going to increase the risk of yet more military takeovers in pakistan. >> reporter: the u.s. is increasing its assistance. more military helicopters in addition to food and money. the agency for international development is coordinating much of the effort and is trying to combat the impression in pakistan that the taliban is providing re aid than the pakistanis themselves. >> the taliban claim they're out there helping. tell me what you know about that part of it. >> they are probably out there helping in some communities. they were probably there before the rains started. they have no more access than we do. >> we all want to escape. >> reporter: for samir, memories of utter devastation. >> the river had just taken everything on its route. and people were helpless. they're still helpless. everyone wanted to just get out and they were swimming for their lives. >> sameer tells us he and his friends who were with him got busses and a series of busses so they could keep moving south getting out of the way of the floodwaters. late yesterday, defense secretary robert gates authorized 19 additional u.s. military helicopters to go to pakistan to help with the effort, already on station this morning beginning to help with evacuation efforts. this crisis is growing. the floodwaters are moving south. already more than 600,000 homes in pakistan destroyed. john, kiran. >> just a terrible situation there. those folks certainly can't get enough help. barbara starr for us this morning. >> so sad. also still ahead, government investigators are tearing apart dozens of rekd toyotas trying to get to the bottom of these unintended acceleration claims. many drivers blaming them for their wrecks. experts say they still can't find anything wrong with the cars. but could it all be driver error, accident after accident? we're going to talk with someone ho studied a lot about this, senior writer for money.com. 39 minutes past the hour. welcome to the most news in the morning. today we're talking about toyota's troubles. you may remember 9 million recalled cars later and the government still can't find a mechanical problem with all those toyotas. there's a new government report out that says that it was driver error that may have been the cause of the unintended acceleration incidents that triggered the recall. so was the toyota safety scandal overstated? peter valdez senior writer with cnnmoney.com. we are talking about these reports and they look at 58 cars, literally took them apart. studied the so-called black boxes and data recorders in the cars and didn't really find a major mechanical problem with these cars. what's going on? >> well, they did find in one case pedal entrapment where a pedal got caught mainly by a floor mat. that's they had a recall for. what they found in a lot of other cases is either the drivers didn't put the brakes on or put them on only partway. driver error has always been a major cause of unintended acceleration incidents. it's genuinely unintended but there are cases where the driver puts their foot on the gas thinking they're hitting the brake and the car begins to accelerate quickly and panic and thinking they're stepping on the brake they press down on the accelerator harder and then don't stop until they hit something. this is a known issue and we've known many are due to driver error. in some ways this isn't really that surprising. >> one of the things, though, that is interesting about this is it did lead to eventually a 9 million car recall. there were problems as you said toyota acknowledged. i think part of -- at the time what was scaring people is nobody could really figure out or pinpoin what the problem was. there was some talk back in this past january, toyota did inform the highway traffic safety administration that they had certain gas pedals that could have had a sticking defect. on top of that as you mentioned the floor mat issue and then a question whether this was an electronic flaw. put that together and the 9 million were recalled. >> they weren't recalled over an electronic flaw. they said there are cases we can't explain. it has to be something we can't see that leads people to say maybe it's an electronics flaw. toyota has been testing for this and something the government and academy of sciences and nasa are looking into that but there's never been any kind of real evidence there is an electronics flaw. it's one of the things where people say we can't think of anything else, maybe it's the electronics but it's never been shown and i don't know that it's ever going to be shown that that was a reason for it. >> yeah. i mean, you're right. they were not able to prove it. but at the same time, we recalled 9 million cars. was that a hasty decision? >> no. the cars were recalled for reasons that were sound. there really was an issue. a state trooper in california's family was killed because their car's gas pedal got stuck in a floor mat that wasn't designed for that car. initially toyota's response was reasonably to say don't put these extra thick floor mats in the cars but took the extra step of trying to alter the cars so it wouldn't happen. that's a genuine issue. the sticking gas pedal where it got stuck halfway down it's less threatening because it's on a little way down and the car is easy to control in that circumstance but it was a legitimate reason and cars were recalled for steering issues and other things. toyota has clearly got quality problems they need to deal with. no, the decisions weren't hasty. but, on the other hand, i don't think we need to panic people by going out and make a lot -- we need to remind people that the biggest factor here is panic. the thing you need not to do behind the wheel of your car is get so scared that you panic. let's say you do step on the wrong pedal, you need to responds appropriately. make sure you're stepping on the brakes and not the gas. if the car goes out of control shift it into neutral and drive off the side of the road. that's the important thing to tell people to do so they don't have fear work against them. >> is there a legitimat question about perhaps a design flaw if it is easy to mixup the two or is this with every model of every car p? >> it happens to a certain extent of every car on the road. many are due to driver error. i think we have a lot of these. you need to look at things like is there something to do with the pedal design. toyota for instance is putting in brake override on the cars. up to now if you step on the brakes and your foot is on the gas the car will accelerate. many cars there's an automatic switch that cuts off gas. toyota will put that on cars going forward. that's a major step in the right direction. there are other things you can do in terms of the pedal design and how the gas pedal reacts to foot pressure to make it feel more natural so people don't make this kind of error or the car feels different so that people really understand what's going on. >> as opposed to electronics issue it's about making the car moore foolproof when it comes to the unintended acceleration. >> great to get your take. peter valdes-dapena. coming up, new evidence out today suggesting that women who have a high level of stress are less likely to get pregnant. our dr. sanjay gupta has details in this morning's "fit nation" report. the mid-atlantic is seeing really strong storms right now. live picture of the white house this morning. look at that. pretty amazing the level of darkness that's out there. come on, it's quarter to 8:00 in the morning. looks like the middle of the night. nation's capital, parts of maryland hammered with severe storms. rob has the forecast right after the break. [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm. is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. on your next business trip, pack your marriott rewards visa card. get triple points every time you use your card at marriott. apply now and earn 22,500 bonus points when you use your card and enjoy a free night stay. so, before you know it, work time becomes well-deserved downtime. apply now at marriott.com/freenightstay. you've got staying power. 48 minutes after the hour. you saw the pictures just a moment ago. you can barely see the white house because it's so dark in washington. mid-atlantic under the gun this hour. severe storms marching through the area. warnings are up. rob marciano is checking in on things this morning. they got good action in washington this morning. >> and yesterday with a record high temperature in the upper 90s, almost touching 100, some folks are saying, okay, it's cooling off. it's coming down torrentially right now. a couple more pictures of the shot either at the capitol or at the white house. very, very dark. it is -- yeah, flash flood warning. severe thunderstorm warning in and around the d.c. area. this line is intense. got some lightning as you're seeing there as well and some gusty winds, even a little bit of hail up to in some cases almost an inch in diameter. so some damage possible with this line of thunderstorms that now is rolling through the d.c., up through baltimore area. any time you see that pink right around silver springs, that may be a little bit of a hail core. you'll get some wind and heavy rain right through d.c. heading toward alexandria right now moving southeast at about 30 miles an hour. all the heat that built up yesterday certainly helping fuel this little cluster of thunderstorms that's rolling eastward across the beltway right now. this was tropical depression number 5 yesterday, has diminished as far as the tropical nature is concerned but you can see it has a little swirl and a lot of rain as well. flash flood warnings out for southeastern louisiana with this. torrential downpours as well. not quite the severe nature as are the storms in d.c. but still heavy, heavy rain across southeastern louisiana. mentioned the records in d.c. yesterday 97. 103 west plains. blacksburg virginia 91. a slew of high temperatures. spots in the midwest up and over 100 degrees yesterday and they didn't even break records. so the heat and humidity continues in this part of the country. extreme excessive heat warnings are out again today and stormy conditions expected across the northern tier later on and a little bit of cooling trend trying to make its way to the south and east slowly surely. right now d.c. is getting crushed with heavy rain and thunder and lightning. back to you. >> severe there. all right. hope for the best and hope it passes quickly. top stories, including breaking news we have been following now. a serial killer is in custody after a three-state slashing spree. we are going to speak with police in one of the cities where he was suspected of committing some of the crimes at the top of the hour. half past the hour, no one left behind. modern day marines go to the south pacific on a mission to finally bring their fallen brothers home. >> also at 40 minutes fast hour, tiger's last shot to grab good headlines. final major of the year getting under way after the most dreadful performance of his career last weekend. we will ask a pro golf hall of famer, is it the swing or is it all in his head? those stories and much more at the top of the hour. hey, smart, we could stay here foence. i'm a member of this hotel's loyalty program. well, how far away is it? okay, we take a train 40 miles to a dude ranch where we pick up a couple of horses that we ride to a nearby river. then we canoe upstream to a helicopter that takes us to the conference. or we could book with hotels.com and stay closer. see, with welcomerewards, no matter where you accumulate 10 nights, you get a free one. huh. smarter. 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[ whimper ] [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and its whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. 54 minutes past the hour. time for our "fit nation" report. if you are trying to get pregnant, relax, don't worry about it, don't stress yourself out too much. there is a study that says higher levels of stress can produce a woman's chances of getting pregnant. >> dr. sanjay gupta joins from us atlanta with details. sanjay, you know, doctors always say hey, you need to reduce the stress in your life. it is so difficult these days. is this really a big wakeup call for women trying to get pregnant? >> i think so. i think the numbers will be surprising to a lot of people. when you talk about stress and impact on all sorts of things, including fertility, it is always this vague concept. we know as the woman ages, fertility reduces, drink, smoke, that they -- if they are obese, those things all affect fertility. with regard to stress, it was something that was easily quantityfiable. that's what the study was about. 300 women, all of childbearing age. measured the stress levels. questionnaires, trying to figure out who had the highest levels of stress and who had lower levels of stress. what they found was women who had the highest levels reduced their chance of fertility by 12%. interesting the way they did this, they measured something in the saliva. they measured this particular substance. it seems to be corollary with how much stretch is in your body at any given time. a woman's chance of getting pregnant any given month around the age of 30 is 20%. a woman's chance of getting pregnant any given month at the age of 40 is around 5%. reduce that by another 12% and that's why this is significant. >> does it matter what kind of stress mothers are under and also what are some of the ways to try to relieve it that actually work? >> right. you know, when -- what's interest sing that simply trying to get pregnant for a woman can be stressful. they can have a lot of stress because of that process as well. interest didn't seem to matter overall, though, the type of stress. keep in mind the numbers that, you know, chance of getting pregnant, even as you are younger is still, you know, low. 20% at age 30. it is not high. keep in mind that unlikely any given month, i think that does reduce your levels of stress. take a look. some of the things that will be obvious in terms of what people can do, as much as you think about prenatal vitamins and preparation for pregnancy, think about your stress. meditation, yoga. taking a vacation. don't do what the jetblue guy did but sometimes you need a reboot on your life before you are thinking about getting pregnant. obviously no smoking and drinking. those things for sure would reduce your chances. >> again, the doctor, hey, reduce the stress in your life. >> and i tell you why and how. >> all right. dr. gupta, thanks so much. we really appreciate it. coming up on three minutes to the top of the hour. good thursday morning. thanks for joining us on the most news of the morning. it is the 12th of august. i'm john rob zblerts i'm kiran chetry. we have a lot to talk about. first, a serial killer captured. according to police. they say they have the man responsible for stabbings and hammer attacks in three different states. total of 20 victims, five murders. we are going to get a live update from police in a few minutes. a sure bet for citizenship. women visiting the united states to give birth here so that child can come back later on legally. an up-close look at the birth tourism movement. >> you are who you are. probably been that way since you were a kid. there is a fascinating study suggesting our personalities take shape at a very early age and that's just sort of how you are. we are going to talk to the study's lead author what the signals of your kids may mean for their future. of course, the a.m. fix blog is up and running. join the live conversation going on now. cnn.com/amfix. first, we are following breaking news this morning. we now are confirming that an accused serial killer, one who started his killing spree in may, is in custody this morning. >> police in atlanta arrested him yesterday. he's accused of 20 brutally attacks and five murders. authorities say that he appeared to be targeting african-americans and lured victims with the plea for help. >> joining us on the phone is officer chris jones, public information officer for the leesburg, virginia, police. that's where the last of the attacks took place. i understand you had three -- attack victims in your area. thanks for being with us this morning. >> you're welcome. thank you for having me on. >> we are hearing that this was a joint task force between michigan, gu itses and the fbi. can you tell us any details about how that arrest happened? >> caller: well, the information is, you know, very fluid and updating it regularly. last night the detective from the task force working with our leesburg police detectives, fbi, and all the tips and information from the ohio authority, a group effort combined with all the physical information as well led us. able to attract that individual to atlanta area and to the atlanta airport. and at that point the federal authorities were able to make an arrest and catch him at that time. again, this information is still fluid and trying to work on it. you know, he is being held on unrelated charges at this point. >> chris, what do we know about this fellow, where he came from, where he works? in particular, suspected ties that he has between both flint, michigan, and leesburg. >> we do know that there are some ties. again, we are developing that further. apparently he had moved here in this area in leesburg, virginia, for some time. and we are trying to pin down, you know, apparently what the relationship exactly is with flint, michigan. we know, obviously he has been up in that area saying someone -- i believe there is a connection in leesburg, virginia, as well. >> and -- officer jones, we are also get something information as you mentioned. it is very fluid at this point. but a federal law enforce many official is telling our susan candiotti, as you say, arrested at the international airport. he was in possession of an expired israeli passport. when they discovered he was at the airport they called the tsa, ground stop of all flights then happened. that's where they arrested him. you mentioned he was on -- being held on unrelated charges to this spree of attacks. is it -- how do you do with the passport or what more do you know about that situation? >> yeah. i really don't know. you know, real fluid. adds to what you said. >> officer jones, if you would, hang on the phone with us. we are going to bring in susan candiotti in. she has been learning new information. susan, what do you have to tell us this morning? >> reporter: good morning, john. well, pretty much what chris -- i -- what you have been reporting just now. this is additional information coming from a federal law enforce many source whose agency is deeply involved in this investigation as well. and that involves some of the details surrounding his arrest. again, no one is rushing to judgment as police said so far as to whether this was definitely the individual of the person who was arrested with the second in all of this was picked up and stopped at the airport in atlanta. like you said, he was carrying an expired israeli passport. and the michigan state police, fbi, discovering he was at the airport. they got the tsa to pull a ground stop of all the flights, search the airport, locating him. now as you heard, they are trying to pin down whether this is the individual that they believe he may be suspected serial killer. >> susan, you were telling us more about that situation right now about being held oun related charges. do we know what those other charges may be if they are not linked to this alleged spree of attacks? >> reporter: i would think -- although i don't know this for fact -- being he was picked up with this passport evidently didn't belong to him or expired, passport, may have something to do with that. i would suspect. >> let's go back to chris. officer jones is still with us. some cases racially motivated. >> we said all along, you know. >> panic and -- and so we based that on that. you look at the other attacks, majority were -- black african-americans. that was the basis at this point going beyond that, we haven't developed beyond that. that's something we will continue to work on. >> little bit more information from jeanne meserve. this guy was trying to get on a flight to an overseas destination when he was detained. >> and -- that leads us back to how all of this went down. as we understand it, you had video of the attack footage. right? of at least perhaps one of the attacks. a short video clip of the vehicle as well. and as i understand it, this was a vehicle that was seen leaving many of the crime scenes. is that what gave you guys a good tip to go on in the beginning? >> absolutely. that was critical information. along with that great -- the eyewitness accounts of the vehicle description that they worked with. we were able to obtain information with the michigan authorities, similar vehicles. yeah. that was critical information for us. >> officer jones, it would appear you got a name to go along with the suspect. the national targeting center looked at the passenger list for this particular flight to an overseas destination. saw this fellow's name on the manifest. do you have his name? can you share it with us? >> no, i don't have that information. but we plan to -- at 2:00 p.m., the leesburg police department, leesburg, virginia. we may be able to do that. at this point in time i don't have that information. >> right. we are going to be, of course, bringing our viewers live the press conference or news conferences that take place as we get more information. as you can tell, this is unfolding in front of us with our reporters getting as much information as they can. i want to ask you about the leesburg connection. officer jones, is there relief? i understand how scary it must have been for people in leesburg as well as in flint, michigan, and the areas in between. not knowing whether or not this suspected attacker would strike again. what's it like knowing -- you guys said that this person is very desperate and very dangerous. is there a lot of relief at this point knowing that perhaps they have their man and he's indeed detained? >> it is going to be a tremendous sense of relief when everything is confirmed. we know that this is the individual. it will be a tremendous sense of relief in the community, absolutely. >> one last question if you could. are you treating the suspect as a serial killer or as a spree killer? in other words, is this just something that's happened over the last couple of weeks or could there potentially be other killings linked to this fellow that goes back months, if not years? >> no. we are open-minded. we look at this, you know. literally as a brutally killer. and so we investigate thoroughly. and we will -- consider what his past is, critical information to look at. that's a good point. focus on the events, looking at his entire past and movements over the past years will be very important. >> officer chris jones with the leesburg police department. thanks so much for your time this morning. as we have said, we are just getting new details, moment by moment. again, the arrest of this suspected serial killer taking place at the atlanta hartsfield airport after apparently the suspect tried to use an israeli passport. expired israeli passport. >> our thanks to susan candiotti and jeanne meserve for the new information. a powerful blast of possible car bomb in bogota, colombia, near the headquarters of a colombian radio station. it is not clear if that was the target or if it might have been a nearby bank. debris scattered all over the cordoned off streets. windows of all of the buildings blown out. karl penhaul heard the blast and says it is just a few blocks away from the financial center of the country. no reports of any casualties so far. we will keep you updated. >> severe thunderstorms slamming the washington, d.c., metro area right now. rob marciano tracking the system from the weather center. i checked in with mom and dad who live right outside of d.c. my mom wrote, never seen so much rain, wind and lightning. roads are bad and lots of trees down. this is in maryland. you can see where it went over the rockville area. >> that's coming from an experienced weather reporter. that tells you something there. take a look. i'm not kidding. your mom has chimed in once before. rolling down the potomac, across the chesapeake now, line of thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms from d.c. across the beltway, up through baltimore. heavy, heavy rain. and frequent lightning and certainly some gusty winds and enough to take down small trees and maybe some power lines as well. that purple blob you see northeast of the district of columbia, hail as well. severe thunderstorm warning in effect for the next 20 minutes, until 8:30. and likely extended eastward if this line moves southeast at 30 miles an hour. it does not go much further north than philadelphia. philly to baltimore, that corridor is in for some rough weather over the next couple of hours. rough weather across the southeast and part of louisiana. hazy, hot, humid again. dangerous heat again across parts of the central part of the country with triple digit, high temperatures. 101 in kansas city. a bit after cooldown as we get towards the weekend. rough, rough start to your day across the delmarva and the beltway and baltimore and philadelphia as well. stay indoors the next -- at least 20 minutes, maybe even an hour. >> good advice. rob marciano, thanks. coming up on 12 minutes after the hour. is your personality fixed at a very early age, 1, 2? is that the way you are the rest of your life? we will be talking about that coming up. just stay off the freeways, all right? i don't want you going out on those yet. and leave your phone in your purse, i don't want you texting. >> daddy... ok! ok, here you go. be careful. >> thanks dad. >> and call me--but not while you're driving. we knew this day was coming. that's why we bought a subaru. [ male announcer ] how can rice production in india, affect wheat output in the u.s., the shipping industry in norway, and the rubber industry, in south america? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex global economy. it's just one reason 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information to read and consider carefully before investing. we are continuing to follow new details on the arrest in the serial slasher story, the case of this man, artist rentdering there, on a three-state spree that led to several attacks, five murders, 20 incidents in all. 20 victims in all and concerns by authorities he appeared to be targeting african-american victims. we are learning from jeanne meserve as well as susan candiotti, an arrest happened at the airport in atlanta as the suspect was attempting to board an international flight using an expired israeli passport. we will cop to follow this and check in with jeanme and susan. a general feeling we are going in the wrong direction this morning after another terrible day on wall street. >> the dow is going to try to bounce back this 90 minutes after it opens after a plunge wednesday. a sell-off that put wall street in the red for 2010. the numbers are sinking president obama's approval rating. ed henry live for us at the white house this morning. are they a little worried there today, ed? >> good morning. insist they have known for months it would be an uphill battle heading into the elections. the unemployment picture has been bad, consumer confidence shaky. when you look at the new poll numbers, you get a sense of how stark it is for the white house. president's approval rating at 47%, disapproval 48%. close to where the cnn polling has been in recent weeks and months. when you dig a little deeper, more worrisome for the white house is 6 in 10 americans saying that they are either somewhat or not confident that the president and his policies will improve economic situation, particularly worrisome 83% of independents are saying that, they are only what or not confident in the president's policies and that's why even yesterday as he was talking about trying to create jobs as he signed a manufacturing bill into law, the president was still on the defensive. >> we knew from the beginning that reversing the damage done by the worst financial crisis and the deepest recession in generations would take some time. more time than anyone would like. >> tempering expectations, obviously, because another bid this poll is saying that two-thirds of americans believe that we had just not hit bottom in this economic crisis yet. and obviously that runs counter to what the white house wanted to be talking about the summer calling it the recovery summer. treasury secretary geithner had an op-ed piece saying welcome to the recovery. this is not what they wanted to see. the american people basically saying that even if a recovery has started, they are just not feeling it yet. >> all right. long way to go, as we all know. see what happens today when the dow opens, when markets open in 90 minutes. thanks, ed. >> thanks. does your personality actually stick for life the way you are, let's say, in first grade? does that determine how you are going to be as an adult? there is a new study that suggests that is the case. what happen it is your child is impulsive or perhaps humble and don't speak up? what does it mean for their future? we will talk about it coming up. ♪ ♪ look in my eyes ♪ what do you see ♪ the color of personality 20 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news of the morning. who knew a school report card or what your teacher wrote in the comment section in grade school could be a crystal ball of sorts. hints of what your child's adult personality may become. some 2,000 elementary school students in hawaii had their personalities assessed by teachers in the 1960s. 50 years later they were studied again to find out exactly how they turned out. joining us now from riverside, california the study's lead author, christopher nave. we are fascinated by this study. let's start off briefly explaining what it was, as we said, in the '60s, and then you went and checked back in with them 50 years later. how did it work? >> sure. so -- initially in the '60s, one of the collaborators on the study came into the elementary schools in hawaii and he instructed teachers to rate students in their classroom on a bunch of personality traits. they rated their students who was the most talkative, all the way down to the least talkative. and then he retired to the oregon stew research and over lunch with colleagues and said wouldn't it be interesting to track the children layer in life and see how they are. what they did is wrote up a grant that got funded by the national institute on aging and it allowed us to try to track down these students, bring them back to hawaii, do a full all-aassess many about health and personality and a personality interview that was videotaped and came to us over here at u.c. riverside and what we did is looked at the behaviors that these children all grown up years later, what they -- how they behaved in the interview. and we made the match between how they behaved 40 years later to, you know, the personality ratings given by teachers 40 years prior. >> so the upshot is for the most part, not a whole heck of a lot changed. right? a lot of your personality is shaped at the young ages? >> yeah, absolutely. it is not so much our personality is set to life by first grade. what it is telling us is that there are indicators and clues we can pick up on as early as first grade that can predict behavior later in life. >> let's go through some of them. it is really fascinating. you talk about the attributes assigned to the children and rated from most to least. one is verbally fluent. if the child is able in first grade to be very fluent verbally. what happens in the adult -- in adult life, interesting intellectual matters being able to speak fluently, controlling, perhaps. intelligent. tell us about the verbally fluent kids and where they led in adulthood. >> yes. so absolutely. if you spoke a lot as a child, and the teachers picked up on that, later in life, and this -- behavior interview, you tended to display interest intellectual and cognitive matters and verbally affluent. you controlled the situation a bit. you were demonstrating talkativeness really. >> what about the children who were less talkative? perhaps they were considered well behaved in class, what did that mean down the road? >> yeah, absolutely. you know, well behaved in class but didn't seem to be as interested in intellectual cognitive matters later in life. they didn't have that ambitious commanding the situation that those high and verbal fluency had. >> here's something as parent you certainly want your children to be because you think it is just better for them to be able to be adaptable. if a child appeared to be easily adaptable, very comfortable in many situations, comfortable in transitions, what did that bode for adulthood? >> yes. so if teachers saw you as daptable later in life, behavior interview, tended to be cheerful and display social skills and very socially adept. you seemed to be enjoying the situation. personality interview being conducted. >> and for those who had low adaptability as kids, what happened in adulthood? >> it flipped the other way. they seemed to be much more tentative and they didn't have the enthusiasm. they didn't seem to speak as flunly as those that were highly adaptable in the interview later on. >> here is an interesting one. impulsive. sometimes we view this as a negative in the kids. at least behavior issues. your child's impulsive and act out or appear to act out. cause for some parents and teachers. what did you find in the students labeled impulsive? >> they spoke in a loud voice, wanted to talk about lots of different things. they seem to be showing, you know, positive behavior within the personality idea. >> self minimizers, people that might be described as humble as children. >> yes. those that were seen as humble, actually displayed negative behaviors later on, they said negative things about themselves, self pity victimization on themselves. so, you know, some negative behaviors. >> what is the take-away for parents and for educators about -- everybody wants their children to be happy, well adjusted and knowledgeable, be able to speak well. how do you sort of nurture that? is there anything you can do? is your personality your personality? >> i mean, the personality certainly is able to be changed. i think one of the bottom lines is it is bit harder than what we once thought. we have this kind of range of personality that maybe biologically was given to us. if we work really hard at it, we can change to it an extent. but also, it is the kind of appreciated -- personality we have. how people see us and find a good fit for activities and behaviors later in life that match up with our personality. >> certainly fascinating research. i want to thank you for your time. getting up early for us. christopher nave, thanks. the last major of the golf season kicks off today. tiger woods coming off of the worst round of his professional career last week. trying to no only do something at the pga but also make it on to the ryder cup team. but does he have it going on where it really counts? is it in his swing or in his head? amy all ccott tell us what it i like to be out on the links under a tremendous amount of pressure. we are following the developing story this morning, arrest of a suspect in connection with that spree killing that stretched from flint, mish, to leesburg, virginia. suspect arrested at the atlanta airport as he attempted to get on an international flight. the very latest coming up. my job is to hunt it down. i'm fred lemond, and i'm in charge of bp's efforts to remove oil from these waters. you may have heard that oil is no longer flowing into the gulf, but our spotter planes and helicopters will keep searching. we've still got thousands of vessels ready to clean up any oil we find. we've skimmed over 35 million gallons of oil/water mixture. i grew up on the gulf coast and i love these waters. we'll be here as long as it takes to clean up the gulf. coming up to the half hour now. top stories this morning. major development overnight. we can now confirm an accused serial killer, one that started his kill and slashing spree back in may, is in custody this morning. the suspect is accused of 20 brutally attacks and five murders. possibly racially motivated crimes. just a few moments, our homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve will have new details about his arrest at the airport in atlanta. a powerful blast, possible car bomb in bogota, colombia, near a radio station. it is no clear whether the station was the actual target. there was debris scattered all over the cordoned off streets and twisted metal, burn-out engine visible. windows of nearby buildings blown out. no rots of any deaths. karl penhaul reporting that a few people were injured. we are going to keep you updated on the latest. that stormy weather will delay work on bp's relief well in the gulf of mexico by about four days. even though a tropical depression didn't strengthen as expected into a tropical storm. it will bring strong winds and several inches of rain into the area overnight tonight. that means in 96-hour delay before that relief well is finished and bp's ruptured well is permanently sealed. 50 agonizing feet away now. >> more than six decades ago, hundreds of u.s. marines were slaughtered in the battle. never had a change. >> to this day their remains are still there in unmarked graves. world war ii heroes never brought home. we take you now where present day marines have did a. >> this seems to be an intact undisturbed zone. >> reporter: gregory fox analyzes dirt as military servicemen dig searching for the remains of u.s. marines who died in the world war ii battle. more than 65 years ago. six sites to be excavated, historic researchers believe more than 100 marines could be found during this mission. >> if we run into a row of missing individuals that were buried, that's fantastic. we have additional anthropologists on stand by in hawaii. >> reporter: this is the u.s. military unit that specializes in finding the remains of missing americans around the world killed in battle. the team is made up of members from every branch of the military but on this mission, it is almost all marines. >> it is important we bring a large marine corps contingency here. >> reporter: it was one of the bloodiest battles in marine corps history. more than a thousand men were killed in roughly 72 hours of fighting with the japanese. many of them gunned down in the water before they could make it to shore. when you come here, you really understand why there were so many casualties. it was low tide when the marines came onshore like it is now. meaning they had to walk on to the beach. waiting for them were huge japanese guns. and these bunkers which were so fortified it gave the japanese an opportunity to just sit inside and fire at point blank range at the marines who were coming on to the beach. >> they were waiting ashore for the most part. i can't imagine. >> reporter: evans grandfather was one of the marines killed here. he was awarded the congressional medal of honor for heroic which is included leading a charge on this massive sand covered bunker. it is now called bonnieman's bunker. >> this is where the japanese were. >> reporter: more than 100 japanese soldiers were crammed inside what's now a storage facility. outside the sand is gone revealing the cement fortress. we climbed with clay to the top where his grandfather was killed. >> most of my life i knew vaguely of the story. i didn't know much detail. i feel like i know a lot more now. >> reporter: as the photographs show, those killed in the campaign were originally buried in graves all around. because there were so many bodies, including about 4,000 japanese, tarawa was bulldozed by the neve. years later u.s. government came back to get the bodies but couldn't find them all. it is estimated the total number of marines still buried here could be as high as 500. >> exchange of u.s. remains on 11 august 2010. >> reporter: on wednesday, local officials turned over remains to the u.s. military. over the years, sets of remains like this have been found. something we experienced firsthand while at the bunker which is located next to a local police station. here. >> here at the police station they told us they have remains. they are now opening them up to show us. >> reporter: police day the bones were dropped off about a month ago. >> we keep tonight storage. >> reporter: the military is planning to spend more than a month here collecting bones that have been found and digging for the rest of the marines left behind. >> a promise to the united states governor that they will do everything in their power to bring their fallen warriors home. and that's the way we roll. >> reporter: and the group has finished the first of six dig sites. they will be at the second site at first flight. they did in find any marines at the first site. they are hoping to find some as they progress through this monthlong mission. we should also say the bones we were shown at the police station, we were informed about those bones and they will investigate. >> ted rowlands for us this morning. thanks so much. we are getting more information about the suspected killer in that series of spree killings between flint, michigan, and leesburg, virginia. chalk another one of to customs and border. they got their man just as he was boarding a flight for tel aviv. the pga championship tees off today. can tiger woods break out of the worst slump of his career? pga hall of famer amy allcott. no stranger to pressure on the links. concierge claim centers. so i can just drop off my car and you'll take care of everything? yep, even the rental. what if i'm stuck at the office? if you can't come to us, we'll come to you in one of our immediate response vehicles! what if mother won't let me drive? then you probably wouldn't have had an accident in the first place. and we're walkin'! and we're walkin'... making it all a bit easier -- now that's progressive! call or click today. so i take one a day men's 50+ advantage. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus it supports heart health. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's. i really didn't see it coming. i didn't realize i was drifting into the other lane. [ kim ] i was literally falling asleep at the wheel. it got my attention, telling me that i wasn't paying attention. the car hit the brakes faster than i could. i had no idea the guy in front of me had stopped short. but my car did. my car did. thankfully, my mercedes did. [ male announcer ] a world you can't predict... demands a car you can trust. the e-class. the best or nothing. that is what drives us. life in general the last nine months has been very difficult. but just like my dad always says, just keep living. >> a humble tiger woods ready to tee off at the season's final major. the pga championship. world number one ranking on the line again this weekend. woods is coming off the worst performance of his professional career. he actually said this week he was surprised that it didn't happen sooner. here to help us break down tiger's breakdown, amy allcot. the winner of five major championships herself. also the author of "the leaderboard conversations on golf and life." she is in los angeles this morning. amy, it is great to see you. you know, a question that a lot of people are asking with all of tiger's troubles this year is he ever going to win another tournament or is he -- you know, stick a fork in him and he's done? >> well, you don't have that kind of greatness in a career and have it all be over with. i ultimately think if this whole fiasco and what's going on with his life will be a blip on the radar looking back on it in a while, i think he's just going through a period where he is having to, you know, reinvent himself. being at the top, everybody wants to, you know, knock you over and, you know, this is a tough period in his life. and as we all know in golf, you know, it ebbs and flows. it is all about riding through these tough slumps and coming out on the other side of it. >> if he is going to reinvent himself he may be considered coming back as a golfer because of last week he didn't look so much like one. and on tuesday, at the -- pre-pga championship press conference tiger admitted yeah, all of my personal problems are beginning to weigh on my game. let's listen to what he said. >> to be honest with you, i thought i would have been here a little bit sooner. with all of what's going on. but somehow i have been able to play a little better than think thought for a stretch and it caught up with me last week. >> amy, golf has been said to be a game of inches, the six inches between your ears, through the center of your head there. it is so easy because the -- mental aspect of it is such a huge part of the game that, you know, you lose focus and the wheels come off. your swing doesn't work like it has before. somebody who has been out there on -- under the pressure of the major tours, having won major championships yourself, what's going on in tiger's head right now and how's that connected to his arms and legs? >> well, you know, he has this tremendous expectation on him whenever he shows up, whenever he tees off to play. and, you know, his slump in his life and his career right now has opened up the flood gates for, you know, all of these other guys to step up and step up their games. and, you know, he's probably wondering, you know, grasping at things trying to figure out, you know, where i can find my game, where can i find this consistently. that's what greatness is really all about. it is not about, you know, winning every tournament. that shows you how phenomenal he has been to be in contention the way he has been in the past. it is -- he's grasping for consistency which is the key to golf. of being in contention every week is really what it is all about and that's -- he's even grasping to make cuts and play well and try to make the ryder cup team. he is grasping at strauss. you know, the conversation about trying to find a new teacher and get it together. >> when you look at his performance last week at the bridge stone, he was 18 over par, 30 shots off the lead. he tied for 78 in a field of 80. you talk about leaking oil all over the golf course, this guy was setting a new definition of it. what does he need to do to get his game back on track? one of the things he said working with his new coach this week was that his head was moving around all over the place. but it has to be more than just one thing. >> well, you know, golf is such a fickle sport. it is like -- you could be out practicing and find something you are doing with your hands and with your -- your head is moving. that your -- you are not moving through the ball properly. and it could be one little thing that you find that you can to -- it is all about, you know, a mind-body game. you can think boy, this feels good. and really trust that one thing that you find and it can determine your whole game around. and in a split second. get hands ahead, take it back slower. when i say he's grasping at strauss, that's what he needs to do is find, go back to his core values and really find, you know, as she had, he's trying to go back and find -- reconnect with his dad and what his dad told him. and i think -- for tiger, it is a mind-bod i consider type of thing. he has to reconnect with what makes him -- what makes him tick. rate now it is -- you know, he has to shoot some good rounds and that's what will bring it back. >> one final quick question. there's question as to whether or not he deserve as spot on the ryder cup. the team leader said i haven't guaranteed him anything. tiger said i don't even know if i deserve to be on the team. do you think he deserves to be on the team? >> it is really hard to say, you know. i think corey will go for and it give everybody a fair shot. it is really hard not to go with tiger woods. the guy has been the dom in an player of the modern era. he's just -- he knows how to get it done. but you know, you have to be fair. there are other guys out there now that are playing well. and the europeans are going to put up, you know, it is not -- not just the u.s. team walks into it anymore and wins every year. these guy reesely know h-- guys know how to hit golf shots. tiger would be a great choice. there's other people that are playing better than he is. it is hard to really say that. >> we will see how he does. maybe a good performance -- >> i think -- i think -- i think he should pick him because i think that he knows how to get it done and he's a great partner for steve stricker. >> perhaps a good performance at the pga championship this week will put him back in contention. great to see you this morning. thanks for getting up early. look forward to teeing it up with you real soon. >> i hope so, john. you are the best. thanks. >> thanks. 46 minutes past the hour. d.c.'s getting slammed with severe weather. the d.c. area as well. another system now clobbering new orleans. rob marciano checks in. welcome to the world of lovaza, where nature meets science. if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes, you may also have very high triglycerides -- too much fat in the blood. it's a serious medical condition. lovaza, along with diet, effectively lowers very high triglycerides in adults but has not been shown to prevent heart attacks or strokes. lovaza starts with omega-3 fish oil that's then purified and concentrated. it's the only omega-3 medication that's fda-approved. you can't get it at a health food store. lovaza isn't right for everyone. tell your doctor if you're allergic to fish, have other medical conditions and about any medications you're taking, especially those that may increase risk of bleeding. blood tests are needed before and during treatment. in some, ldl or bad cholesterol may increase. possible side effects include burping, infection, flu-like symptoms, upset stomach, and change in sense of taste. ask your doctor about lovaza, the prescription that starts in the sea. welcome back to the most news of the morning. i'm rob marciano. i have been showing you this line of thunderstorms which has been severe p. rumbling through the nation's capital with heavier rains and frequent lightning and some gusting winds. small hail being reported with this. now this just in. cnn's severe weather center. south central queen anne's county, northeast maryland. that's between easton ask cambridge there. we have a tornado warning, radar indicated tornado. it is not reported on the ground yet but nonetheless heading across the chesapeake and into pop lated areas over here. if you live in st. anne's county, take cover until the storm passes. this entire cluster including this cell is rolling southeast at 30 miles an hour. again, there could be a tornado embedded within that. it most likely is rain wrapped. you won't able to see it. stay inside and center part of your home and take cover. you live in northeastern parts of maryland. here is the entire cluster of thunderstorms. less intense but nonetheless rough morning to start your day in philadelphia. and up to new york, we are looking at less in the way of showers and thunderstorms. delmarva, chesapeake bay area, mid atlantic getting clobbered. because of that, d.c. and philly will likely see upwards over an hour of airport delays. atlanta, charlotte, tampa, afternoon thunderstorms there. 30 to 60-minimum delays. san francisco and l.a., they have cool clouds in the morning. keeping them their numbers down as well. 97 was the high temperature in washington, d.c. helped fuel the fire for the thunderstorms. not very impressive. less impressive here. but it is bringing a lot of heavy rain to southeast louisiana. we have had flash flood warnings all morning long because of this. this shut down the drilling operations at least for the time being. big waves out there. not a lot of wind. certainly big waves. big heat across the nation's heartland. century mark or better. here are the numbers yesterday. we will see more of this today. 103 yesterday. tulsa, oklahoma. try to stay cool. that's a quick weather and "american morning" is coming right back. i can find the combination that gets me there and back quickest. where you book matters. expedia. i-want to go back to the breaking news story. six minutes to the top of the hour. arrest of an accused serial slasher wanted for 20 attacks in three states. five of them in michigan. ended up being murders. >> police tell us he was nabbed at the airport in atlanta while trying to board an international flight. jeanne meserve is standing by for us in washington. where was this fellow heading? how did they get a line on him? >> reporter: he was headed to tel aviv. customs and border protection put out a release now saying that they were working with the fbi in atlanta police department to apprehend this individual. who was identified after his name was on a passenger manifest that went through the national targeting center. that's the -- that's the virginia operations that has the list of all passengers flying on international flights. so that's how this guy was picked up. he was attempting to board a delta flight, delta flight 152 bound for tel aviv. you will remember this is exactly the same way shahzad was picked up a couple of months ago. he had boarded that emirates flight on his way to dubai and national targeting center went over that passenger manifest and they discovered shahzad's name on the no-fly list and discovered he just boarded and that's how he was apprehended. >> no identity has been released at least publicly at this point. we spoke to leesburg police earlier in the show and talked about he -- importance of the description of the vehicle. obviously somebody knew who this person was. >> reporter: the suspect had been recently identified and so, yes, somehow along the way, they have come up with a name. we don't have it yet. >> interesting that typically you may release the name in a case like this but kept this under wraps. perhaps they had some idea of where he was going. do they know much more about him? why he chose tel aviv? he was traveling on an expired israeli pass important. was he an israeli citizen? >> reporter: that detail we don't have at this point in time. we are still working on getting it. a tremendous relief for those communities to know perhaps that -- they finally have this person in custody. >> yeah. it would be a relief. >> we are going to take a quick break. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more paying to access your own money. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it'd be like every atm in the world was your atm. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the schwab bank high yield investor checking(tm) account. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 zero atm fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 a great interest rate. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no minimums. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and it's fdic-insured. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the schwab bank high yield investor checking(tm) account. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the biggest thing in checking since checks. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 open an account at 1-800-4schwab or schwab.com. just in, coming off a down day on wall street, more news we did not need to hear about the economy. number of new jobless claims now hitting a five-month high last week. the number now 484,000. that's the highest number of new-time filers since last february actually. some economists that talked to the cnn money team actually expected new claims to fall this past week. instead they saw some rise. nationally by the way, unemployment rate stands at 9.5%. >> the market coming up in a half hour time. other broyngs story, suggestion expected serial stabber wanted for five murders in michigan, total of 20 attacks in three states. he is in police custody. customs officials tell us they got him trying to board a flight for tel aviv in atlanta hartsfield airport.

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