Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20090909

>> we talked about the san francisco, the bay bridge that was shut down. it's back up and running. they got it going. >> a lot of commuters happy about that. >> and by the way, the president's speech to a joint session of congress tonight. you can see it live on cnn or on cnn.com. 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> that's going to wrap it up for us. continue the conversation, go to our blog at cnn.com/am fix. >> the news continues, newsroom with fredricka whitfield. a defining moment for president obama on the health care reform debate. we preview tonight's speech to congress. commandos rescue a journalist but the operation comes with the death of a colleague. authorities say a bone fragment linked to a kidnapping suspect is probably human. good morning. you're in the cnn newsroom where the news unfolds live. this wednesday, september 9th. you're in the "newsroom." we're covering lots of news and our crews are all over it. suzanne malveaux is at the white house where the president might be making last minute preparations for what could be make or break on health care reform. brianna keilar is on capitol hill where there is a great divide over the very same issue. and our kate baldwin is at the supreme court where the justices will be tackling what could be critical changes to campaign finances. it may be the most highly anticipated speech of barack obama's young presidency. his top domestic issue may very well be riding on it. tonight in a prime time speech president obama will try to sell health care reform to congress and to the nation. support has been eroding among both audiences. let's get the latest from suzanne malveaux. will the president be on the defensive tonight? >> the headline here, fred, is that they haven't given up on the public option so i guess in a way that's on the defensive because there are a lot of lawmakers who frankly don't support that. the idea of this government run kind of health care insurance and alternative to private insurance. they do not believe that this is going to be something that they are going to give up at this time though they know that they don't have enough lawmakers to get it passed. what they are going to do is try to make it more palatable, try to explain it to the american people so that most folks get it. essentially they are going to say it applies to a small group of people but very critical when it comes to reform. small business owners who might be rejected by, say, the dominant insurance company in their town or their state. and needs some sort of other alternative to get insurance for themselves and their families. but he's going to say it's not going to impact the 180 million of folks who have insurance through their private employers. it's not going to affect people who have medicaid or through the v.a. get their insurance that way. a small but critical group of people it is going to have impact on. that is what we're going to hear. i had a chance to speak with robert gibbs this morning about this push for the public option. here's how he explained it. >> the president's going to talk about the public option and the value of bringing through a public option choice and competition to the private insurance market. i think that's going to be a big part of what the president talks about. it's not going to be all of what the president talks about because it's not the totality of health care reform. >> so fred, there are going to be other idea nas the president is going to talk about. one of the things he's going to offer republicans is medical malpractice reform, this is something that a lot of doctors have been complaining about, the fact that the insurance, liability insurance is so expensive that they practice what's called defensive medicine, prescriptions, procedures, tests that aren't really necessary but trying to protect themselves from lawsuits. they want to reform that. the president is going to talk about his support for that. very important, fred, got a letter here, the american medical association endorsing president obama's plan here, that is big news. he went before them in chicago, i was there when he tried to push for it. they are now on board. and that is something that they were looking for was the medical malpractice reform effort by this president. so those are two main things that we're going to hear this evening. >> that's a big victory for the administration. initially the ama not necessarily on board with everything. incredible about face. suzanne malveaux, thanks so much. we'll have live coverage of president obama's speech to congress. it gets started at 8:00 eastern this evening. see it right here. going overseas, a "new york times" reporter kidnapped by armed gunmen saturday is rescued by commandos. a nato force rescued steven farrell early today in afghanistan. tell us more about this operation. >> reporter: most of the information that we're receiving is coming from "the new york times." steven farrell, the paper he works for, the abduction occurred saturday where this nato airstrike had occurred. he and another afghan journalist were there to investigate receiving two warnings from a local elder to get out of there. that the taliban were coming. they did not leave. in the end the taliban did come, abducted them. while they were in a room early this morning with the taliban, steve farrell says he heard helicopters approaching and then the taliban stormed out of the room. he and his journalist did not know what to do so decided to run out of the building as well. that's when they were met with gun fire, both men falling to the ground and that's when farrell heard british voices, so he started screaming british hostage, british hostage. they told him to come over. he looked at his colleague and his colleague was laying dead on the ground. >> and can you tell us more about this journalist who was killed? his colleague. >> reporter: his colleague was actually a journalist working for "the new york times" here in kabul for some years now. he is a very well respected journalist among the community here, and one thing that's interesting is that he has had every opportunity to leave, to go to europe, to go to america, but he decided to stay in afghanistan and just a few days before he died he wrote this in a blog on "the new york times" website. i am hopeful of a better situation, and if i leave this country if other people like me leave this country, who will come to afghanistan? will it be the taliban who come to govern this country? so a man very interested in improving afghanistan. let's also remember although steven farrell was rescued among the dead was his colleague, a bridish commando and two afghan civilians, a mother and her child. >> thanks so much from kabul. the violence is escalating in afghanistan with 13 now u.s. troop deaths this month. our josh levs is working on a report that looks at the cost to the u.s. beyond the casualties. josh will join us later this hour. and the u.s. supreme court meeting next hour for rare september hearing to consider a case that could change how political campaigns are financed. here's what we know. the justices are rehearing arguments whether to ease restrictions how corporations and labor unions spend money to influence elections. the case began as a dispute over whether an anti-hillary clinton movie should be regulated as a campaign ad. today's high court argument will be the first heard by justice sonia sotomayor, though she is not expected to play a key role in this case. kate baldwin is about to go in the courtroom for this morning's arguments. she joins us now. what can we expect? >> reporter: you noted one thing we're going to keep an eye on as we head into the courtroom, the first case before justice sonia sotomayor will be hearing from her for the first time potentially and see how she handles or what role she tries to take on in this first case. it really is an 80-minute argument total. it's kind of a question and answer format hearing from lawyers on both sides of this case. also hearing from the justices. we'll be keeping an eye especially on chief justice ron roberts and justice samuel elito. trying to get a sense of how far they believe that the court and the federal government should go to protect free speech and in essence overturn past precedent. you summed it up but the main question that is facing the justices is how far should the government go in regulating speech in an election year. it's a big question. >> and when would a final ruling come? >> reporter: we expect a decision in the next couple of months, that is significant because whatever comes out, whatever decision we do hear, that could affect next year's midterm elections and elections beyond that so it could be very significant. >> kate baldwin there in the shadow of the u.s. supreme court. thanks so much. rains and high water in northwestern turkey and a huge way. dramatic pictures, a desperate situation. waiting to be rescued as the flood waters rise. some flooding back at home also. we're looking at hurricane fred exploding overnight. the forecast track is coming up when the cnn newsroom returns. [dejectedly] oh. [screeching] [barks] (man) if you think about it, this is what makes the ladders different from other job-search sites. [screeching] we only work with the big talent. [all coughing] welcome to the ladders-- a premium job site for only $100k-plus jobs and only $100k-plus talent. let's check in with rob marciano. i hear there is a familiar name in this stratosphere of hurricanes. >> certainly familiar to you, fredricka. >> a gorgeous name. you know, because we're lazy we often shorten it to fred. take no offense but you are one big old storm. 105-mile-an-hour winds. this exploded over 24 hours. this time yesterday it was 50-mile-an-hour winds. so cat 2, bordering cat 3. this is moving west-northwest at 12 or 13 miles an hour, getting into cooler waters. it will slip into a zone and that may protect us. the national weather hurricane center forecasted this thing, brings to the category 3 later today, then weakens it over cooler waters. it jogs it to the north. that would be good with. it may get locked in to becoming a storm. until fred is long gone, we will not be relaxing too much. let's talk about what's going on across the northeast. a slow-moving area of low pressure. a crawl up the northeast over the next day or two, and consistent east winds will make it damp and cool at times. so rainfall for the folks who live in new york city and the u.s. open will see certainly be suspect for maybe getting rained out in the next day or two. 72 for a high in new york, 85 in atlanta, so seasonable, a little cooler across parts of minneapolis and chicago. i want to show you this video. dramatic stuff from turkey where persistent rains have led to this kind of a scene. goodness, they are in a world of hurt there with fatalities and all that stuff. you have details as to what's happening. these pictures certainly tell a great part of the story. folks' lives turned upside-down. the forecast is not for dry weather over the next at least few hours, maybe tomorrow drier weather. >> those are flood waters like we've not seen. and it's torrential. you can see the current ripping through the streets. >> life threatening, obviously. >> thanks so much, rob. we'll check back with you. so those pictures from turkey very, very dramatic. and this is what we know. 28 people thus far dead. homes and businesses are flooded, cars swept into the sea as you saw from those images and the currents. ivan? >> reporter: i'm in a place that got hit by a flash flood, a deadly flash flood this morning. you see behind me there is an irrigation canal but it was overwhelmed by the wall of water that began before dawn this morning. it flooded through here, hitting what was a parking -- an open air parking garage for trucks. 18-wheelers that travel between turkey and bulgaria and greece. you can see these trucks smashed against each other. and this was particularly deadly because the drivers normally sleep inside the cabs of the trucks at night. and water came before dawn. so, we spoke with one truck driver reduced to tears describing how he tried and failed to save one foreign truck driver from the rushing waters this morning. let's take a listen to what he had to say. >> there was one foreigner, we weren't able to save him. he disappeared. maybe he was from bulgaria. we couldn't save him. we reached out our hands but the water started to rise. we were afraid because the water was going to drag us, too. >> reporter: fredricka, this is just a snapshot of what's going on across northwest turkey. hundreds of homes and businesses flooded. hundreds of cars swept into the nearby sea. this site where you see so much destruction and where people have been going to with sniffer dogs looking for bodies, at least six bodies have been pulled from this zone and this is just a piece of what's going on in northwest turkey now with more rain predicted in the week to come. >> oh, no. ari, thanks so much. and again, at least 28 dead. a surgeon soldier putting his life on hold, deciding to sacrifice so he can stay longer in the war zone. one of the compelling stories from the battle lines of afghanistan. time now to look at the top stories. sheriff's department says a piece of bone was found near the home of accused kidnapper rapist phillip garrido is likely human. it will go to a dna lab for testing. the fragment was found on a neighbor's property. garrido had access to the area. he's facing charges for allegedly keeping jaycee dugard captive for 18 years. a public hearing happening today on a plan to name a temporary successor for senator ted kennedy. a bill is under consideration that would allow the governor to pick a new senator to serve until the january 19th special election. critics say it's just a ploy by democrats to get enough votes to pass president obama's health care plan. ted kennedy passed away two weeks ago. afghan president hamid karzai has a lead in the election. with most areas reporting he has well over 50% of the vote, if the count holds he'd avoid a run-off with his top challenger. some of the results may not stand. yesterday the afghan electoral complaints commission ordered a partial recount. cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is in afghanistan this week bringing us stories of the challenges being overcome by doctors there. he's at a military trauma hospital in kandahar province. there he met a one of a kind surgeon who is dedicated to helping u.s. troops and afghan civilians alike. >> one, two, three. >> that's a mess. okay. >> reporter: u.s. army major augustus brown is the only vascular surge for the country. >> probably an antipersonnel mine he stepped on. basically it amputated his legs. his feet were gone. we completed the amputations. >> reporter: brown is 43, he's a long way from home. the same hometown as mine. which makes this all the more personal. >> this place has been attacked. >> the deal was when they need you for whatever they need you, go. that's it. >> reporter: the go call came january 29th. there's been no rest for this battlefield surgeon. >> we're in one of the trauma bays at the hospital, an unusually quiet moment. but i wanted to give you an idea of the numbers which give you a reflection of what's happening in kandahar. they used to see about 80 patients a mlt. by april it's 100. and take a look at august, roughly 230 patients a month. and by fall the numbers will increase more. u.s. troops, coalition forces, locals, doctor brown treats them all. >> they asked me to help. this is what happen when's they have a hospital as busy as this one. one of your children was born while you were deployed? how do you deal with that? >> it is a sacrifice to my family, but it's a privilege. even when i'm back in atlanta and they ask, what do i enjoy most about surgery. this is the most fun i have is in -- when i'm at war. >> you had to say good-bye to your wife and your many kids, you have lots of kids like i do. tell me about that conversation. >> it was hardest for my son. and the oldest, 6 years old. that's always hard. there's no silver lining in that. he gave me a good luck charm, it's a little stuffed dog. it's in my uniform in the back. i always go with it. the promise was as long as i keep it on me i'll be safe. >> in talking to major brown i realize there is a fear of death but he never lets it steal his thoughts. he finds, though, there are some images he can't shut, some that haunt him. like this burned child. for only pain relief a package of candy. >> you don't ever see yourself after all of those years of education, sitting in the middle of a desert trying to scrape dead tissue off a child. that was probably the worst day. and they all lived. all of them. and they all got better. but i think maybe 20 years down the road when everything settles down if i could come back and see one of them alive, grown up and you feel like it was worth it. >> one thing worth pointing out about dr. brown is he is a reservist. most stay in theater about three months and then are asked if they wish to stay longer. he was asked that question, and he's chosen to stay a year. i want to show you something that boosted the morale here. look at this. that's malik, he is doing well. he's starting to move the left side of his body. there was a lot of concern he might not survive and if he did, he would be paralyzed on the left side. he is improving significantly. and we continue to have updates all week long. back to you. >> thanks, sanjay. you can see more of sanjay's behind the scenes reports from afghanistan all week on "ac 360" that comes nightly 10:00 p.m. eastern. inside the lair of the billionaire. it could be yours. we're talking bernie madoff's new york penlt house. new pictures of the posh properties. see it before you can buy it. [ moos ] [ man announcing ] if you think about it, this is what makes theladders different from other job search sites. we only want the big jobs. welcome to theladders. a premium job site for only $100k+ jobs and only $100k+ talent. if you get sick, or change jobs. eight ways reform matters to you. a cap on deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. no annual or lifetime limits on coverage. preventive care. covered. pre-existing conditions. covered. no higher rates due to genlér. extended coverage for young adults. no more coverage denied if you get sick. and guaranteed renewal, even if you do. learn more today. radar to help watch for the unforeseeable. infrared to help protect. satellites to help guide. electricity to adjust how powerfully or efficiently you drive. someday we'll all drive like this. the first-ever hs hybrid. only from lexus. yesterday's gains weren't huge but enough to push the nasdaq to an 11-month high. for a preview let's go to susan lisovicz at the stock exchange. >> good morning. we've had three nice days of gains, we're not expecting too much this morning. the bulls perhaps taking a rest. the only economic report we get is the fed's beige book which is literally a beige book. comes out this afternoon. you hear that music. >> dramatic. >> i think perhaps it's a remote opening bell from monterey, mexico. i guess it's quite dramatic. in the meantime not quite so dramatic is the beige book providing a look at regional business conditions. we do expect some drama on the west coast today. apple holding one of its special events later today. apple true to form is mum but the buzz this time the company is likely to replace most if not all of its existing ipods with new models loaded with more memory and added function, such as a camera. fred, just in time for back to school. and there's lots of talk about whether steve jobs will be at the event. the co-founder returned to work after a six-month medical leave. there is speculation whether the beatles will join the itune store. not much celebration in the retail, neiman-marcus lost nearly $170 million last quarter sales declined by more than expected. a lot of heavy discounting. also cash strapped shoppers may not have much money for pricey clothes but they are spending money at mcdonald's. the fast food giant posting a more than 2% increase in august sales. americans and europeans alike bought mcdonald's new espresso coffee drinks. what we see percolating on wall street, a few green arrows, modest but they are -- we are seeing stocks higher. >> okay. everybody loving that mcdonald's. thank you. so first it was the long island beach house, now we have new pictures this morning showing the inside of bernie madoff's lavish new york penthouse. it's another of his high profile assets that federal marble shalls plan to sell off. christine romans joins us live. this is where madoff spent his last few days as a free man, holed up as a free man in his penthouse. >> right. and many years as someone -- the architect of a ponzi scheme that took down many people and their fortunes. let's start in the penthouse. everyone calls it the park avenue penthouse. it's actually closer to lexington avenue on east 64th street t top two floor, 11th and 12th floors. this is what the u.s. marshal said when he was acting as the real estate agent, laying out this property for us. >> we're here on the 11th floor of the penthouse, this is the lower level. this is bernard madoff's study. we're surrounded by cherry wood from the walls to the molding. bernard madoff's desk where he did most of his work, where he spent the last few days of his free life. >> i love the u.s. marshal service sort of walking us through as the real estate agent, don't you. location here not necessarily opulent. that gentleman there said that he hope that 8 to $10 million is what this place would fetch. it's listed as a three bedroom but in case you're interested, it really is only one bedroom because two of those they turned into his and hers studies. there are chandeliers, there's nice floors, a beautiful kitchen, four fireplaces, a staircase between the 11th and 12th floors. all of the belongings will be auctioned. there is a lot of art and furniture. we don't know when that will be auctioned but they are listing this. we showed you the montauk place. we're told there were 23 showings and maybe 70 brokers who came through to see it. so they are drumming up support for the victims. >> very lovely, maybe a little less opulent than the beach house but valued nonetheless. location, location, location. >> and location in the palm beach example, it showed us that palm beach mansion, $780,000 but the property -- >> other properties for sale. >> the half acre it's worth maybe $7 million. it's got 80-foot dock, right out there at the intercoastal waterway. with this place there are -- there was a boat there, the bull, a 55-foot yacht. there is another bull that was a shelter island run about, that's the bull. right. that apparently -- i'm told there is actually an elevator in there. a platform with an elevator to get up to the flying bridge. but this one is held in ft. lauderdale with other boats so all of these things are going to be auctioned off eventually. you know, i'm sure that the victims when they see these pictures just burns them because it was their money, of course, that was used for him to live this lifestyle. a lot of people remarked that he had these prime properties in montauk, in long beach and the south of france. it's not over the top but very good locations. >> he had an eye for value. at least he knew, if he was going to buy good property he knew where. >> it might be some of the few legitimate investments this guy made because you know, this house was built in 1973, that lot is worth a lot of money. >> christine romans, thanks so much. appreciate that. stakes are high for president obama's prime time sales pitch. he's taking his health care message to a joint session of congress, the president trying to salvage health care reform which has gotten bogged down by bipartisan bickering. it may not be the members of congress in front of him who are the toughest sell. that could be the american people. on capitol hill lawmakers know that the issue may be at the crossroads. some are trying to salvage a compromise and others trying to kill the effort. the latest from congressional correspondent brianna keilar. let's talk about the house democrats, can't seem to get on the same page. what's the matter? >> that's true for rank and file democrats also true for house democratic leaders. whip james clybourn, the number three democrat in the house, has essentially suggested that democrats agree to downsize the public option. the government run insurance plan. listen to what steny hoyer, the number two democrat in the house, and house speaker nancy pelosi, what they said late yesterday. >> i'm not one of those that says if you don't have a public option it's not a good bill. i think it's a very good bill, i any the public option makes it much better. >> i do believe that in order to pass a bill in the house we will have a public option. this is the legislative process. >> one microphone, two different opinions how essential a public option is to passing this bill in the house, fred rea ka. >> the senate side we're learning about max baucus' plan and a new 10:00 a.m. deadline he's imposing. what's going on with that? >> the clock is ticking for this bipartisan group of senators on the senate finance committee. chairman max baucus said by 10:00 a.m. obviously coming up here in a matter of minutes, he wants those senators proposed changes to a plan he passed out this weekend. his proposal, $900 billion price tag, includes not a public option, but a nonprofit health care cooperative. there is no mandate here for employers to provide insurance to their employees, although there will be penalties under this plan for larger companies that don't do that. there is a mandate for individuals to buy health care insurance or pay a fine if they don't buy health care insurance. for an example here, a family of four with an annual income of $66,000 or more, could pay as much as $3800 if they don't get health care insurance. some exceptions here. but this is really an important day, fredricka, ahead of the president's speech. senator baucus said yesterday the time is coming near where it's time to either fish or cut bait meaning it's time to come to a bipartisan agreement or move ahead and some say today may be that day. >> brianna keilar, thanks so much. of course we'll have live coverage of president obama's speech to congress. it starts at 8:00 eastern. we're also talking about the president's speech in our blogs so we want to hear from you. what are your thoughts on this health care reform plan and your thoughts on the fact that it's difficult to get capitol hill and the white house to agree on the matters. the president is going to speak this evening. we want to hear from you. what are your expectations, what do you want to hear from the president tonight to clarify your thoughts on health care reform. it's high stakes game in afghanistan for the u.s. josh leaves is at the touch screen with an in-depth look at the cost of war. >> we're going to look how much the cost of added up to through now, also why this summer is so crucially important for all of the u.s. efforts there. the stakes as you say, in many ways at the highest ever. cnn learned one of the eight people killed in a mobile home in georgia had been awarded $25,000 in a civil lawsuit. the award was granted to guy heinze sr., the father of the man charged with the killings. due to an appeal he never got the money, and police refuse to say whether it's investigated as a possible motive in the killings. in california, authorities say that deadly wild fire burning nearly two weeks north of los angeles is almost 60% contained. investigators say the fire was caused by arson. it's burned more than 160,000 acres, more than twice the size of sacramento, the state's capital. the officials have a reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction to $150,000. it is 9-9-09. it's turning out to be a lucky day for beatles fans. ♪ how could i dance with another ♪ the video game the beatles rock band hits store shelves today. and it's released at the same time as the remasters beatles cd box set. it's the first re-release of the catalog since 1987. pretty about renditions there. a young georgia girl is the latest star born at the u.s. open. how a little known 17-year-old's vicious backhand slice and sheer determination are giving her a shot at the title. time to collect in with our rob marciano. that hurricane activity or threatening activity. >> let's do that. hurricane fred now exploding to 105-mile-an-hour winds. this thing popped overnight. could become category 3 in the next few minutes if not hours. the general direction is west-northwest so a bit of a northerly jog. that's good news. by the way, there is africa. we don't have to worry. let's look at the forecast path. category 3 status briefly, but it does jog into the north. it's kind of running into what typically keeps these to the south. there is a bit of a weakness in that block. so, it's going to kind of run up the gap and probably, hopefully, stay there and die. there is no guarantee of that happening. meanwhile, a nontropical low is taking shape across parts of the northeast. and this thing is really not moving very fast at all. it brought flooding rains to parts of north carolina, also parts of southeastern virginia. here it is. it's going to crawl up the coastline. as it does it will continue to bring in showers, rain, cooler weather across parts of the northeast. not only for today but for a couple of days. 96 in dallas, 87 in memphis and 67 degrees in boston. wcbb, there is our boston affiliate shot. chilly waters in the mid 60s, perfect waters for great white sharks, i guess, off cape cod as you know. they tagged their fifth great white off the coast. so interesting things happening there. >> beautiful to see as long as your feet are on the shore. >> exactly. >> already, rob. thank you. a cnn reporter experiencing the dangers of the afghan war first-hand. >> you all right? >> escaping a bomb attack deep in taliban territory. a very close call. [dejectedly] oh. [screeching] [barks] (man) if you think about it, this is what makes the ladders different from other job-search sites. [screeching] we only work with the big talent. [all coughing] welcome to the ladders-- a premium job site for only $100k-plus jobs and only $100k-plus talent. a quick trip to new york now. you're looking at images of a lot of familiar faces. news people from charlie gibson to diane sawyer. there you see ann curry. many folks who have turned out at the avery fisher hall at lincoln center for a final farewell and tribute for the late news man walter cronkite. he died in july at the age of 92. a lot of folks pouring in to say final farewells. among them will be president obama who will be among those giving a final tribute and former president clinton and even astronaut buzz aldrin will be there. you're looking at bob woodruff. a lot of folks turned out to pay final respects and honor the legacy of walter cronkite. a new york times reporter kidnapped by armed gunmen in afghanistan is safe this morning after he was rescued by commandos. a nato force freed steven farrell earlier today. afghan officials say several people including a british commando were killed during the raid. farrell was taken hostage saturday. he was covering a controversial nato airstrike on taliban forces in the kundoz province. that left scores dead. after a rescue underscores the danger in afghanistan. cnn has an exclusive look from the war zone as one of our own reporters, michael wear, barely escapes a taliban attack in the dead of the night. >> reporter: a hidden taliban, ied, is about to hit this afghan police gun truck. a cnn camera man and i are riding in it. by some miracle it detonates a half beat too soon or we would be dead. gravel rains over us. then comes the shooting, a so-called death blossom, police firing to ward off further attack. >> the frightening moments for our colleague michael ware and our other colleagues with him. the war has been raging eight years. this summer has become a crucial time. our josh leaves is here to show us some of the latest. >> we see pieces of drama like that, right. what i want to do is help everyone get that. right now with the help of this great site, cnn.com/afghanistan. let's zoom in. i want to show you key points. this is interesting from tom forman referring to it as a ticking bomb. i want everyonesummer. i want understand to see the price the u.s. has been paying in lives right here. look at this column here. going back to 2001 you see the number of u.s. death here year down to 2009. we're still in the middle of 2009. we already had more than we ever had before. then let's look at the price we're paying in terms of money. this is from congressional research service looking at this year's budget. they proximate $180 billion has been spent on the war in afghanistan. we don't actually have any of that money. that money is what cnnmoney calls money on national credit cards. borrowed money we're paying debt on. going on in afghanistan this summer including efforts to disrupt the poppy fields. let's look at this video. authorities have been going around trying to blow up these poppy fields. let me show you why on this screen. opium production in afghanistan in 2001 the country had 12% of the world's poppy crop. the world began in 2001. by 2008, all of these years of war, poppy -- the amount of growth is incredible. it became 93% of the world's poppy crop. authorities have been trying to knock down on it. that's when we get to one piece of good news which is to some extent there's been success on that. the u.n. says blowing up efforts are actually achieving a couple things. let me show you two more things we have to keep in mind. you want to know why this summer is so important. the election first of all. a lot of afghan authorities were specifically hoping that this election would show that the foundation for a functional democracy in afghanistan after all these years but now questions about which votes are counted and not counted and is not having international repercussions authorities hoped and finally we have video lately of contractors reminding parts of the world and disturbing to a lot of people that -- let's just say affecting the image of the united states in that region which obviously plays out in afghanistan. put all of that together and you have a lot of problems and that explains why we're seeing this summer have such high stakes in afghanistan for the united states. >> all right. josh levs, thanks so much for putting all of that in perspective for us. our anderson cooper is in afghanistan all week long bringing you a special look at the life in the battle zone. there are dangerous challenges for both u.s. troops and afghan civilians and you can see anderson's special reports every night on "anderson cooper 360." we have a lot going on this morning. all of our crews are in place to bring you details. let's begin with suzanne malveaux at the white house. >> reporter: with the president still working on his speech to congress to be delivered this evening, he's making last minute changes but we get a sneak peek. we know there are some things that will please both republicans and democrats alike. i'll have more of that at the top of the hour. >> reporter: i'm poppy harlow in new york. a proposed tax on so-called expensive cadillac health care plans could help pay for reform. will it mean higher premiums for everyone? that's a big question. more on that at the top of the hour. >> i'm rob marciano in your hurricane quarters. tropical storm fred exploding into a category 2 hurricane overnight. where is fred headed and is it any relation to the lovely fredricka? >> i won't tell. all right. thank you so much, guys. we'll also talk to the lawmaker who will deliver the republican response to the president's speech. a surgeon who says he has deep insights into the nation's health care problems. do you recognize this woman right here? a makeover for a woman at the center of a gender controversy. here's the cover shot. she was forced to take a gender test after easily winning the 800 meters at the world championships last month. in the new interview she calls the controversy a joke and says god made her the way she is. track officials say results of that gender test are expected within days. game, set, match. a little known 17 year old from georgia continues to surprise and dominate. melanie oudin's huge heart and cinderella run to the quarterfinals beating some of the game's biggest names to get there is serving notice at the u.s. open. >> serena and venus williams may be the world's most famous players but melanie oudin created the buzz of the u.s. open. she started hitting balls at age 7. by the seventh grade she decided to become homeschooled. >> it was to play more and not get in trouble for missing so many days of school because of tournaments because i wasn't allowed to. i wanted to play tournaments. the amount of improvement in that first year of homeschoolsihomeschooling was unbelievable. >> reporter: melanie misses hanging out with her friends but she as missing the bopped she shared with her twin sister, kathryn. >> we've always been close since we were little but now we definitely drifted a little bit apart from each other because i'm gone a lot and then she's got different friends than i do and different interests and stuff. we're both happy for each other. >> reporter: oudin turned pro last year and received her first taste of fame two months ago after reaching the fourth round of wimbledon but that pales in comparison to what she's experiencing now. >> reporter: on monday at the racket club where oudin trains, melanie family and friends watched her become the youngest american to advance to the semifinals since 1999. >> she's as might as she can. she's the best sport as she's a champion. >> such a close match. every time she pulls it off. it's great. you see her here every day dedicated working out. >> reporter: with head rating on the rise, her coach of eight years is intent on keeping her humble. >> this weekend we were laying sod and doing yard work. i made her do that. she does everything the other kids do. she's no premadonna. this is your club. you help make it look good. >> reporter: that said if oudin wins the u.s. open she's sure she will slide on eating one of her favorite things. >> i love ice cream. i can't really eat it that much when i'm playing tennis. i do eat it in my off-season. >> reporter: you counting down the days until the first ice cream cone. how many more days until you can get into that? >> a lot. if i win the open i'm sure my coach will let me have an ice cream. >> melanie oudin. another look at the top stories we're watching right now. the trial of a kentucky high school football coach accused of causing the player's death resumed just moments ago. the coach is charged with reckless homicide after one of the players collapsed and died last year following a tough practice. the victim's father and two former teammates took the stand tuesday. remembering walter cronkite. a memorial for the legendary newsman at the lincoln center in new york is scheduled to start in 20 minutes. presidents barack obama and former president bill clinton are among the planned speakers. it's an easy day to remember, right? 9/9/09. people across the globe are celebrating the rare occurrence. we saw mass marriages in malaysia and there are only three more opportunities for the triple digit day this century. we'll let you figure those out on your own. prime time politics in tonight's speech at 8:00 eastern, president obama will try to sell health care reform to congress and of course to the nation. it may be the most highly anticipated speech of his young presidency. and it may be the most challenging for him. polls show support is fading among both audiences, those on capitol hill and across america. the white house is promising more specifics from the president tonight and possibly renewed signs of compromise. cnn white house correspondent suzanne malveaux joins us with a preview. suzanne, what can we expect to hear tonight? >> reporter: fred, we know the president is still working on this speech. we got some video and fresh pictures early this morning here in the 8:00 hour. you see the president working out of the oval office with his chief of staff rahm emanuel getting updates to see if there are any closer to a deal. members of congress trying to reach some sort of an agreement. this is a critical speech for the president. what we know from a sneak peek we're getting that he's going to offer both democrats and republicans something that they would make them happy. we'll see go they can come up with something they can agree on. one of them is the public option. that's the government's alternative to provide an insurance alternative to private insurance. this would be for small business owners who are rejected by a major insurance company and need insurance for themselves and their families. the white house -- the president is going to try to explain that doesn't apply to a lot of people but a very specific group but a critical group. it does not apply as a public option to 180 million people who get their coverage through their employer or through people who get it through medicaid or the va and things like that. what the white house and what the president is trying to do is make this idea of the public option more palatable. this is how robert gibbs put it to me earlier this morning. >> the president is going to talk about the public option and talk about the value of bringing through a public option choice and competition to the private insurance market. i think that's going to be a big part of what the president talks about. it's not all of what the president talks about because it's not the totality of health care. >> reporter: there are democrats and liberal base of the party who have been pushing for this public option. they say it's critical to health care reform. he's also going to be offering something for the republicans. they have been pushing for medical malpractice reform. that is what doctors have been complaining about here that they have to pay so much for liability insurance. they prescribe things, procedures, tests that aren't necessary just to cover themselves from potential lawsuits. he's going to say that he supports medical malpractice reform, something that will make the republicans happy. we'll see if the two sides come together after this critical speech. obviously he's trying to at least offer something to both sides. >> is it fair to say he's spreading himself a bit thin this morning or today? this morning he'll be in new york or is probably already in new york to speak at walter cronkite's memorial service and then tonight before congress. >> reporter: a busy day for this president. he's in new york at this very moment. he'll be speaking at the memorial service for the late walter cronkite. he was asked by the family to speak to pay tribute and robert gibbs said earlier this morning the president obviously recognized the tremendous importance that walter cronkite and contributions he made to jou journalism and to the country and that's what we'll hear shortly. >> thank you. we'll have live coverage of president obama's speech to congress. it's going to get started at 8:00 eastern this evening. we're also going to talk about the president's speech on our blog. we want to know what you think and what you want to hear from him tonight. go to cnn.com/fredricka and post your thoughts and we'll read some of your comments on the air. meantime, congressman charles boustany will give the response to the president's speech and he's joining us with a preview of what he plans to say. it's a huge day for health care reform with the future of the industry at stake and as you can imagine washington has been crawling with lobbyists each one trying to woo lawmakers over to their side of the fence. christine romans joins me from new york with more on what is being called the most expensive fight ever to hit congress. >> reporter: so much is at stake. some $375 million spent so far on trying to influence the debate going on on capitol hill today. how has that money been spent? let's break it down. almost $280 million on direct lobbying. you can look at this pie, fredricka, and you can see there are so many pieces of it because these are the different constituencies who are trying to influence the debate and how much they are spending. drug makers and makers of health products by far the most, 135 million almost. hospitals and nursing homes, doctors, health professionals, hmos, health insurers, all spending a great deal of money. there's also a lot of money being spent outside of that direct lobbying in television advertisements. some 75 million. maybe you have seen that on your own television but you can tell a lot of money has been spent, $75 million. $23 million spent already for contributions for candidates who are seeking re-election or election in the year 2010. all together that's almost $375 million. now, some of these influences and some of this money is likely being spent at cross purposes. you have drug companies, hospitals, doctor groups, you have lawyer groups as well. you also have special interests who represent immigrants, who represent the elderly and the unemployed and also the uninsured and also people who are retired and so you have a lot of different groups there using money, using clout, using their sharp elbows to get in there and influence this debate. >> so for today's roman numeral, give us a glean into that. >> it's the number vi. think of it this way. for every person on capitol hill and for every lawmaker who will cast a vote in this debate, there are six lobbyists who are pushing a point of view on health overhaul. 6-1 is the ratio. usually when you don't have big health care reform, it's usually about 2 to 1 for health industry lobbyists versus your elected officials in washington. so you can tell just how big this is and how big this is when you have 6-1 as your ratio. >> that explains why there's so much confusion. thank you so much. still on the topic of health care, we are told that christopher dodd will not overtake the senate panel seeking an overhaul. that's according to a democratic source who talked to cnn. there was speculation whether dodd would succeed his friend, ted kennedy, the massachusetts democrat who spent decades fighting for health care reform who died last month of brain cancer. a public hearing today happening today on a plan to name a temporary successor for senator ted kennedy. a bill is under consideration that would allow the governor to pick a new senator to serve until the january 19th special election. critics say it is just a ploy by democrats to get enough votes to pass president obama's health care plan. ted kennedy passed away two weeks ago. let's check in again with rob marciano in the hurricane center. all eyes are on that fred. >> this fred. and you. might i add that you're easy on the eyes. good to see you. no relation here. 105-mile-per-hour winds. was a tropical storm yesterday. it doubled in intensity in the last 24 hours. where this thing is going and how it's doing, you can see the last couple of frames of this really starting to fan out. good outflow. national hurricane center thinking it will strength and waiting on the last little frame. nice little eye. looks like it is sneaking to the north. that's good news. we want it to go northerly. we want it to die out as a fish storm. and it may very well do that. category 3 storm expected later today or tonight or tomorrow morning. curving and sneaking into a weakness in the ridge that typically keeps things to the south. drives them toward the u.s. hopefully that weakness locks it in as a fish storm. if that happens, we don't have to worry about fred too long. it's not very far from the african coastline as it is right now. let's zoom in a little bit to the east coast. this will be our focus over the next couple days. very slow moving area of low pressure right about here. you can see the circulation around it. it is crawling up the coast line. it will take it 2 1/2 days before it gets off the new england coastline and weakens and heads out to sea. in the meantime, you have this persistent onshore flow with showers and slightly cooler weather and certainly wet weather for the folks who live in that part of the world. speaking of wet weather, we had a lot of it. this is from that low. cape hatteras, north carolina. 5.5 inches of rainfall yesterday. norfolk saw 3.5. wichita, kansas, saw almost 4 inches of rainfall there. there's video out of wichita from yesterday. a number of roads closed because of the amount of rainfall they had in a short period of time. a chance of seeing rainfall there today but most of the heavy rain has moved off to the east. everybody getting a smattering -- >> a spike in insurance claims for sure. i saw that car. it looked like it was under water almost. >> that's why you have insurance. >> that's right. >> big doings in the bay area. san francisco, good morning. there is the bay bridge which is all opened up and ready for traffic to head over to the east bay. always a lovely city. and their traffic which can be horrendous at times will flow smoother thanks to that repair of the bay bridge. >> thank goodness. all right. appreciate it. so how did a documentary -- a highly critical one of hillary clinton -- become a link to a possible change in campaign finance law? a legal expert will break down today's high court case. whether i'm at the batting cages... down by the lake or... fishing at the shore. i'm breathing better... with spiriva. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for both forms of copd, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. i take it every day. it keeps my airways open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announcer: spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, or have vision changes or eye pain. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, problems passing urine or an enlarged prostate, as these may worsen with spiriva. also discuss the medicines you take, even eye drops. side effects may include dry mouth, constipation and trouble passing urine. my doctor said i could be doing more to breathe better and now i am. announcer: ask your doctor about lifestyle changes and once-daily spiriva. happening this hour the u.s. supreme court rehearing a case that could lead to a reversal of the current campaign finance law. joining us live to talk about the case is avery freeman. good to see you. let's talk about what's at issue here. how could this particular case be so influential? >> it's a real blockbuster. the amazing thing about this decision or this case, which is being argued this morning, is that there will be an attempt by a corporation which underwrote an anti-hillary documentary to say that they shouldn't be obligated to disclose their identity and what they're looking for is the u.s. supreme court to say that mccain/feingold or substantive parts of the law are unconstitutional and bust wide open the opportunity for corporations to underwrite political ads. >> corporations as well as labor unions could stand to lose a lot. they wouldn't be able to make significant contributions to campaigns if the court sees it that way? >> it's the other way around. in fact, these restrictions which have been on the books since 2002 restrict labor unions and corporations from not disclosing the fact they're underwriting these anti- or pro-political ads. it's an enormous case. >> what is interesting is this court started considering this case last year. now it decided to come back a month early with a new supreme court justice on the bench. what can we expect? >> this is in and of itself an amazing development because we now have the supreme court saying we're not waiting for our first week in october. we want arguments now and we'll see the premiere of justice -- now justice sonia sotomayor in weighing in on this very important topic and so we'll see if she participates in oral argument today. >> a ruling in your view would come as early as when? >> well, that's a very good question. i tell you one thing, they won't wait until the end of the term. we'll see something probably before the end of the year. the other interesting thing is it will be the premiere of the new solicitor general who as you may recall was one of the candidates being considered by president obama to be the appointment when the vacancy occurred on the u.s. supreme court. >> avery friedman, thank you so much. always great to see you. >> pleasure. see you. >> thank you. conservatives feared a partisan political message but there was no sign of a partisan push when president obama went back to school yesterday. >> if you quit on school, you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country. >> some students in michigan said the president's stay in school message was clear. >> even if something bad happens in your life why your parents aren't there for you or you don't have a parent, do your best. ask who is around you for help. >> the principal is working hard and everyone should work hard to gain whatever dream they have. >> what do students in louisiana s say? they said they were very inspired. >> made me feel i could be something better than i already am. >> maybe i should try harder. >> i can succeed. obama put that in me. i'm going to go to medical school now. >> there was controversy before the president's comments and it led some schools across the nation to actually block the president's speech all together. the republican response to the president's address this evening will be delivered by congressman who is also a heart surgeon and joins us with a sneak preview in the "newsroom." , plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™. (announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. which beneful prepared meals. tonight?rtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. roasted chicken recipe? - savory rice and lamb stew. - [ barks ] you're right. tonight is a beef stew kind of night. [ announcer ] beneful prepared meals. another healthful, flavorful beneful. when you're sick, you go to the doctor for answers. and when you hear scary rumors about health insurance reform being a big government takeover... doctors have the answer again. according to the american medical association, "the health reform plans being debated in congress ensure that health care decisions will be made by you and your doctor--no one else." you choose your own doctor, make your own decisions and you can't be dropped if you get sick, or denied coverage for a pre-existing condition. that's a long way from a government takeover. and what about the claims that health reform will cut medicare benefits? "false" says the non-partisan factcheck.org... health reform maintains and even expands benefits for seniors and focuses on preventing illness before it strikes. our health care is too important for scare tactics, you deserve the truth. learn more at the factsaboutreform.org (voice 2) how bad is it? (voice 1) traffic's off the chart... (voice 2) they're pinging more targets... (voice 3) isolate... prevent damage... (voice 2) got 'em. (voice 3) great exercise guys. let's run it again. our top stories right now. a soldier is facing charges in the shooting death of his wife. clarksville, tennessee, police responded to the call of a possible shooting early yesterday. the wife was found shot inside the garage. downing's vehicle was found a few hours ago and he was found in a woods nearby. a bone found near the home of garrido is likely human. the bone fragment was found on a neighbor's property but garrido had access to that area and is facing charges for allegedly keeping jaycee dugard captive in his backyard for 18 years. great expectations for apple today. interested tech geeks across the globe are waiting to hear the next big thing at a news conference this afternoon. it's the annual event that apple holds to introduce new stuff like ipods and iphones. we'll keep you posted. remaking the health care system is a critical night for president obama as he delivers a major speech to congress and to all of us. congressman charles boustany of louisiana will give the republican rebuttal to the president's speech. boustany is also a heart surgeon and only republican doctor on the house ways and means committee. great to see you. >> great to be with you. >> we understand the president is tweaking his speech before congress, are you still working on your rebuttal? >> of course. and as we get information from the white house it will also help me decide on what exactly needs to be in our rebuttal. >> what items do you know you will likely have in your rebuttal? >> it's important to recognize that health care reform is such a complex topic and health care affects every man, woman and child in this country. the most important thing to do is to get it right and that's what i'm going to emphasize. >> you do think there needs to be a reform plan but define what you think needs to be in it to make sure it's right? >> that's exactly right. we're for reform. we do believe that we have to provide a system that creates access to a doctor/patient relationship first and foremost for all americans. >> the president would say that, too. what would be different? what do you suppose needs to be in it to make it right just using your words to make it right? >> first of all, what we need to recognize is there are a lot of things that we agree upon. why don't we start there rather than starting with the very contentious approach that's been advocated and in fact an approach that is the only thing advocated in health care reform and that's a government plan. i believe there are many other things that we could do to improve health care delivery, lower the cost, and we'll have some specifics that are out there on a website and i'll mention some of those things in my speech tonight. >> what are those things you know you already agree upon that you want to push forward? >> well, we agree that first of all we need to have insurance reforms. the pre-existing condition issue is very important. that's one. there are many other areas. i don't want to get in all of the details of what i'm going to say tonight, but let's just suffice it to say there are a lot of things we can agree on and that's where we need to start. let's get this right. that's what the american people want first and foremost. >> as a cardiac surgeon are you still a member of the american medical association? >> no. i've not been a member of the american medical association for quite some years now. >> initially when the president spoke before the ama many members as a whole did not necessarily agree with the president. today the headline is the ama says it is behind the president's health care reform plan. how does that sit with you? >> well, i'm opposed to the house bill that we covered in committee in the house ways and means committee. i voted no after we tried to amend the bill. there are a number of problems with this bill and it's unacceptable. keep in mind that ama only represents around 15% of physicians and a number of state medical societies have actually taken positions opposite the ama. but again, it's so important that we get this right. let's put all of the options on the table and thoroughly vet these options. you know, even with the government option, there are a lot of remaining unanswered questions that were not covered when we had hearings and even during the markup of the bill and i don't think that's a responsible way to go about doing health care reform. >> given your experience in the medical field and you also know what it's like to be uninsured i understand for a period of time in your life you did not have health insurance, no coverage whatsoever. have you reached out to the white house to express your personal opinion and your personal experience about how to get it right? you keep saying we want to get it right. everybody wants to get it right. have you offered any ideas about how to get it right? >> i've mentioned a number of ideas to the white house liaison to the house and asked for meetings with some of the staff higher up and even the president himself. frankly, there really have not been any discussions between the white house and house republicans and that's of some concern to me. i'm quite frustrated to be frank with you. we do have a number of very substantive ideas that we could put forward. >> all right representative charles boustany, thank you very much. we look forward to hearing your rebuttal after the president's address to the joint congress this evening. thanks for your time on capitol hill. we'll take a look right now. live pictures right now of the floor of the house and senate where we're being told health care is a topic of conversation right now in anticipation of the president's speech this evening 8:00 eastern time and of course you can catch that live right here on cnn. the cadillac of health care plans. big premiums for complete coverage. now those big deals are the target for new taxes. i've been growing algae for 35 years. most people try to get rid of algae, and we're trying to grow it. the algae are very beautiful. they come in blue or red, golden, green. algae could be converted into biofuels... that we could someday run our cars on. in using algae to form biofuels, we're not competing with the food supply. and they absorb co2, so they help solve the greenhouse problem, as well. we're making a big commitment to finding out... just how much algae can help to meet... the fuel demands of the world. i eat anything that i want. key lime pie, pineapple upside down cake, raspberry cheesecake... ... yeah, every night is something different. oh, yeah yeah... ... she always keeps them in the house. no, no, no. i've actually lost weight... i just have a high metabolism or something... ...lucky. babe... umm, i gotta go. (announcer) 28 delicious flavors at around 100 calories each. yoplait, it is so good. upbeat rock ♪ so i could hear myself myseas a ringtone ♪hone ♪ ♪ who knew the store would go and check my credit score ♪ ♪ now all they let me have is this dinosaur ♪ ♪ hello hello hello can anybody hear me? ♪ ♪ i know i know i know i shoulda gone to ♪ ♪ free credit report dot com! ♪ that's where i shoulda gone! coulda got my knowledge on! ♪ ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage. the battle for health care reform. tonight the president delivers what could be a make or break speech on his top domestic priority. his prime time address to the nation takes place before a joint session of congress. lawmakers are capitol hill know the issue may be at the crossroads. some are trying to salvage a compromise and others are trying to kill the effort once and for all. let's get the latest from brianna keilar. anticipation is the word of the day. >> reporter: it is. you know the saying you can't please everyone, when it comes to democrats and president obama with his speech, that really may be the case. it will be tough for him to please everyone because rank and file democratic members of the house are really all over the map when it comes to how they feel about a public option. liberal democrats say they won't vote for a bill unless it includes a public option. a public option without any conditions. and then you have some conservative democrats like the blue dogs who say if there is a public option in the bill, they're not going to vote for it. what's more, when you listen to house democratic leaders, they're not even in the same place about how essential a public option is. this is what was said late yesterday. >> i'm not one of those that says if you don't have a public opg, it's not a good bill. i think it's a good bill and the public option makes it much better. >> do i believe in order to pass a bill in the house, we will have a public option. this is the legislative process. >> so this is what president obama is going to be juggling as he walks a fine line tonight with his health care address to congress. also, he has to be careful because even though he doesn't have to win -- or really make republicans happy because a lot of them have said that they're not on board with the plans going on, there are a few that are key that he really has to make sure that he doesn't alienate including senator olympia snow. she's one of the republicans at the table talking with senate finance committee, this gang of six, a bipartisan group trying to reach a consensus and she's someone democrats think they may be able to keep on board and would be essential for them getting 60 votes in the senate. >> all right. brianna keilar, thank you so much. appreciate that from capitol hill. president obama will make his health care speech to that special joint session of congress tonight. we'll cover it live for you starting at 8:00 eastern time. and we're also talking about the president's message and what is it that you want to hear. already you've been commenting on my blog. and mark says -- thank you for participating. we continue to hear what you have to say as we tick down to the president's speech 8:00 eastern time this evening. of course cnn is carrying that live. one of the biggest questions about health care reform is how to pay for it. you just heard from mike who was asking about that. one proposal would tax insurers on their most expensive plans. how would it work? poppy harlow has our breakdown from new york. poppy? >> lots to talk about taxes as a way to pay for this whether wealthier individuals or this proposal put forth by max baucus. a 35% proposed tax on high cost insurance plans. that would actually fall on the insurance companies to pay. what is exactly considered high cost when you talk about health insurance? well, what this proposal puts forth is more than 8,0$8,000 wh you talk about individuals and $21,000 when you talk about families. it would be more than that in the high cost states in the first three years to help pay for this. look at that's numbers. when you look at 2008, the average cost of health care all in for individuals, $4,700 when you look at employer pay and what you put in and $12,600 talking about a family. >> so on these cadillac plans, what kind of tax are we talking about on that? >> what we're talking about here, these will affect people, top executives that hold those cadillac plans. we're talking about some, not all, corporate executives here. for example, they don't have any co-pays. no deductibles. no restrictions on their prescriptions or doctor visits. those can actually exceed $40,000 a year. to be fair, we should note health care experts say not all premiums are high because of those lavish benefits. sometimes employers have older and sicker workers so their cost are higher. small businesses have higher premiums than larger companies do. that's why critics are worried the new tax could actually end up trickling down to all of us. the average workers or union workers with expensive benefits and not hitting the over wealthy as planned. there are concerns that they will eliminate coverage all together because if they have to pay 35% tax, they will get rid of it. fewer lavish plans will cut down on overuse of medical services and waste. there's complete coverage. this is the latest story on cnnmoney.com. you can't get everyone to agree on one thing so there are a lot of opinions out there. >> hard to get everyone to see eye to eye on this. appreciate it. a new wave of beatles mainy around the world. looks pretty good. sounds good, too. the video game, the beatles rock band hits store shelves today. there's a new box set featuring the entire catalog. suggested retail price on that $260. something, old, new, borrowed and blue. you know those superstitions for weddings. today's date, 9/9/09. september 9th, 2009, thousands of couples in china and malaysia hoping the way the numbers align will bring them eternity marital bliss. 16,000 couples are expected to register marriages today in beijing and shanghai. in malaysia, more than 500 ethnic chinese couples tied the knot. it will be 92 years before the numbers align like that again. who is the fairest of them all? not just a tag line. it's funding an entire industry. how lighter skin is becoming a must have. prices on aveeno daily moisturizing beauty costs less save money. live better. walmart. announcer: you could buy 300 bottles of water. or just one brita filter. 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(announcer) find out how to get your first full prescription free at advaircopd.com. remembering walter cronkite. you're looking at live pictures from lincoln center in new york where a memorial for the legendary newsman is currently in progress. presidents barack obama and bill clinton are among the planned speakers. one of the eight people killed in a mobile home in georgia had recently been awarded $25,000 in a civil lawsuit. the award was granted to guy heinze sr., the father of the man charged in the killings. never got the money because the award was being appealed. police refused to say whether it is being investigated as a possible motive in those killings. authorities say the deadly station fire burning for nearly two weeks now north of los angeles is now almost 60% contained. two firefighters died. authorities say the fire was set deliberately and they increased the award for information leading to an arrest and conviction to $150,000. at the end of each year we all get statements showing us how our investments have done. now a government watchdog group is doing the same by giving us an update on our investment in the auto sector. susan lisovicz is live at the new york stock exchange with details on that. >> this is where you will grimace and grown. the congressional -- you are going to rev it up. instead it's bleak. >> i will later on. this is tough to swallow. the congressional oversight panel isn't giving us a specific number but says probably about a third -- about $20 billion of our money won't be repaid. this is when the government drew money at gm and chrysler last fall before they had restructuring plans in which they shed billions of dollars of assets and started the painful and slow rebuilding process. this panel by the way was created last year to help oversee t.a.r.p. and the $700 billion that was distributed and gm and chrysler have received $60 million from the government. this is about a third that we're talking about here. it's a lot of money no matter how you slice it. >> the rest of the money? >> the rest of the money is hard to say, fredricka. much of the loans from you and i and millions of other taxpayers was converted to stock. after all, we are now equity investors in gm and chrysler. we own 10% of chrysler. 60% of gm and it depends on how they do in the months and years to come. gm and chrysler currently are private but they are expected to issue public stop offering next year. just a few months ago gm was a dow stock. right now i'm looking at the dow industrials. this is your reward. they're higher. it looks like our investments in the auto sector in this particular case may not pay off. >> all right. darn. thanks so much. appreciate it. let's talk about the skin care industry in india where business is booming but it's not just women driving up sales. lots of men are grabbing products off the shelves. they think they can do much more than just improve their skin. >> reporter: this television commercial is sending out a not so subtle message to men in asia. one actor says i'm unlucky because of my face. not because of your face, because of the color of your face the other says. then he throws him a skin whitening cream. you get it just like that referring to the girl they were staring at and after putting on the cream, he does. in the ad any way. skin whiteners are now being advertised to men from some of the world's best known cosmetic brands. a marketing study found sales for skin whitening have jumped more than 100% in rural india. this man says he knows why. he runs 140 salons in india and around the world. in recent years indians have gained more disposable income than ever before and he says guys are not shy about spending it on their looks. >> they try anything. >> reporter: men used to be embarrassed. >> not anymore. >> we'll try to bring you the rest of that story later on today right now former president bill clinton at the walter cronkite memorial service in new york. >> a very important day in our nation's life. president obama, when he has this big speech tonight, still came to new york to honor walter cronkite. thank you. [ applause ] >> and since walter isn't doing the news anymore, he doesn't have to be quite so objective. i think i can say that he and all of the rest of us wish you well tonight. we hope you prevail. [ applause ] >> i had a very unusual perspective on all of this. i was just a high school kid in arkansas who had a tv for less than, oh, five years, i think, when walter cronkite started doing the evening news. i have to confess, my mother liked huntly and brinkley. until -- until we kept on cbs all day long on november 22nd, 1963. and after that we lived with walter cronkite. that's all i knew. years passed, 1981, he left. i had formed some real opinions as a young student. i thought that he had the most trusted news program because he had an inquiring mind and a caring heart and a careful devotion to the facts and because you really sensed that in the words of his own auto biography he was always looking for the story and not the story line. and there's a big difference. but after he left cbs, i didn't think much more of it. i looked at some of his specials and then when i became president we were vacationing on martha's vineyard together and we would be thrown together at dinner parties or receptions or whatever. he started talking to me about his young years before tv and when he worked for upi and when he like ronald reagan did third hand radio accounts of sporting events and kansas city when it was a hot town and houston before it was one of our great metropolises and i just wound up being crazy about the guy for reasons that had nothing to do with all of the things we are here honoring about today. i thought he was one of the most interesting men i ever saw and i thought a lot of his qualities that made him great in television he came by honestly. one of the most moving accounts to me in the story of his own life was dancing with his mother on her 100th birthday. and at the end of their dance he said i thought she was exhausted. she asked me to get her medicine. i came back and she said, no, walter, i wanted a martini. so that's a guy i got to know. and we continue to see each other after i left the white house. we would be thrown together at one event and another. i thought he was an astonishing man. i liked his inquiring mind and his caring heart. and he did something for my family that was so simple and even now it's hard for me to talk about. but in a very difficult summer in our personal lives in 1998, we were up on martha's vineyard and walter cronkite picked up the phone and said betsy and i want you to go sailing with us. you and hillary and chelsey. we'll just go out and sail around. he said somebody might take a picture of it but so what. i'll never forget that. at the time i could have done with a picture with walter cronkite. [ applause ] i say this because that wasn't something he had to do. he was 81 years old. he was a good man. he lived a fascinating life which made him want to know and understand and to share his knowledge and understanding. he was almost painfully honest. one of the most interesting things to me about his autobiography and personal conversation we had later about his role in trying to promote public discourse is what he thought about the limitations of television news and what he spent his whole life doing. he said i did the best i could but really i think people should read more newspapers. can you imagine anybody else fessing up to that? so i'm here to say thanks to his family and to his wonderful late wife for a man who was important in all our lives. a great citizen and a profoundly good human being. that's just the way it was. thank you. [ applause ] >> former president bill clinton there in a tribute, a final good-bye to the great walter cronkite who died in july at the age of 92. president barack obama who you heard president clinton acknowledge there in the stands, he, too, will be taking to the stage with his comments and cnn will carrying president obama's comments live. much more straight ahead in the "newsroom." o what i wanted to do. but 5 minutes ago i took symbicort and symbicort is already helping significantly improve my lung function. so today, i've noticed a significant difference in my breathing. and i'm doing more of what i want to do. so we're clear, it doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. my doctor said symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. my copd often meant i had to wait to do what i wanted to do. now i take symbicort and it significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort has made a significant difference in my breathing... now more of my want to's are can do's. ask your doctor about symbicort today. i got my first prescription free. call or go online to learn more. (announcer) if you cannot afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. let's check in with the hurricane center where we find rob marciano at the center of it all and so is fred. >> i know. >> i don't mean me. >> siyou see your name up theres a major hurricane. i can understand how you would be taken aback. if we're lucky, fred won't do anything but mess up the fish a little bit. the latest from the hurricane center category 3 status. another major storm for the year. you can see that eye there. the general motion of this thing is now northwesterly. that's good. let's look at the updated track from the national hurricane center. this is probably about 600 miles or so west-southwest of the cape verde islands. it's pretty far out there. we already have it forecast to make this turn toward the north and likely fizzle out and become a fish storm. at that point you would be off the hook. >> okay. thanks so much. i'm fredricka whitfield. the cnn "newsroom" continues with tony harris right after this. what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming. the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®. my worst symptoms feel better, indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest... 24-hour allergy medicine, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. zyrtec® works fast, so i can love the air™.

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