call." i'm carol costello. thank you for waking up with us. rick perry was the prime target along with seven other presidential candidates on stage, trading barbs about everything from the economy to vaccinations to immigration. social security set the tone right off the bat. you'll hear from all eight contenders talking about your money, your job, your retirement. but let's talk about the two candidates sitting at the top of the polls. rick perry and mitt romney. >> listen. this is a broken system. it has been called a ponzi scheme by many people long before me, but no one's had the courage to stand up and say here is how we're going to reform it. >> the term "ponzi scheme" i think is over the top, unnecessary, and frightful to many people. >> i'm not particularly worried about about governor perry and governor romney frightening the people when president obama scares them every day. >> social security is broke, we spent all the money, and it's on its last legs unless we do something. >> this economy is on life support. we need a bold solution. in not one that tinkers around the edges, not one that continues politicians with winners and losers. >> some say the economy is ady aster. >> we have millions and millions of unemployed, millions beyond who are so dispirited they've completely given up trying to find a job. we've got moms anded dads who are economically shipwrecked. >> for years, politicians have run on the idea that government is going to buy more people more stuff and that the federal government would be taking care of people's prescription drugs, their retirement, their health care, their housing, their food. we're the everybody else that's paying the fee for all of these things. that's the principle that has to change. >> entitlement programs like social security bound to be a hot button issue for voters in 201 2012, the poll says most think it needs an overhaul, over half think it needs changes. some want it out entirely. some thing the program is a monstrous lie and a failure. that's how rick perry characterized social security a few weeks ago in iowa, but last night he seemed to soften that stance a bit. north carolina voters are one step closer to weighing in on a same-sex marriage ban. they voted to put a proposed continue substitutional amendment on the ballot next spring. if it passes, the senate gets the go-ahead from voters. north carolina will blk the file state in the states to chisel the ban into their constitutions. president obama is heading on the road to sell his job plan. he's heading to ohio today,s north carolina tomorrow to build a grassroots support. he may need it. republican leaders don't like how president obama plans to pay for his $447 billion jobs path. he wants to tax the rich more. that would mean closing loopholes and wiping out deductions for some higher income families and some businessings. >> joran van der sloot is willing to confess to a simple homicide according to his lawyer. he's been behind bars since last year when he was accused of robbing and killing 21-year-old stephany flores. his lawyer is pushing for a simple homicide charge. it carries a 20-year prison term. that's less than the family wants. he was a long-time suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway in aruba. that case remains unsolved. a home health care provider will pay a record $150 million to settle charges that it was ripping off medicaid, the veterans administration and other program. maxim health care was billing the government for services it didn't perform or were not eligible for reimbursement. it says it change its ways and fired the responsible executives. texas homeowners are returning home today. the texas forest service say the wildfire near austin is now 60% contained, but it has destroyed more than 1,500 homes. texas is not the only state dealing with massive fires. lightning is to blame for fires in california. these are pictures of the comanche fire raging near stallion springs where residents are being told to evacuate. it's only about 30% contained. now let's head to atlanta and check in with rob marciano in atlanta. it's such a bad season for fires again. >> in california we're just getting started. texas hasn't seen a season. it's been all year long. over 225 days and it continues. here's a map, a look at the fires. there's southern california. that's our big concern now. as we get through the end of september, october, november, that's prime time for southern california fire season, the santa an that winds setting up. not right now but going forward. going to be hot across parts of texas again today. my goodness, it's been rough for them not helping the drought or fire situation. if you're traveling, detroit, cleveland, sfwrans, some morning fog and some. vegas thunderstorms, that doesn't help the fire situation with dry lightning in spots. 107 expected in dallas. 97. it feeling like july or august. it's the middle of september, my friends p, a friends, and we're due for a fall preview. we're going to get it. by wednesday afternoon, the 50s and 60s, and it will help alleviate some of the heat in texas but today it's go ing to be be a hot one. as far as astronomy is concerned, astronomers discovered 50 new planets, believe it or not. one they would like to call super earth, a perfect distance from the star to possibly have water and light. 36 light years away from us, so, you know, it ooh going to take you a while to get there. but another little crumb of hope, maybe knowledge that there's life. >> that would be awesome. very cool stuff. >> let's go visit. >> that would be great because i need to get out of this world right now. thank you, rob. do you want to hear comedian jon stewart's take on president obama's jobs plan? of course, you do. listen. >> it will triple guarantee that all children get to be the fame they wanted to be when they grow up including astronaut, balleri ballerina, lion tamer and most of all batman. it will guarantee that they can become -- mr. president, what do you call this plan that does so much for so many? >> it's called the american jobs act. >> come on. even your crappy bills have aspirational qualities to them. american recovery and reinvestment act. we didn't and it wasn't, but it was trying. give us some span, a little humor, a little zing. the "americans take this job and love it kwkts act, the make it rain act. remember me i killed bin laden in 2011. so many. >> that's the best one. the last one was best. there have been theories about the food that astronauts eat on long space shuttle missions? just ahead how they plan to get some of the food on the first come, first serve basis. first check out o the quote of the date. quote, we are likely to hear the republican candidates for president continue to wore "showbiz flashpoint" at theal tar of the tea party. end quote. if something is simply the color of gold, is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. unlike others, you get twice the points on travel, and twice the points on dining, and no foreign transaction fees. call now or apply at chasesapphire.com/preferred. ♪ ♪ one, two, three, four ♪ you say ♪ flip it over and replay ♪ we'll make everything okay ♪ walk together the right way ♪ do, do, do, do it is ten minutes past the hour. this is your "wake-up call." let's get back to our quote of the day, shall we. this is the quote. we are likely to hear the republican candidates for president continue to wore "showbiz flashpoint" at the altar of the tea party. end quote. who was it? democratic chair committee chair person debbie wasser man schultz. she said it last night before the tea party debate. time to check out what's making headlines. let's go to hong kong and check in with kristie lu stout. first let's talk a little angry birds. >> that's right. there have been, get a load of this, 300 million angry birds downloads since 2009. that's according to robio. they're saying players are putting in 300 million minutes of game play a day. the company is capitalizing on the angry birds phenomenon. it's launched everywhere and the merchandise is amazing. they're selling is plush toy, 100 million t-shirts a month. and they've released these. these are angry birds-themed moon case. take a look at this. carol, i hate to say it. you probably don't want to taste them anyway. they're only available here in china. back to you. >> bummer. that would have been a great gift for my mother. she loves angry birds. even my mother loves angry birds. >> you don't want to give a moon cake for christmas. i can send the box over if she's a fan. >> good enough. she's that big a fan. >> all right. this other story that's pretty fascinating, this texas town that's found a quicker way to get to crime scenes. >> it's america's first police gyro plane. this type of aircraft is nothing new. it uses a rear-mounted propeller to gain speed and a propeller to get left. local police are looking at it to potentially fight crime. it's considered safer than a helicopter. if you lose power, you glide down. it's cheaper. a modern helicopter costs up to $4 million. the gyro plane, $75,000. it has limits. there are no roofs or doors. trouble in bad weather, not a good idea. for police there in texas, the gyro plane is in pilot mode right now. there's no kicking the tires. >> bugs and birds, that twould hurt. >> yeah, exactly. especially going at a speed. >> exactly. >> huh huh. >> kristie lu stout live in hong kong. thanks so much. now that the space shuttle program has landed nasa has some things they have to get rid of so the space agency is offer in food and space shuttle tiles to schools and universities. you can find out more how to register on nasa.gov. republicans pouncing on front-runner rick perry on everything from illegal immigration to his man dade ordering the vaccinations of young girls. a closer look at the debate coming your way. it's 14 minutes past the hour. there's only one bottle left ! i've got to tell susie ! the vending machine on elm is almost empty. i'm on it, boss. new pony ? sorry ! we are open for business. let's reroute greg to fresno. growing businesses use machine-to-machine technology from verizon wireless. susie ! the vending machine... already filled. cool bike. because the business with the best technology rules. it is 15 minutes past the hour. good morning. this is your "wake-up call." did you catch the public debate last night. stephen colbert relates it to blood, tigers? here's your punch line. >> the republican candidates have their second presidential debate in less than a week and i was as excited as a kid in the candy store who spent the same three hours in the store last wednesday. we taped the show orks so let me give you the preshow analysis for today. oh, god, so much blood. where did that tiger come from. the real game-changer came before the debate when tim pawlenty stopped by to borough a cup of air time from fox and friends. >> there's one man unmatched in his skills, experience and talent when it comes to growing jobs and that's mitt romney. >> this is huge for romney. just weeks ago these two men were bitter rivals, opposite in every way, and look at them now. tilt ooh is like miracle whip endorsing mayonnaise. >> ouch. time now for your political ticker with tim farley, host of morning briefing on sirius live. >> why did i even watch it. thank you, carol. >> good-bye. i'm leaving too. seriously they were pouncing on the rick perry, the front-runner again. let's listen to a bit of it, shall we. >> does governor perry deserve any credit for all the jobs that were created in texas? >> oh, sure, oh, sure. >> tell him how much credit he deserves. >> well, look. you know, i think governor perry would agree with me that if you dub four aces that doesn't necessarily make you a great poker play sneer governor perry, you were dealt four aces. >> well i was going to say, mitch, you were doing pretty good till you got to talking poker. >> congressman paul, you're from texas, does your governor deserve all that credit? >> not quite. i'm a taxpayer there. my taxes have gone up. our taxes have doubled since he's been in office. i don't want to offend the governor because he might raise my taxes or something. >> what's interesting, tim, is, you know, i was reading some of the op eds about it last night. more mainstream papers sate is was mitt romney. he said it was rick perry. who do you think it was? >> as far as winning? i think when you come out of it, you look at who was going in, what they had to accomplish and what hay had to come out with. i think you still have no reason to believe that rick perry is still not the front-runner in the republican party and i think what we're seeing as we go through here, maybe a sharpening of possessions. rick perry did a little more. as do you said at the top of the show, carol, he softened the rhetoric on social security. there is one issue that struck me that may be a problem for at least the more conservative part of the republican party and that is the governor's stance on immigration as he was attacked by both mitt romney and several others including michele bachmann who was more strident about her criticism of rick perry last night. but that may be an issue that. cos back. it's probably a little closer to a george wfrmt bush, i believe, when he pushed an immigration plan that never made it through cob. >> there was one other factor that michele bachmann had up her sleeve and that was the vaccinations against the hpp virus that perry passed this legislation in texas that, of course, young girls could be vaccinated. listen to the exchange between michele bachmann and rick perry. >> the question is it about life or was it about millions of dollars and potentially billions for a drug company. >> you've got to respond to that. >> yes, sir. the company was merck, and it was a $5,000 contribution that i had received from them. i raise about $30 million. and if you're saying that i can be bought for $5,000, i'm offended. >> well i'm offending for all the little girls and parents that didn't have a choice. that's what i'm offended for. >> and more than one political analyst said rick perry's answer was not so good. it didn't make him look good. it seemed like, yeah, he took a donation from this drug company and then, you know, rick required these little girls to be vaccinated. >> ladies and gentlemen, we've established over what i'm staebling over the price of what the governor seems to be saying. i this inch we no e where he's tries to go but you're not going to win that right to life vote. she's pretty much got a corner on that. i think it was a clumsy answer. again, i think -- he probably should have stuck to what he said at the beginning which was i made a mistake, i apologize. we'll see. they're not going to let him do that. by the way, before we finish up, i think with this reference he somehow managed to get the suicidal grudge vote if anything else because it fell flat. >> i ya, i don't think the audience had any idea who kurt cobain was or that he wroets a book or anything else. >> that's what he was referring to. exact will i. >> tim farley, many thanks to you. japan's damaged nuclear reactors are now stable six months after the tsunami. we'll take a look at where the nuclear crisis stands now. it's 21 minutes past the hour. a mouthwatering combination of ingredients... i know you're gonna love. 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[ kimberly ] the university gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. [ carrie ] you're studying how to be an effective leader. [ cherie ] you're dealing with professionals, teaching things that they were doing every day. [ kimberly ] i manage a network of over a thousand nurses. [ carrie ] i helped turn an at-risk school into an award-winning school. [ cherie ] i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah. [ kimberly ] and university of phoenix made it possible. learn more at phoenix.edu. breaking news from iran this morning. nbc news is reporting that iran's president says two american hikers will be released in two days. shane bauer and josh fa tall were hiking around the border. iran accused them of being spies. last month they were sentenced to eight years in prszen for espionage and illegally entering aryan. now he says they'll be released. al qaeda has al qaeda has released an anniversary memo. let's go to monita rajpal. she's live in london. what do woe know about the tape. >> it was an hour-long video. in it, the man who is essentially the most wanted man in the-year-old wo, ahman al zawahiri issued a statement saying he was praising the arab spring, which is a revolution sweeping across the middle east. he hopes it would bridge about true islam and also the video showed foot anl as you were saying and a message from bin laden which was recorded obviously before he was killed by navy s.e.a.l.s in may. he was saying that he was warning americans against falling as slaves to major corporations. that was what was included this hour-long message. carol? >> interesting. let's talk about japan and the fukushima reactors. they are now stable. >> yeah. the international atomic energy agency, the iaea is saying that the reactor -- that the fukushima nuclear power plant is what i they're calling essentially stable. b basically they are at a point where they are close to bringing it to what they call a coal shutdown or achieving coal shutdown by january. that means the water being used to cool these reactors down, which do you remember was the problem that these reactors were overheating and there was concern that there would be full meltdown on these reactors, what's happening right knew, they're stable enough that they are at a temperature enough that they could achieve cole shutdown by january which essentially means these reactors are not posing any threat at this point, but, of course, there's still -- you never know what could happen. >> carol? >> yeah. we know that for sure. thank you so much. later today, president obama is set to head to a high school in columbus, ohio, to sell his jobs plan, but how does the president propose we collect $447 billion to pay for it? the answer to that? it's 26 minutes past. we all have internal plumbing. but for some of us with overactive bladder, our pipes just don't work as well as they should. sometimes, i worry my pipes might leak. but i learned there's something more i can do. now, i take care with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. if you experience swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue, stop taking vesicare and get emergency help. tell your doctor right away if you have severe abdominal pain, or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision, so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. so why wait ? ask your doctor today... ... about taking care with vesicare. it is tuesday, september 13th. this is your a.m. wakeup call. good morning. carol companies tell you zoning you live from new york. later today president obama is set to head to a high school in columbus, ohio, to sell his jobs plan. america jobs act, it adds up to about $447 billion. that's how much it will cost to implement all the stuff in the bill. the question now is how will he raise, the president, that $447 billion? christine romans joins me to explain it all. >> he will go to find money where there is money and that's in the pockets of people who have money. basically, upper income americans. these are individuals who make $200,000 and more a year, families who make $250,000 or more a year, tax the rich. he would begin that effective january 1st, 2013, and the white house says they could raise $400 billion this way. let me break it down. he'd do something called raising the carried interest tax. unless you're a hedge fund manager you don't know what this is. this allows hedge fund managers to keep an awful lot of money in their pockets. this would raise $18 million over 10 years. he'd repeal oil subsidies. that would find $$4 billion. he'd end the corporate jets tax breaks. you hear the president talk about this in the lot. in the end it's about $3 billion or so. of all the things you can reach into the pockets of reach people to get, it makes beautiful speeches, it's not a heck of a lot of money. although i guess $3 billion no matter how you slice it in an era of fiscal austerity is a lot of money. that's how it would go. mostly tax increases for people who have an awful lot of money, carol. >> the bulk of it, $400 billion, would be rated by limiting tax exemptions for people making over $200,000 a year, couples making over $250,000 a year, right? >> right. you would see the tax increases, you would see tax increases in the form of this. if you were going to write off charitable deductions or itemized deductions you'd cap them at 28%. for every $100 in deductions the people who make $200,000 a year or couples who make $250,000 a year, every $100 in deductions they claim starting 20 between, it would only reduce their tax bill by $28. right now it's $36 or higher. so that's real money and that's where the president would find it. >> christine romans, see you in a bit, thanks so much. fridge alert, fridge alert. yes, there is another food recall to tell you about. i'll tell you when we come back. it or find a new job, all right? got it, i'm soy. these people, huh? u kn ifound at anger the enemy of instruion. you don't know the es that i he to deal with. u're probably righ thank you! whoever you are. i'm pretty sure at was phil jason. quitfaus... milliochampionship.. iangle offense innovar. [ ale annocer ] the audi 8. named st large ly sedan. nice whes n maer. thank you...todd. ♪ another turkey recall. from cargill. that's the second one in six weeks. this recall is for 185,000 pounds of ground turkey products which could be contaminated with a strain of salmonella. the recalled meat was sold under the grands of honey suckle white, kroger, heb, and packaged in late august. the agriculture department wants to keep more strains of e. coli off your table. right now only one strain is considered a hazard and can be present in raw ground beef. they want to add six strains to the list. the beef industry says the move is not needed. find yourself losing faith in humanity? logan, utah, a motorcycle collides with a bmw, they go up in flames. the motorcycle rider is thrown under the car. bystanders come returning in and they're trying to lift the car. remember, there are flames next to that car. look, they actually lift the car. there's a guy underneath there, the motorcycle rider. eventually, and i hope we get to see it, they pull the motorcycle rider out from under the car. there he is. see him lying on the ground there? last we heard the motorcycle rider was in stable condition. suffice it to say, those people saved his life. if you've been on a plane maybe you can identify with this, complaints against airlines are up but they did a better job getting you to your destination on time. passengers filed 17% more complaints in july compared to a year ago, though. but flights were on time more. doesn't make sense, right? but there were also more canc cancelati cancelations. and mishandled baggage over the same time period remained about the same. the faa wants to fine an aviation repair facility $1 million saying aviation technical services made improper repairs on 44 southwest boeing 737s. the company says it's cooperating and is cough sent the safety measures it has now are in place. we have a new miss universe, miss angola, lila lopez. the 25-year-old beauty beat out 88 other contestants. one change this year, fans were able to vote on who made it to the semifinals. a former baseball all-star arrested at his home. see what landed manny ramirez hind bars in south florida. exclusive to the military. and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. from free checking to credit cards to loans, our commitment to the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. ♪ visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. usaa. we know what it means to serve. if something is simply the color of gold, is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. unlike others, you get twice the points on travel, and twice the points on dining, and no foreign transaction fees. call now or apply at chasesapphire.com/preferred. time for a political ticker with cnn senior political editor mark preston live from tampa, the site of last night's cnn tea party republican debate. good morning, mark. >> hey, good morning, deta ing >> governor perry hammered about calling social security a ponzi scheme. let's listen to the exchange between perry and mitt romney. >> it has been called a ponzi scheme by many people long before me. but no one's had the courage to stand up and say, here is how we're going to reform it, we're going to transform it for those in those mid-career ages. >> the term ponzi scheme i think is over the top and unnecessary and frightful to many people. but the real issue is in writing his book governor perry pointed out in his view, social security is unconstitutional. >> it got more spirited from there. so mark, in your mind did rick perry sort of repair the damage from calling social security a ponzi scheme? >> well, he certainly did a lot better than his -- what he did last week at the debate out at the reagan library. but we're going to continue to hear from mitt romney in the days and the weeks to come because he thinks that he sees an achilles heel type of issue right now for rick perry. but it wasn't just social security that rick perry was hit at. he's also hit over the idea of mandates and the whole idea of the hpv vaccination mandated on young girls in his state. we also saw too, we saw that it wasn't just rick perry getting hit from mitt romney, we saw michele bachmann step up and also take it. we knew the front runner in the race, that's what rick perry is right now, you're going to take it from all sides, carol. >> you're not kidding. there was another interesting moment in the debate. wolf blitzer put a hypothetical question to congressman ron paul about what should happen to a young man who chose not to buy health insurance then suffered a terrible accident. let's listen to that. >> that's what freedom is all about, taking your own risks. this whole idea that you have to prepare and take care of everybody -- [ applause ] >> but congressman, are you saying society should just let him die? >> no -- >> people were actually cheering at that from the audience. not many but there were a few, mark. >> yeah, you know, a very distasteful from the audience when we heard that reaction. it was just a couple of folks in the audience. interesting, his answer to that was it took him a few times to come out and answer the question directly. he said that it would be churches and other social organizations that would step up but it shouldn't be the federal government that would have to take care of it. a very interesting exchange that we saw between wolf blitzer and ron paul last night. it shows -- goes to show you ron paul is very much a strict constitutionalist when it comes to an issue such as that, carol. >> he never varies, he's a true libertarian. he's into personal responsibility to the max. mark preston, many thanks to you. the u.s. open has a new champion. serbian know crack djokovic beats rafael nadal of spain in the men's final. that spinal took 4:10. naugh yell nadal ranked number two. wow, he's had han amazing year. new england patriots wide receiver wes welker scored a record 99-yard touchdown. that's after a pass from tom brady. 99 yards. look at him go. the patriots beat the miami dolphins 38-24. manny ramirez was arrested at his home in connection with a domestic dispute. ramirez retired from pro baseball this spring. he hit 555 home runs in his career. joran van der sloot reportedly ready to make a deal that would include a confession in the death of a peruvian woman. but first on this day in history back in 1996, rapper tupac shakur died at age 25 in a las vegas hospital. he was shot after leaving a boxing match. auto repair. gary... he hung up. ...why do we have so many a's in our name? 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[ male announcer ] supply chain solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. good morning to you. it is tuesday, september 13th. this is your a.m. "wake-up call." carol companies tell how joining you live from new york. i have a bit of breaking news to pass along to you. there have been explosions in kabul, afghanistan. kabul, the capital of afghanistan, and it's disturbing news. sources within kabul telling cnn suicide attackers have entered a building under construction a few blocks away from the u.s. embassy. there was an explosion in that building under construction. cnn later talked to a taliban source over the phone. the target of those suicide attackers was the u.s. embassy in kabul. suzanne malveaux is in afghanistan trying to gather information for us but the afghani government has now told embassy workers inside the u.s. embassy to take cover. so maybe the attacks aren't over yet. we do know there have already been explosions. we don't know of anything substantial being hit except maybe for this building under construction. we just don't know. but the target of these bombers is the u.s. embassy in kabul, afghanistan. again, we havasu zan malveaux there. she's trying to gather information. when we get her up and live she'll have more information for you. in the world of politics in the united states it's not easy being the front-runner. just ask rick perry. he was the prime target for the seven other republican presidential candidates onstage at the cnn tea party express debate, trading barbs about everything from the economy to entitlement programs to immigration. mitt romney came out swinging on social security. but michele bachmann showed some fire, going after perry about hpv vaccines. >> the question is, is it about life, or was it about millions of dollars and potentially billions for drug companies? >> you've got to respond to that. >> yes, sir. the company was merck. and it was a $5,000 contribution that i had received from them. i raise about $30 million. if you're saying that i can be bought for $5,000, i'm offended. >> i'm offended for all the little girls and the parents that didn't have a choice. that's what i'm offended for. >> north carolina voters are one step closer to weighing in on a same-sex marriage ban. the state house of representatives voted to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot next spring. if it passes, the state senate gets the go ahead from voters, north carolina will become the final state in the southeast to chisel the ban into their state constitutions. joran van der sloot is willing to confess to simple homicide of the death of a peruvian woman according to his lawyer. he's been behind bars since june of last year when he was accused of robbing and killing 21-year-old stephany flores. his lawyer is pushing for the simple homicide charge. it carries a 20-year maximum prison term. that's less than the victim's family wants. van der sloot was a long-time suspect in the 2005 disappearance of natalee holloway in aruba. that case as you know remains unsolved. a home health care provider with hundreds of offices across the country will pay a record $150 million to settle charges that it was ripping off medicaid, the veterans administration, and other government programs. federal prosecutors say maxim health care was billing the government tens of millions of dollars for services it didn't perform or ones that weren't eligible for reimbursement. maxim says that it's changed its ways and fired the responsible executives. a sad story from upstate new york. when flooding hit the region last week, one of the buildings devastated by the floodwaters, a pet store in johnson city. employees were able to rescue about 100 animals but another 100 did not make it. the town's mayor ordered police to investigate. okay, let's head to afghanistan now. we havasu zan malveaux live. there's been explosions in kabul, afghanistan, the capital there. supposedly the target was the u.s. embassy. suzanne malveaux, what more can you give us? >> reporter: carol, we're just getting some details now. it happened about a half hour ago. we're getting information from the afghan police, a criminal investigation chief. it happened right outside across from the u.s. embassy. and this is how eyewitnesses explain it. there were a group of gunmen that approached. they went to an abandoned building that was across not far from the embassy. started using and firing light weapons, grenades, as well as rocket-propelled grenades. the embassy itself, one of the people, the spokesperson of the u.s. embassy talked with one of our producers. was not able to give much information, carol. that is because they are in a duck and cover mode. they have taken cover inside of the building. but so far, what we have seen, what we've heard outside here, we're about a mile and a half away from the embassy. we were just there, carol, a couple of days ago for the 9/11 anniversary. and apparently there have been some small arms fire around us. there's also been a gentleman who came by with a bull horn, aessentially, in english telling everybody to stay inside the buildings, not to come out onto the streets. essentially the streets, the roads are all on lock-down. this is right outside of the embassy as well as where we are. so there's still a lot of confusion, there's still a standoff that is taking place. we don't have any information about injuries or casualties at this time. all we know is that there are insurgents who have been attacking and say that their intention is to attack the embassy. we do have a statement from the taliban. a spokesman who talked to our cnn producer oaf the phone. and he said that, we attacked kabul city. our target, the u.s. embassy, governmental organizations and other foreign organizations. we are prepared with heavy and light weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades. so carol, we are very much in a wait and see mode. and certainly at the u.s. embassy, a bit of anxiety, if you will, because they are in a duck and cover mode. carol? >> you say they're in a duck and cover mode but surely that embassy is surrounded by heavy security. i mean, is anyone returning fire from the u.s. embassy? or we just don't know yet? >> reporter: we really can't -- we just doobt know, carol. we don't know what kind of firefight is ensuing. we know there were light weapons fired, we know there were grenades used. we do not know. if we can get closer, if we can get police officials too give us more information about how they're being defended, then we'll certainly bring that to you. it is all really just unfolding in the last 20 minutes or so. i can tell you we were at the embassy just a couple of days ago. it as very fortified structure. there's all kinds of security. you're talking about international security are american security. it is certainly not far from the military and international bases that are here in kabul city. so there certainly is a lot of security presence, high security presence, american as well as international, for these kinds of incidents. carol, in my short time i've been here i've learned that there are quite a number of suicide attacks. and depending on how big they are and who they target depends on how much coverage they get. so as we get more information, we're starting to figure out just how significant this is. we were packed to go to the airport and head to the airport in about an hour or so. and started to get just bits and pieces of this information of this story. and at first it sounded like it was something that was rather small and insignificant. as we've gotten more information and we've realized the u.s. embassy is the target, that there was a firefight that was ensuing, this has gotten a lot more significant. we still don't have a lot of the information but it certainly has taken on a bit of weight, if you will, because of the target and because of the seriousness of this. >> absolutely. so we'll let you go so you can gather more information. for those of you just joining us, the u.s. u.s. embassy in kabul, afghanistan, under attack supposedly by taliban forces who are across the street in a building under construction firing rounds of ammunition at the u.s. embassy, us a rpgs. u.s. embassy workers have been told to take cover. they're under a duck and cover order. there is security within the u.s. embassy, as you heard suzanne say. we're not sure if anybody from the u.s. embassy is up. ing fire. we'll have more for you on "american morning." bank of america announcing 30,000 layoffs but it may not end there. some predicting other big banks will follow suit. with two childn and no way to support them. people told me i wasn't going to do anything. and i just decided i have more to offer than that. i put myself through nursing school, and then i decided to go get a doctorate degree. university of phoenix gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. my name is dr. kimberly horton. i manage a network of over a thousand nurses, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder to help neutralize odors in multiple-cat homes. and our improved formula also helps eliminate dust. so it's easier than ever to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. more breaking news. this out of iran. we've learned two american hikers jailed in iran will be released after a $500,000 bail is paid for each of them. that is according to their attorney. shane bauer and josh fattal were arrested while hiking along the iraq/iran border in 2009. iran accused them of being spies. last month they were sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage and illegally entering iran. now we know those hikers should be released in two days. let's head to the nasdaq market site. >> reports today on import and export prices as well as the treasury budget. when you take a look at the numbers, it doesn't look like it adds up to much, at least right now. dow futures currently down.