welcome to "world news." tonight, gloves off. the escalating battle over health care reform. the white house comes out swinging. and we fact check what, if anything, the proposals say about abortion. full speed ahead. all of a sudden, detroit is in demand. ford is ramping up production, plants and overtime. candid cheney. former vice president dick cheney reportedly talking with associates about his problems with president bush. three days and 40 years. celebrating the woodstock anniversary. peace, love and lives that were changed forever. and then, remembering a guitar legend who revolutionized and then, remembering a guitar legend who revolutionized rock and roll. captions paid for by abc, inc. good evening. after days of raucous, in your face town hall meetings about health care reform, the white house today said enough, and launched its own e-mail chain letter campaign to counter the critics. and try to get the upper hand in the intense national debate. supporters of reform say opponents are using misinformation, trying to kill reform for political purposes. jake tapper is at the white house again tonight. jake? >> reporter: good evening, charlie. the last few weeks have been dominated by opponents of president obama's health care reform push, white house officials insist it's not too late for the president to make his case to the american people. the fight over health care reform has become as heated as any presidential campaign, with shouting at town hall meetings and near-saturation levels of tv ads. including this one from a new coalition made up of unions, hospitals, the ama and the pharmaceutical industry. >> what does health insurance reform mean for you? >> reporter: almost $60 million worth of tv ads have run so far, some of them true, some of them false. >> the radio ads and the television ads and the web ads, they are all going to have to complement each other for these messages to get through because there is so much clutter right now. >> reporter: the white house this week began pushing back more aggressively against various claims by opponents. in this white house e-mail listing so-called health care reform myths, signed by senior advisor david axelrod, which he asks supporters to forward to friends. in web videos like this one, from a white house official whose son has autism, in which he talks to parents of children with disabilities afraid reform will mean their children won't be able to get the coverage they need. >> that simply is not true. >> reporter: such efforts seem almost an acknowledgement that the white house is losing the argument. a recent gallup poll shows a plurality of americans, 49%, disapprove of president obama's handling of health care policy. why are they not with the president? >> look, i think part of it is some of these misconceptions. the president isn't out doing town hall meetings just for his health. >> reporter: such as the erroneous claim that health reform would create a bureaucracy to impose end of life decisions on seniors. >> there's some people that think it's a terrible problem that grandma's laying in the hospital bed with tubes in her, and think that there ought to be some government policy. >> reporter: today, senate negotiators announced they dropped end of life provisions from consideration entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly. the white house was asked today if the president could sign a bill without those provisions. >> i don't know the answer to that. >> reporter: charlie, some critics suggest that by not taking a firmer position on key controversial positions such as that one, prosituations in the bill, the white house is allowing opponents of the bill to define what should be in the final legislation. >> all right, jake tapper at the white house tonight, thanks again. and at the town hall meetings, the subject of abortion is often mentioned. many questioners maintaining that reform would put the government in the business of paying for abortions. are they right? as we continue fact checking the health care battle, kate snow looks at the questions surrounding abortion. >> reporter: senator arlen specter was asked about abortion at a town hall meeting this week. >> young lady, you have the floor. >> i did not want to pay on a health care plan that inclumds the right for a woman to kill her own born baby. is it true that this plan is in the health care bill? >> reporter: the basic question there, is the right to abortion included in health care reform? the facts? the original bills in both the house and senate never explicitly addressed the subject, but that doesn't mean it doesn't come up. >> refer to section 17.14 that talks about family planning services. all right? starts on page 769. >> reporter: he's not wrong. that section does talk about family planning for women on medicaid. it will allow states to council or provide abortion, using state money. but could federal money be used toward abortion? that is the question that comes up most often at those town hall meetings. >> i'm talking about taxpayer funded abortion. we have to pay for it, okay, whether we agree with it or not. >> reporter: will health care reform lead to taxpayer funded abortions? unclear. current law states federal funds cannot president used for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother. but under health care reform, lower income americans would have their health care subsidized by the government, and they will be allowed to pick a health plan that covers abortion. the president has said the government should not pay for it. >> you know i'm pro choice. but i think we also have a tradition of, in this town, historically, of not financing abortions as part of, you know, government-funded health care. >> reporter: one version of the house reform bill would allow health plans to cover abortions as long as they were paid for entirely with private funds. it might no be the easiest thing to regulate, keeping public and private money separate, but experts say it could work. that version of the house bill may end up being the final version, but we just don't know yet, and, of course, the senate is working on its own version. so, the bottom line is, we don't know yet is taxpayers could fund abortions. it is up to the members of congress, charlie, and the president. >> all right, kate snow, reporting again tonight. next, to the auto industry. and a word that we haven't heard from detroit in a long time the word is more. more demand, more cars, more work. ford today said it is raising its production for the rest of the year, building an additional 10,000 vehicles in the third quarter. here's sharyn alfonsi. >> reporter: at ford today, manufacturing more cars is job one. ford says it will build an additional 6,000 focus compacts at its michigan plant, and additional 3900 escape suved in kansas city, a plant that was slated to shut down for two dames later this month. >> the demand took us by surprise. not the amount, but how quickly people came to ford. >> reporter: dealers across the country say they're desperate for new cars to replenish lots drained by the success of the cash for clunkers program. >> we'll take more inventory if we can get it. >> reporter: analysts say ford and some asian automakers have benefitted the most from cash for clunkers. brian benstock, a new york honda dealer, is one of them. he has plenty of customers, but hybrid cars -- >> they're asking for hybrids. and we've sold them all out. >> reporter: gm says inventory levels are now at historic lows, but unlikely to increase production for now. the big three automakers all cut back production last year. gm and chrysler even itled their plants. shipments to dealers ground to a halt. now -- >> everybody's scrambling, trying to find carps. >> reporter: chrysler report dlil plans to add shifts and overtime at some of their plants at the end of this month. many customers don't want to wait, fearing funding for cash for clunkers would run empty by then. >> in the beginning of the program, they were coming in for a specific car. now they buy what we got. >> reporter: the big question for all the automakers is, can they get the new cars on the lot before the demand runs dry? sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. and "on the money" tonight, even with cash for clunkers, retail sales slumped in july as consumers pulled back. sales had been expected to rise, but were down .01%. and foreclosure filings jump again last month. a record number of homes, more than 360,000, received a foreclosure notice. there is a possibility tonight that the only person convicted in the bombing of pam am flight 103 might soon go free. some rell gives of the 270 victims are outraged at the possibility. nick wath t is in london tonigh. >> reporter: abdel baset ali al megrahi was convicted of 270 counts of murder and sentenced to life for his part in the bombing of pan am 103. now the former libyan intelligence agent is dying of prostate cancer, and scottish officials are considering granting him what they call a "compassionate release." >> clearly he is terminally ill, and there are other factors. but i have made no decision yet. >> reporter: even the prospect of his release has infuriated some families of the victims. kathleen flynn's son j.p. was flying home for the holidays when flight 103 exploded over lockerbie. >> you don't allow someone who has murdered, you know, premeditated murder, of 270 innocent people and let them walk away from their prison term. sorry, it's just not just, and it's not fair. >> reporter: today, u.s. officials agreed. >> we believe that he should spend the rest of his time in jail. >> reporter: but in britain, a dying prisoner can qualify for compassionate release. last week, the infamous great train robber ronnie biggs was freed, aged 80 and suffering from pneumonia. and some british relatives of the lockerbie dead believe megrahi should go free. they don't believe he was guilty in the first place. >> i think it would be inhumane. indeed, downright cruel, to keep the man in prison to die, away from his family and his country. >> reporter: scottish authorities believe megrahi has just months to live. the question tonight, will he spend those last few months a free man or a prisoner? nick watt, abc news, london. and in jacksonville, florida, today, there was a solemn homecoming from war. the remains of a navy pilot, michael scott spiker were returned home, 18 years after he was shot down in iraq, on the first night of the first gulf war. spiker's body arrived at the jacksonville naval air station. he'll be buried in a private ceremony tomorrow. and still ahead, dick cheney reportedly now talking bluntly about his former boss, president bush. the airline offering unlimited travel for one month for $600. how much could you travel in a single month? and woodstock, 40 years later. how three days of mud and music changed some lives forever. so, what's the problem? these are hot. we're shipping 'em everywhere. but we can't predict our shipping costs. dallas. detroit. different rates. well with us, it's the same flat rate. same flat rate. boston. boise? same flat rate. alabama. alaska? with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. dude's good. dude's real good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. with cialis for daily use... a clinically proven, low-dose tablet for erectile dysfunction you take every day so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. don't drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. 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"the implication was that bush had gone soft on him --" one confidante told the post. >> the one thing he regrets most is that bush walked away from him. george bush softened. >> reporter: cheney enjoyed unprecedented power and influence during bush's first term. but the boss ultimately rejected cheney's advice to continue the practice of water boarding to stand by the secretary of defense, donald rumsfeld, and to pardon cheney's former chief of star staff, scooter lib libby. >> cheney thinks bush bent on these things for the wrong reasons. that he lost his nerve in the face of public criticism. >> reporter: cheney famously ignores public opinion. that much was crystal clear last year when abc's martha raddatz asked him about the iraq war. >> two-thirds of americans say it's not worth fighting, and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in american lives, certainly, and iraqi lives. >> so? >> reporter: president bush answered the same question with a lot more humility. >> well, you know, look, obviously i care about what the american people think. they're the people that are paying for the effort. >> reporter: cheney has been downright contemptuous of other administration officials who later broke ranks and expressed criticism in public. so if he does indeed plan to dish the dirt in his memoirs, some bush loyalists are bound to view it as hypocritical. david wright, abc news, washington. and still ahead, the new airline ticket that allows unlimited travel. is it really a fair deal? 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>> it's great for people that travel for business on a regular basis if you are a traveler that wants to see places you've never been or see places that you've enjoyed, you now have almost free reign to do so. >> reporter: you could start in boston goes to san juan, take the mid afternoon flight and get on the late plane to seattle. $600 in flights in one day. and still have 29 days to go. interesting. and the man whose name is sin no, ma'am mouse with the electric guitar has died. les paul played a pretty mean guitar in his own right. ♪ les paul started off in country and jazz, and recording with his wife, mary ford, but when paul got around to experimenting with new guitars, everything changed. in 1941, he built his first solid body electric guitar, then perfected the invention, to go on to influence countless musicians. ♪ les paul recorded his final album in 2005, and then kept on performing. he was 94. and we stay with rock and roll ahead, looking back 40 years, and the lives changed forever by woodstock. and you have high cholesterol. you've taken steps to try and lower both your numbers. but how close are you to your goals? 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i'm a little irregular today./ for my little issues? summer is no time to put up with even occasional digestive problems. take the activia challenge now. it works, or it's free. ♪ activia and finally tonight, woodstock. this weekend will mark the 40th anniversary of the concert. people are cashing in, with books and cds and an anniversary edition of the woodstock documentary. the debate about woodstock's significance will probably go on forever. but for some people who attended, there's no debate. it was life-changing. here's bill weir. >> reporter: it was the most wonderful failure in entertainment history. horrible weather, too many people and too little organization. >> helen savage, please call your father. >> reporter: if not for the hit documentary and soundtrack, woodstock would have lost millions. but in the middle of an official state disaster area, and an era of violent upheaval, there was peace. and love. and mind-blowing music. that was the second time you guys had ever played together? >> second time. the thing that amazed me was that, i think that's the only time there's that many people in one place where people didn't hurt each other. >> it may not have been the big soes logical we had hoped. it may have been the kind of a convert where the performers weren't really that good, but man, that was a hell of an audience. >> reporter: plenty in that audience disagreed. patrick fell in love with his wife there and decided to drop out of the seminary. >> it was the greatest event of my life. it changed me. it made me feel like i belonged for the first time. >> reporter: steve buckwald went from flower child to florist, one of the biggest in the country. >> i was tortured about what to do for a living and said, "flowers, yeah. i could do that with a clear conscious." >> reporter: the stage was there? >> right down there. >> reporter: and duke devlin came to woodstock from texas and never left. >> i'd like to think that some of these green movement that are popping up today, trying to make a better world, i think the little seeds of woodstock are starting to grow. >> things change as you grow up, but i think a lot of those values did hang in there. what would it be like if it hadn't happened? interesting question. >> reporter: the kind of question that's best contemplated with a little help from your friends. bill weir, abc news, bethel woods, new york. >> 40 years ago this weekend and there's never been anything like it since. that's "world news." i'm charlie gibson. i hope you had a good day. for all of us at abc news, have i hope you had a good day. for all of us at abc news, have a good night. captions by vitac this is the "jeopardy!" college championship. here are today's contestants--