we're going to switch over now to cnn.com/live where we'll continue the conversation with donna brazile as well as three of our guests that are good enough to share their situation, talking about health care with them, the reality of how it affects them. here now, though, is wolf blitzer. rick, thanks very much. happening now, cold beer and maybe cold feet. we're counting down the president's get-together with an african-american scholar and the police officer who arrested him. when it comes to this event, team obama suddenly seems a little camera shy. we're watching the story for you. another story we're chasing down right now is health care reform hitting a brick wall in the senate. new warnings from some powerful republicans that a final deal could be a long way off. and growing fears about a new wave of swine flu. could be bigger and deadlier and a new report says the federal government is not ready. i'm wolf blitzer in cnn's command center for breaking news, politics, and extraordinary reports from around the world. you're in "the situation room." in about the two hours, it'll look like happy hour over at the white house. pictures many of us have been waiting for. there will be three men, a back yard, and some beer. president obama, harvard professor henry louis gates and cambridge police officer james crowley. they'll all get together and they'll try to drown out that controversy over gates' arrest with some red, light, and blue. a reference to their beer preferences. we have fresh video of one of the men, professor gates, traveling to the meeting from martha's vineyard. meanwhile, they're buzzed because big changes are brewing. let's go to our white house correspondent, dan lothian, watch the story for us. what's the latest, dan? >> reporter: as you know, there's been a lot of buildtown this meeting but access really is being limited. in fact, this has really turned into a photo-op. all discussions will be taking place in private. now, initially this beer sum, if you will, was supposed to take place at a picnic table just outside the oval office next to the jungle gym, the play structure for the obama kids, but i guess that visual of adults drinking beer next to a playground was not appealing, so instead it has been moved to the rose garden. and now the media is being kept back 40 feet so they won't be able to shout any questions at all the parties at this event. so, i guess you could call it a real beer summit from a distance. cold beer diplomacy at the white house. president obama, professor gates and sergeant crowley trying to get rid of a nasty hangover from a controversial and racially charged arrest. >> they're decent, honorable, good men. to get together and talk about what's going on in this country is a positive thing. >> reporter: while the president has called this controversy a teachable moment, aides say no formal agenda, no after-action report, is on tap for this so-called beer summit. just dialogue around a rose garden table on issues like racial profiling. >> this is an issue, as you mentioned, of concern to a lot of americans, not just african-americans but a lot of americans. and i think as such it will be a topic that's continued to talk about. >> reporter: president obama plans to toss back a bud light. crowley wants a blue moon. gates is said to prefer a red stripe. but there's controversy brewing in the choice of beverages. massachusetts congressman richard neil had such a bad taste in his mouth that he sent this letter to the president, suggesting an american-owned product like sam adams instead of bud light, which is now owned by a belgian company. >> call the white house tonight. >> reporter: and this man protesting alone outside the white house doesn't think drinking beer at the meeting is appropriate because it sends the wrong message to the nation's youth. >> we want him to hold up some orange juice, something that's healthful. >> reporter: the president is just wrapping up a meeting with the president of the philippines at the white house, and someone asked a question of the president about this upcoming beer summit. the president says that this is opportunity for everyone to listen to each other. we hope to get more from those comments, wolf, once we get the tape of that event. >> for that tape. as soon as we get it, we'll play it for our viewers. let me get this straight, dan, some sense tiff stuff, especially for the news media and a lot of american who is want to see this. the three guys are going to sit down in the rose garden, you're saying, but they're not going to let the cameras get anywhere within earshot or hear what they're saying? just going to be a little picture we're going to get of this meeting? >> reporter: that's exactly what it is, wolf. they will be at the back end of the rose garden. there is a patio area with a table and some chairs around it. that is where they will be having this meeting. they're not going to be talking when the media is allowed to go in. they're just going to stand there. the cameras will be kept 40 feet away so really no ton to really shout any questions, to hear any reaction at all from the parties who will be attending. so, really being sort of kept at a distance from this event. and this is something that the white house really had been pushing now for quite some time. the president coming out into the briefing room, talking about this, saying how this would be a teachable moment. but right now all we're going to get is video opportunity. >> teachable moment indeed. thanks. we'll stay on top of this story. we're also standing by to hear what the president has just said -- told the reporters in another meeting on the philippines about this upcoming three-way summit in the rose garden. stand by for that. meanwhile, the president might need a beer or two after he gets an update on health care negotiations in the senate. just yesterday, he was applauding a new reform deal in the house as a step forward, but it's a different situation in the senate. let's go to our senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, with more on this part of the story. what's the latest in the senate, dana? >> reporter: you know, wolf, i'm standing again outside of the office of the senate finance chairman, max baucus, where negotiations over a health care deal have been taking place daily. but now the republicans who have been working towards the compromise are dealing another blow to the president's time line for health care. coming from a republican, this may sound like good news for the president. >> -- that we'll get a bill to the president this fall. >> reporter: but what the president and democratic leaders really want is a bipartisan deal now, before the august recess, to help build much-needed moment t on health care. yet who people with the power to break that deadline are saying no. listen to the halls of the capitol. >> reporter: the senate democratic leader blamed top republicans for the delay. >> the only problem we have with having a bipartisan bill is the republican leadership in the senate. senator grassley and senator enzi have been under great pressure. >> reporter: both admit to cnn the three negotiators are feeling gop heat for negotiating with democrats and presh is sure both in private and public to slow down. this was the rep can leader's 30th senate floor speech saying a version of this. >> some in congress seem to be in such a rush, such a rush to pass any reform rather than the right reform. >> we're going to get back to dana in a moment. but we're told that the videotape of the president speaking about this upcoming summit with the police officer and the professor, we have the tape now. >> okay. jeff mason. >> first of all, what do you expect [ inaudible ]? second of all, what do you think will be the main message tonight in the rose garden? >> on gdp, i don't have a crystal ball and i haven't received figures yet. but i think if you look at the consensus, consensus of economists right now, it confirms that we have seen a significant slowing down of the contraction over the last several months. there are a lot of indicators out there that tell us that, you know, job losses, although still way too high, are not at the pace that we were seeing in january or february. housing prices went up for the first time in three years. the credit system, the banking system, the financial markets generally have settled down. so, you're not seeing the huge volatility or panic that you were seeing. and so, all of that is a sign that we have stepped away from the precipice. you know, as ben bernanke and others across the ideological spectrum have indicated, we were in a position where we could have gone into a great depression. i think those fears have abated. but i suspect that the gdp numbers will still show that the economy contracted in the second quarter, that job loss is still a huge problem. you don't have to read gdp numbers to see that. all you've got to do is talk to the american people, who are still losing job, losing home, and worried about their ability to keep their health care and finance their children's educations. so, we're not going to rest until we have seen not just a technical improvement in gdp but until the american people's job prospects, their incomes have rebounded, and that's going to take some time. with respect to tonight, you know, i have to say, fascinated with the fascination about this evening. as you know, this idea was prompted when i was talking with sergeant crowley and he said, well, maybe i'll have a beer in the white house someday and i said, well, you know, i'm sure that can be arranged. you know, i noticed this has been called the beer summit. it's a clever term, but this is not a summit, guys. this is three folks having a drink at the end of the day and hopefully giving people an opportunity to listen to each other. and that's really all it is. this is not a -- this is not a university seminar. it is not a summit. it's an attempt to have some personal interaction when an issue has become so hyped and so symbolic that you lose sight of just the fact that these are people involved, including myself, all of whom are imperfect, and, you know, hopefully instead of ginning up anger and hyperbole, you know, everybody can just spend a little bit of time with some self-reflection and recognizing that other people had different points of view. and that's all it is. and so, you know, i will be surprised if you guys all make this the lead as opposed to a very important meeting that we just had with one of our most important partners in the world. but the press has surprised me before. thank you very much. >> all right. the president of the united states trying to play down this meeting. he's about to have in less than two hours over in the rose garden of the white house with the police officer who arrested the african-american scholar, henry louis gates. this is not a university seminar, he says. this is not a summit. it's all been hyped. just three guys going to have some cold beer. let's go back to our white house correspondent dan lothian. i guess that explains the white house rationale, why they're going to keep cameras and microphones at a distance. >> that's right. they really are, as you mentioned, wolf, trying to down play this. and we've noticed that all day where initially we had thought this would be something which would be a little broader than sort of this photo-op that we'd get a chance to perhaps be on the inside of some of these discussions. but in essence, what the white house wants to do is just have a casual, private conversation where they can discuss some of the issues that have transpired over the past few day, put sort of the past behind, and also, you know, draw a little bit of attention to bager issue and that is issues of racial profiling, something that the white house hopes will go beyond discussion here, will be carried out in police departments and communities across the country, wolf. >> dan, we're going to be in close touch with you as we get closer to the meeting in the rose garden. thanks very much. i want to go back to our senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, to just wrap up where this stands in the u.s. senate. dana, your report was obviously very solid, but we're getting sort of conflicting signals from some of these republicans in the senate finance committee, senator grassley on cnn earlier today, basically suggesting, you know, they've worked out a compromise, no government option, if you will, no employer mandates. he's got a whole bunch of things. he sounded upbeat and eventually this would have bipartisan support. >> reporter: exactly. i think eventually is the key word here because there's no question he is upbeat. he is saying they have gotten a lot of progress done, but the problem from the perspective of senator grassley and another republican, one of the three, mike enzi, is that they don't want to be rushed and they are very concerned that the white house, the president himself, democratic leaders have made it very clear that they want this deal done in the next couple of days really in a way so that they can actually have a committee vote next week. and, in fact, as we were talking and listening to the president, i just got a statement from senator grassley making it very clear that he does not think it is helpful to have this kind of pressure, from his point of view, pressure from the white house to do it fast. he said it will be a lost opportunity of democratic leaders in congress and the administration forced action on health care legislation that's not ready because of the complexity of the issue. so, that just gives you a sense of where things are. pretty remarkably sane, if you will, behind those doors, but recently in the past 24 hours or so they've become much more tense and intense because of the fact that there is pressure from the democratic leadership and the republican leadership, both sides, to get it done or not get it done depending on perspective. >> opposite pressure coming from the two sides. >> yeah. >> thanks, dana. let's check in with jack cafferty for "the cafferty file." jack. the news media are fighting to survive, and dan rather thinks the government should help rescue them, us. the former cbs anchor man is calling on president obama to create a white house commission to help save the press. rather says such a commission could make recommendations on saving journalism jobs and creating new business models to help the industry survive. rather says there are precedents for this kind of national commission which have helped other failing industries. dan rather says the stakes couldn't be nighny higher. he told the "aspen daily news" in an interview, quote, a truly free and independent press is the red beating heart of democracy and freedom, unquote. he says it's not just journalists who should worry about the fate of the press in this country, but, rather, every citizen. you also talked about the dumbing down and sleazing up of what we see on the news, and he blames that on the blurry line between news and entertainment, along with corporate and political influence in newsrooms. he claims that about 80% of the media is controlled by just a handful of large corporations. dan rather also talks about the decline in investigative and international reporting, says the loss of reporters covering the two wars that we're involved in hurts our nation. the bottom line is dan rather sees it, if somebody doesn't step in and take action, this country will eventually lose its independent news media. so, here's the question. should the federal government be involved in saving the news media? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog. >> i know the way you think. probably the same way i think. right, jack? >> i would guess we're on the same page. the republican governor of minnesota is coming out swinging at president obama today. is this tim pawlenty's way of saying he'll be a white house candidate in 2012? i'll speak with him and ask him. also ahead, president obama's former doctor is speaking to cnn. he's explaining why he thinks the white house plan to overhaul health care is bad medicine. he has some specific details. and a new shot of fear. the second case of swine flu. introducing the all new chevy equinox. with an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon. and up to 600 miles between fill ups. it's the most fuel efficient crossover on the highway. better than honda cr-v, toyota rav4 and even the ford escape hybrid. the all new chevy equinox. this is one way of getting vitamins and minerals. this is another. new total blueberry pomegranate cereal gives you 100% of the daily value of 12 essential vitamins and minerals. plus the bold new taste of blueberries and pomegranate with crispy whole grain flakes and crunchy oat clusters. total, a truly delicious way to get vitamins and minerals. how are you getting 100%? visit totalcereal.com and get a free sample. are enjoying the new palm pre from sprint. its revolutionary web os allows multiple applications to run at the same time. - ( thunder and rain ) - millions are using the simply everything plan. - each is saving $1200 over an at&t iphone plan. - ( cash register dings ) together that's billions of dollars. enough to open a dunkin' donuts in space. from america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. get the palm pre. only from sprint. only on the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. from brink's home security... you can now expect from broadview security - for home and business. call now to get the proven technology of a broadview security system installed for just $99. day or night, broadview is on the job, ready to respond when trouble strikes. i'm sending help right now. (announcer) the same professional monitoring you expect from brink's home securi, you can now expect from broadview security - for home and business. broadview secuty - the next generation of brink's home security. call now. investors push the restart button on a stock market rally. the dow jones industrials closed about 80 points higher today, inching closer and closer toward that 10,000 level. let's go to our chief business correspondent, ali velly. ali, explain what's going on. >> if you had your money well invested in the last two weeks you would have done better than you do in an average year in the stock market. the dow topped 9,200 in today's trading and that's a level we haven't seen in almost nine months. the s&p 500 hit its own nine-month high, the nasdaq at a ten-month high. the nasdaq has had five straight months of gains. let's look at some of the political milestones on wall street's wild ride. take a look at the dow. on the left side of the screen is mid-september of last year. the dow was just shy of 11,000 points. that's when lehman brother filed for bankruptcy. that event and aig collapsing after that turned the economic downturn into this global financial crisis, wolf. the dow dropped to about 10,325 three weeks after that when congress passed the t.a.r.p. legislation. that's the massive government bailout of the nation's big banks. now, jump ahead from then to election day, november 4th. more losses for the major marks. we saw the dow sliding to 9625, and by the time the president was sworn in in late january, the dow was down further, 7949. now, let's move forward to when the president signed the stimulus package. that was mid-february. the dow7500. it continued to slide until march 9th, which we now think was the bottom of the market in the 6500 range. but a somewhat steady march since then. now we're back to the levels we saw around election day. for those of you who shied away from the market, now might be a good time to think about reengaging based on your o