recession fear. today the story is the health of the european banks. >> that's absolutely right, christine. what we're seeing is conflicting reports today in a couple of newspapers about whether the eurozone and european regulators for the banking industry will move to try to recapitalize or shore up the capital that some of the banks hold. this is on the back of on going concerns about the health of the french banks after mohamed el arian said yesterday. he said that could undermined the eurozone, pushing europe into a broader recession. today the markets seem to be rebounding after flirting with losses earlier on in today's session, christine. we should also remember that we've had really sobering statistics and warning shots from some of the world's biggest institutions this week. let me run you through them. on a positive note, overnight we had the g-20 promising to act -- put forward concerted action to try to stop these losses and on going concerns about a return to recession. but we have, nevertheless, had the imf warning about the path to recovery narrowing considerably. earlier on in the week the imf decided to cut the growth forecast for global growth for this year and next. the world trade organization is forecasting lower trade next year for the world. those are sobering thoughts that economists are trying to put into context. one of the reasons we saw significant losses for the markets, just to give you an indication of the losses we saw yesterday, $100 billion was wiped off the ftse 100 in london just in yesterday's session alone. >> the last two days was the last two days at the dow since 2008. nina dos santos, thank you. today you'll probably read score sheets for the republican presidential debate in orlando. it wasn't exactly a trip to disney world for the front-runner. mitt romney, michele bachmann hammered perry on the hpv vaccine and immigration. they didn't spare president obama either. >> there's a rick perry, almost a quote, that the federal government shouldn't in the pension business, that it's unconstitutional. unconstitutional and should be returned to the states. so you better find that rick perry and get him to stop saying that. >> i think americans just don't know sometimes which mitt romney they're dealing with. >> i've got one question for him. have you ever even been to the border with mexico? >> yes. >> i'm surprised if you have. you weren't paying attention. >> the answer is yes, first i have. >> you are going to build a wall, a fence for 1200 miles and go 800 miles more to tijuana does not make sense. you put the boots on the ground. >> nothing will turn america around more than election night when barack obama loses decisively. >> as president of the united states, that's the very first thing i would do is repeal obama care. >> my next-door neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs than this current administration. >> we didn't show jon huntsman in that series of clips. we'll hear from him a little later. two new polls show the utah governor is climbing into double digits in new hampshire. palestinian leaders are expected to submitted application for membership. the u.s. promised to block the application. abbas is frustrated with the go-nowhere peace talks. yesterday iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad spoke. several walked out after he predicted the demise of the u.s. and accused yufrp of using the hole caused as an excuse to support israel. standard fare from the iranian president. there's been a shooting at the u.s. border, it happened in san ysidrio, california. two customs and border agents fired on a man they say waved a fake handgun at them. the man is expected to survive. this happened in an area where agents check people who walk over the border into the u.s. a third state executed a death row inmate last night. last night alabama put to death derrick mason, convicted and condemned for robbery and murder of a convenient store clerk. like troy davis in georgia, he had a lot of supporters who rallied to save him including the judge who sentenced him to death in the first place. alabama's governor denied requests to stop that execution. as we told you yesterday morning, texas also executed lawrence brewer, one of three men convicted in the infamous dragging death of a black man, james byrd. take a look at the last meal he requested. bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, fajitas. guess what. he didn't eat any of it. because of him he isn't serving special meals to death row inmates anymore. let's go to rob marciano. tropical storm ophelia losing steam as she treks through the atlantic. what's the latest, rob? >> we were thinking this was going to happen. it certainly has. it's not done. here is a look at ophelia as of right now, as of 5:00. the tropical storm was very close to becoming a hurricane as of yesterday. but had strong headwinds and that shear is not helping it. want to start you off with what's going on across the east coast as far as the rainfall is concerned. there you go, atlanta to the carolinas, heavy rain at times here. we've got street flooding across atlanta. this moisture is pushing up towards the northeast as well. the radar will begin to fill in there. we've got flood watches and warnings posted for this very, very slow-moving front making its way across towards the east coast. flood watches for friday through saturday for all this area up and down the i 95 corridor. be aware of that and take the precautions you need to. if you're traveling on this friday, obviously some delays especially at the metro. airports around new york city. d.c. and philadelphia as well. let's talk about what's going on with this satellite. things haven't changed since yesterday. here is a look at the or bit that this thing takes on between 57 south and 57 north. that's the area where this thing can fall out of the sky and cause some damage. but when we think this is going to happen, plus or mine nis nine hours is this afternoon or this evening. there you go. this takes north america out of the equation. i found a couple of things that were interesting, carol and christine. first of all, from the faa they're warning pilots to record and report any sort of observations that they see of debris from the satellite falling out of the sky. they do not mention actually avoiding that debris. i would add that. the other thing is, this is from nasa's prediction. this is at 9:30 last night they sent this, an update saying, that it's still either this afternoon or this evening, but the predictions will become more accurate and more refined in the next 24 hours which is basically when it hits the ground. we're all pretty much watching and waiting. no telling where this thing is going to fall. they're taking north america out of the equation. odds are it false in an ocean or uninhabited area of the earth. comedian stephen colbert gives his two cents on european's debt crisis. >> the eu is on the verge of collapse. >> the european union itself is falling apart and fast. >> the great weakness is governments like greece. if they were to default which is what's happening in other countries, you would have a collapse of the currency and a lot of problems. >> if the euro collapses, europe classes. >> and if europe collapses where will college students spend a semester abroad to learn how to throw up sangria in spanish. once again greece is in danger of defaulting on their debt. to save themselves they have only two options. a., prime minister george pop dre' oh can turn it to stone by using medusa's head. b, greece can convince the other european countries that they're getting their financial house in order. to do that, someone in greece may have to do the unthinkable, get a job. >> very funny. a group of european researchers stirring up all kinds of controversy this morning. they think they might be able to prove einstein is wrong about the speed of light. what they say appears to travel even faster. first our quote of the day, my father still refers to the internet as the worldwide web. find out which former first daughter said that about her dad, coming up in 90 seconds. it's about 11 minutes past the hour. that works at the molecular level to help your engine run more smoothly by helping remove deposits and cleaning up intake valves. so when you fill up at an exxon or mobil station, you can rest assured we help your engine run more smoothly while leaving behind cleaner emissions. it's how we make gasoline work harder for you. exxon and mobil. is to take you from where you are... to where you need to be. and we're not just talking about points on a map. with a more intuitive delta website and mobile app... and the most wifi equipped planes. we let you be everywhere at once. innovations like these are extending our reach so you can extend yours. and now, even at 30,000 feet you can still touch the ground. 12 minutes after the hour. welcome back to your "a.m. wake-up call." let's get back to our quote of the day. my father still refers to the internet as the worldwide web. who said that? it was chelsea clinton, daughter of bill and hillary. she stays off camera as she pokes fun at her parents' technology know-how during the clinton global initiative. >> as your daughter, i remember when i helped you send your first text message. >> yes. that wasn't very long ago. >> chelsea is being much too kind and gentle. both bill and i, if you don't tell anybody, i'll tell you, we are primitive. >> my father still refers to the internet as the worldwide web. blockbuster finding a way to get back in the game after filing for bankruptcy. let's go to kristie lu stout. >> blockbuster is back and taking a bite out of the streaming video market. it plans to launch a flat fee, all-you-can-wash streaming video service. this comes as netflix is dealing with scores of angry customers all upset about its recent price hike. netflix played a big part in blockbuster's demise. the streaming war begins. back to you. >> blockbuster doing everything it can as it remerges from bankruptcy. researchers say they've clocked a particle going faster than the speed of light? >> this is an interesting update here. nothing can go faster than the speed of light. that is einstein's theory of relatively. it may be time to rewrite the books. european researchers say they've clocked a sub at tromic particle going faster than the light speed limit. it's not a surprise to note their finding is stirring up controversy. even the researchers themselves say they are not ready to proclaim a discovery and are asking other scientists to verify what they found. for now e still equals mc squared. back to you. >> all right. christie lau stout. thanks. he's leading in the polls. republican vives v rivals are turning up the heat on texas governor rick perry. the big focus, his record on immigration. how perry is responding just ahead. ture. ture. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital's working together, there's a family who can breathe easy, right now. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest healthcare questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college. retire how they want to. ameriprise. the strength of america's largest financial planning company. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you, one-to-one. together, for your future. ♪ good morning. welcome back. congress' approval rating ain't doing so hot. according to comedian jay leno, it's causing leaders to show up in, well, blark and blue. >> another record broken this week. congress's approval rating all-time low, just 12%. a lot of politicians, a lot of these congressmen went back to their home district these week end. you can tell their constituents are fed up with them. you can see it in their faces. show congress -- >> mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i macon assume. >> they're telling seniors to pay more for health care. >> the issue is dredging a lot. >> without additional assistance, the capacity to respond -- >> time for your political ticker with tim farley, host of "mourning briefing" on sirius fm potus. let's start with the gop debate in orlando. rick perry defending his record on border security and immigration. >> i feel pretty normal getting criticize $by these folks. the fafkt of the matter is this, there is nobody on this stage who has spent more time working on border security than i have. out of 181 members of the texas legislature when this issue came up, only four dissenting votes. this was a state issue. takes ans voted on it and i still support it greatly. >> so did he open the door for more attacks or put it to rest. >> at least put the key in the door, maybe turned the knob a little bit. >> this doesn't play well. you can hear a little boo at the end of that. it was one of the lines that didn't get a great response of a conservative audience of 5,000 in orlando. it harkens back to what george bush talked about when he was president, a more compassionate approach to immigration. the conservative republicans will play a big role in determining who the candidate will be and who their nominee will be. they want to hear something a little bit more, i guess, strict if you will on immigration. you could hear that during the debate last week, christine. >> what about mitt romney. how did he do last night? >> i think you have to look at him and say he was presidential. i think rick perry overall his performance had stumbling moments. he was trying to make a couple of lines here and there. mitt romney, you know, pretty much polished. he's been through this before and vetted before. i think when you look at it overall, really the net gain out of the debate was probably in romney's favor, although it is still early. once you get the votes cast in iowa, new hampshire and so on, we'll really start seeing how this field is going to take shape. >> meantime the house voted on a measure to keep the government from shutting down. this thing isn't over yet, is it? >> no. that was really early this morning. it's kind of a mulligan. john boehner, if you look at him as the quarterback, he looked at the line and said do i go right or left. he went a little to the right to get some conservatives to vote with him. several republicans voted against it, i think 48 on wednesday. now it's 24. this problem is this is to avoid shutting down the government, all over fema funding as well as a few other things that republicans are looking for offsets in the bill. they want to figure out a way to pay for it. the senate has to act today. senator harry reid, the majority leader, said they might stay in session next week. if they don't vote for this bill, there's a question about what might happen. the house is out of town next week. the government shuts down a week from today, christine. we have to figure out what's going to happen. >> wow. tim farley, nice to wake up with you this morning. host of "mourning briefing." hundreds of teachers in mexico say they won't teach until their classrooms are safe. we're taking stock of drug violence in acapulco. first, do you like red ones or black ones? 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[ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. 24 minutes past the hour. this is your "a.m. wake-up call." here are three things to put on your radar. jurors should be seated in the case against the doctor charged in michael jackson's death. opening statements are expected tuesday. in florida jurors could soon reach a verdict in the case of a florida millionaire accused of killing his wife. today is the day we've been warning you about. pieces of a degraded satellite are expected to fall back to earth. scientists don't know yet where it will land. yemen's president, abdullah saleh is back home after treatment for burns he received in an attack on a mosque. these are live pictures right now of his supporters rallying. he's clung to power in spite of eight months of protests in which tens of thousands demonstrated demanding an end to his 33-year rule. hundreds of teachers in acapulco, mexico, say they won't teach unless their classrooms are safe. marching in protest of a big spike in drug violence, drug violence spilling onto their campuses. let's go to monita rajpal. >> as you're saying, the teachers have taken to the streets to protest in what they're saying is a lack of security in their schools. they say as long as there is violence or even the threat of violence, there will be no classes. if you remember last month, teachers from about 75 schools in the area didn't show up after they had reportedly received threats demanding -- demands actually for a portion of their salary, and if they didn't abide by those demands, they would be attacked. the teachers are calling on the federal government to improve security. the government for its part says they're doing what they can, including installing am larms in schools in acapulco. they also in a local program called safe school, that was created. it was an increase in security personnel in and around the schools. now, in the past five years, more than 40,000 people have died in mexico as a result of drug-related violence. >> 40,000 people and spilling on to school campus is something that is very concerning as the drug wars there continue. video from britain appears to show kids cage fighting. this is being slammed by critics. the pictures are hard to watch. >> very hard to watch indeed. we're looking at boys as young as 8 who are taking part in a support that seems to be gaining a lot of popularity here in this part of the world, especially in the northern part of england. it's cage fighting. you see two boys attacking each other in front of spectators who pay about $40 to watch. organizers and even the parents of those boys say it is actually a legitimate sport. and they compare it to a form of martial arts. they're saying it's better they're there in those gyms an cages rather than out fighting on the streets. the parents say it's not dangerous and because they're younger, they say there's no kicking or punching. they're basically just wrestling. but the british medical association, however, says it's particularly disturbing as the kids aren't wearing any headgear. christine. >> my goodness. it's perfectly legal? >> yeah. absolutely. it is legal because the places where they are holding these fights are -- they have a license to do so. >> wow. monita rajpal, thank you so much. jas see dugard, the woman who spent 18 years as a prisoner in the california back yard is suing the federal government. why she says the fed made outrageous mistakes in tracking her cap tore. so who'd have ever thought the love of your life... would be short and bald? having a baby changes everything. fiber one. uh, forgot jack's cereal. 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it's friday, september 23rd. this is your "a.m. wake-up call." i'm christine romans in for carol costello. it's about 31 minutes past the hour. the big story right now, the markets. it was a rough ride on wall street yesterday, a bad couple of days. let's go to carter evans at the nasdaq market site. futures stabilizing a little bit. >> looking a little better. i remember yesterday we were shaking our heads looking at the market. it was a rough day yesterday, not just here but all around the world. we're seeing recovery today. european markets are slightly higher. we don't have big economic reports today. investors are going to be on their own. it looks like they're going to spend the day breathing a sigh of relief maybe, recovering a little bit. >> those two days -- the two-day loss on the dow was the worst since 2008. you don't like to compare anything to 2008. meanwhile, at hp, big changes over there. >> big changes. a new ceo, her name is meg whitman. she was the ceo of ebay before. listen, hp stock is down more than 46% this year. the board was not happy with its current -- with its ceo leo apotheker. they decided to let him go yesterday. he made big changes, ditching his tablet just months after it went to market. he suggested hp get out of the pc business altogether. basically a lot of people weren't happy with that. the chairman said yesterday the board considered many candidates and decided whitman was the right fit. don't feel too bad for apotheker. he's taking home a $25 million severance check. >> $25 million severance check. all right. carter evans, we'll check with you in a few minutes. thank you. when the republican candidates weren't treating front run fler rick perry like a piñata, they offered ideas on how to fix the economy and deal with taxes. >> you should get to keep every money you earn. that's your money, not the government's money. >> the people hurt most by the president's economy, the obama economy is the middle class. that's why i cut taxes for the middle class. >> to lower that tax burden on the small businessmen and women. >> 9% business flat tax, 9% personal income tax and 9% national sales tax. >> we're not going do raise taxes. there is the worst time to be raising taxes. everybody knows that. we need to grow. >> the fair tax which would absolutely reboot the american economy because it does away with the corporate tax to create tens of millions of jobs. >> obama's socialist policies, class warfare and bureaucratic socialism, we created zero in august. i believe with leadership we can balance the budget. >> we've seen these battles on the state level where unions have really bankrupted states from pension plans to here on the federal level. >> you have to deal with the federal reserve system, you have to deal with free markets and you have to deal with the tax program and the regulatory system. >> that was the third republican presidential debate in as many weeks. the next is set for october 11th in new hampshire. top executives of the failed solar power company solyndra will not be testifying before congress today. they plan to plead the fifth. the justice department is investigating the government's backing of this failed company. solyndra declared bankruptcy last month after it received a $535 million federal loan guarantee back in 2009. kidnap victim jaycee dugard is suing the u.s. government, blasting what she calls an inexcusable lack of supervision of her captor, a convicted rapist out on parole. phillip garrido kidnapped her and held her captive in a california back yard for 18 years. the complaint accuses the government of gross neglect in failing to properly track garrido. he was under the federal government's watch until 1999 when california took over. california has already settled with dugard for $20 million. we may learn more today about the deadly air race crash in reno last friday. the national transportation safety board is expected to release a preliminary report into that drat macmat tick crash caught on tape. 11 people died when the plane nose-dived into the crowd. 28,000 students in washington state head back to class today. their teachers have voted to end an eight-day strike. they were picketing over class size, teacher pay and educator transfers, but they've reached a tentative agreement with the tacoma school district, one that leaves class size and teacher pay alone and will let a joint committee decide which educators end up at which schools. president obama is offering up ways for states to work behind no child left behind. in return, states have to adopt some of the president's own education agenda and show they're committed to closing achievement gaps in american public schools. yemen's president returns from saudi arabia to a cheering crowd of thousands. protesters have been working for months to oust him. we'll get the latest developments just ahead. [ female announcer ] for over 30 years, we've been dedicated to helping our students succeed in america's most in demand careers. we provide you with instructors who are professionals working in the fields they teach. it's an education designed for today, from a university that holds the same level of institutional accreditation as america's top schools. experience the university of phoenix difference at phoenix.edu. next year women will be able to compete for the first time in what has been a male-only sport in the olympics, boxing. now meet marlin esparza, she only weighs 112 pounds. her dream is to be the first female boxer to go to to olympics representing the u.s. soledad o'brien tells us more about this fascinating young woman whose name i butcher. >> with a name like soledad, we forgive you. marlin esparza is 21 years old. when he started shooting her for our documentary "latina in america" she was the five time champion in boxing. the path was not all that easy. a lawsuit, devastating loss and also just lots of drama as she tries to fight her way through a box-off, all were the obstacles she had to over come. her story is amazing, not really about boxing, but about a testament in what it takes to make it when things may be against you. we wanted to tell her story in "latina in america" which will air on sunday. >> what drives her? why does she want to be a boxer? >> she's been a great boxer since she was 11 years old, won her first national championship when she was able to sneak into the fights at the age of 16. she loves boxing. it is her life. she is unlike any young woman i've ever seen. her coach i think is largely responsible for a lot of her suck sus. he says no boyfriends, no dating, no going out. certainly no drinking, et cetera, et cetera. these are the things that made her a champion. they also make her unusual as a young woman. we wanted to explore what does it take to succeed at that level. >> awesome. soledad o'brien, thank you so much. "latino in america" sunday night, september 25th at 8:00 eastern. don't miss it. time to get smart. how many people were sentenced to death in the u.s. between 1970 and 2009. your get smart challenge of the morning. was it 5,319, 7,512, 9,722? the answer comes up in two minutes. it's about 40 minutes past the hour. oh, you want to touch it? go ahead and touch it. nicely. nice froggy. [ female announcer ] there was a time when poker night... was what you looked forward to all week. - oh, wow! cool! cool! - whoa! so who'd have ever thought boys night out... wouldn't hold a candle to boys night in? having a baby changes everything. today i own 165 wendy's restaurants. and i get my financing from ge capital. but i also get stuff that goes way beyond banking. we not only lend people money, we help them save it. [ junior ] ge engineers found ways to cut my energy use. [ cheryl ] more efficient lighting helps junior stay open later... 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[oinking] 41 minutes past the hour, almost 42. this is your wam wake-up call. now back to our get smart question, how many people were sentenced to death in the u.s. between the years 1970 and 2009. there you go. there are your choices. the answer is c, 9,722. by the end of 2009, 12% of those sentenced had been executed. about a third were still on death row. the rest had their sentence commuted, conviction overturned or they died in prison. let's go to rob marciano live from atlanta. tropical storm ophelia losing stream as she treks across the atlantic. what's the late sneft. >> winds have come down a little bit to the 45 to 50-mile-an-hour range. at one point yesterday it was looking to be hurricane strength. still tracking our way. it has strong headwinds. it doesn't look all that healthy. here is the track. forecast by the national hurricane center decreases its strength potentially to a tropical depression. and lightly recurving out to sea. this time of year it's huff to get them all the way towards the east coast because we get the fall fronts that sometimes push all the way to the gulf of mexico. we have one right now which is the focal point of the heavier rain moving through birmingham, atlanta, greenville, spartanburg, raleigh and getting up to the northeast as well. this radar will begin to fill in across the i-95 corridor as we go through time. as a matter of fact, a flash flood watch out for the del marva, parts of the mid atlantic and the northeast, especially along the coastline for the rest of today and through tomorrow because of rainfall that's supposed to be heavy at times. new york metro, you'll see rainfall today as well. because of that we'll see delays at the airports. d.c. metros as well as philadelphia, also. let's talk satellite. by the way, it just passed over graceland for your elvis fans. it is currently -- quickly now it's over the caribbean. how about that? this s this sucker is moving fast. we still think, christine, give or take nine hours, 5:00, 6:00 this evening, that's when this thing is scheduled to fall out of the sky. once it stars to do that, we won't be able to do that anymore. we've been saying all along nasa thinks it will break up into about 26 or so different pieces. that will fall to the ground. they say north america out of the equation. everything else is fair game, watching uars at the moment. >> two cones of uncertainty, one is a hurricane and the other is a big piece of space junk. >> by the way. fall arrived at five minutes after five. >> yeah, i was going to put an egg here. >> you can do it tomorrow, too. >> can i? okay. coming up, we'll tell you about broken glass and flying objects at one of president obama's campaign offices. first, the next time you fly you might want to remember this day in history. in 1925 the airmail act took effect paving the way for commercial airlines. there you go. 45 minutes past the hour. life is treat you like a policy, not a person. instead of getting to know you they simply assign you a number. aviva is here to change all that. we're bringing humanity back to insurance and putting people before policies. aviva life insurance and annuities. we are building insurance around you. good morning. it's friday, september 23rd. this is your "a.m. wake-up call." i'm christine romans in for carol costello live from new york. thousands are packed in the streets of yemen after president saleh returns. mohammed jamjoom joins us live. he was ailing and being treated in saudi arabia. now he's home. what happens next? >> reporter: well, that's the big question right now, christine. if i can tell you about pictures we're seeing on yemeni state television, thousands of people packed in central sana'a. these are pro government demonstrators. we're seeing the bodies of military martyr, military men that died in various conflicts that played out across yemen many caskets being taken through the streets. these are people trying to show their loyalty to president sa h saleh. the concern is this day could get very chaotic and val tile. many people didn't think the president would actually return to yemen. he had been recovering from an assassination attempt. he had extensive surgeries to help him in his road to recovery. a lot of people didn't think he would be back, he would use the opportunity to be back in saudi arabia asking for him to step down. i spoke to activists today that say this is absolutely terrible news. they believe it will make the situation more volatile. the international community, including the u.s., said they thought it was wise for saleh to sign a transfer of power agreement. he never signed that agreement. there are reports saleh will give a speech today. we also heard there are clashes going on in the square. all the protesters and activists are very fearful. they say the situation is very, very tense. nobody expected saleh to return in this fashion. people said they thought saleh might try to install his son in power and he would bow out gracefully. that did not happen. he is back now clearly being defiant and showing the world community he will return to yemen when he wants to despite what people expect of him. >> mohammed jamjoom, thank you so much. today you'll probably read score sheets for the republican presidential debate in orlando. it wasn't exactly a trip to disney land for the front-runner. mitt romney, rick santorum, michele bachmann all hammering perry on the social security, hpv vaccine in texas and immigration. they didn't spare president obama either. >> there's a rick perry out there that is saying, almost to quote, it says that the federal government shouldn't be in the pension business, that it's unconstitutional. unconstitutional, and should be returned to the states. you better find that rick perry and get him to stop saying that. >> i think americans just don't know sometimes which mitt romney they're dealing with. >> i've got one question for him. have you ever even been to the border with mexico? >> yes. >> i'm surprised if you have, but you weren't paying attention. >> the answer first is yes, i have. >> you're going to build a wall, a fence for 1200 miles and go 800 miles more to tijuana does not make sense. you put the boots on the ground. >> nothing will turn america around more than election night when barack obama loses decisively. >> as president of the united states, that's the very first thing i would do is repeal obama care. >> my next-door neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this current administration. >> that got the big laugh line of course. the next gop presidential debate is october 11th in new hampshire. palestinian leaders are expected to submit an application today for full membership in united nations. president mahmoud abbas has been pushing this idea all week. the u.s. has promised to block that application. yesterday several delegates walked out on iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad. he predicted the demise of the u.s., questioned the 9/11 attacks and accused europe of using the holocaust as an excuse do support israel. standard fair from the iranian president. los angeles police trying to figure out who vandalized president obama's campaign office. so far we don't know what was tossed or who is responsible. the president visits l.a. to raise money in a few days. in texas, they're changing last meal requests for death row inmates because of lawrence brewer. he was put to death wednesday night for the infamous dragging death of a black man, james byrd. take a look at what he requested. a bacon cheeseburger, omelet, fried ohka, fajitas, steaks, barbecue, pizza, ois cream, fudge. how can one man eat all that? guess what? he didn't eat any of it. because of him texas is not serving special meals to death row inmates anymore. they'll eat what the rest of the inmates make. endurance swimmer diana nyad is giving it another shot. tonight she'll get back in the water and try to swim to florida. she tried in august and only got about halfway. she tried it back in the '70s. maybe the third time will be the charm. nyad, 62 years old. the world of the day is gamete. find out what it means. why you need to know what it means after the break. 53 minutes after the hour. ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. ♪ [ dog barks ] [ birds chirping ] ♪ [ mechanical breathing ] [ engine turns over ] ♪ [ male announcer ] the all-new volkswagen passat. a new force in the midsize category. ♪ since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ almost 57 minutes after the hour. this is your "a.m. wake-up call." the word of the day is gamete. it's a reproductive cell such as sperm or egg cell, capable of fusing with another cell to eventually make a new individual. why are we talking about it today? apparently these little gametes of red-headed men are no longer accepted at denmark's cryos international. the bank says it has 140,000 doses of red-headed sperm, more than enough redheads for now. congress's approval rating isn't doing so hot. according to jay leno, it's causing leaders to show up, well, black and blue. >> another record broken this week. congress's approval rating all-time low, just 12%. a lot of politicians, a lot of these congressmen went back to their home districts this weekend. you can tell their constituents are fed up with them. you can could see it in their faces. show congress today. >> mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i macon assume. >> they're telling seniors to pay more for health care. >> the issue is where do the spoils go. >> without additional assistance, the capacity to respond in the future -- >> very clever. let's go to carter evans for a look at your money joining us live from the nasdaq market site here in new york. things have stabilized -- two horrible days for american investors, but things have stabilized in the futures market. >> let's put this behind us. these are ugly numbers. this is the cnnmoney.com futures page. nasdaq up about 15, s&p 500 up about 6.5. after yesterday's huge declines, we'll take about anything we can get. >> headlines on cnnmoney.com. >> one of the big ones are that americans are adding to their credit card debt. $18.5 billion in the second quarter. it is 66% more than the same time last year. it's also 368% more than americans tacked on to their debt in 2009. what's going on here? banks are loosening their lending standards. there is good news, christine. banks say they're seeing fewer late payments and much fewer defaults. the amount of debt we're adding and carrying is still much less than in years past. >> loosening up on the credit a little bit because they've pushed out a lot of borrowers who didn't have great credit histories. those borrowers are having a terrible time borrowing money. but trying to find people who can pay on time. >> trying to find people who can pay on time, who will use credit and earn these companys eamon any. >> it has been a bad week. american morning continues right american morning continues right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com your day. with urban warfare breaking out in the capital, his country spiraling towards civil war and