they got republicans on the side jim acosta is there. jim? to do this. those petitioning for same-sex >> hi, kyra. that's right. you can hear the music behind me marriage really organized. but the candidate is starting to different groups with different had leave this announcement interests and the governor event that took place in the pulled them together and said last hour. you guys all have to get it for a conservative fire brand together. >> does become a model for rhode who has gone after this president over the last several island, maine and other states years what we saw from michele bachmann at this announcement considering such a move? was sort of the softer side of we'll have to see if it just the congresswoman from emboldens the opposition. minnesota. she has certainly turned down >> good to see you here. >> i'm back in washington her tea party rhetoric, saying at one point tomorrow. but who knows. >> who knows. >> that's the fun of this business. >> cnn newsroom with kyra phillips begins right now. good morning, kyra. >> good morning. i'm kyra phillips. the murder trial of casey anthony resumes after a dramatic weekend twist. no one is saying why the judge abruptly canceled saturday's planned testimony. concerns about two nuclear plants threatened by floodwaters in neb raska. a barrier protecting one of of them has already collapsed. now equipment at both plants

still being protected. the chances of the water getting into the reactor, we're told, close to zero. the national average, gas dropping 11 cent ace gallon in the past two weeks. prices could drop another dime soon. one hour from now, the presidential race gets more interesting and probably a lot more angry. michele bachman, the powerful voice behind taxpayer frustration and tea party ideals launches her bid in the critical state of iowa. jim acosta is in waterloo. getting a lot of buzz as the potential front-runner. right, jim? >> that's right, kyra. this is an amazing development, i would say, for gop politics for a monday morning. a few weeks ago, it's pretty safe to say that a lot of republicans in the gop establishment did not take michele bachman as seriously as they take her now. she is a force to be reckoned with.

at least in iowa, there is a poll that came out. to show you what we're talking about, mitt romney is the front-runner at this point, raising the most amount of money, was the front rran in 20. but michele bachman, who also happens to be a native of waterl waterloo. the reason she's doing so well could be a hawkeye trifecta, if you will. she is certainly one of the leaders of the tea party movement. she started the tea party caucus up in the house of representatives, a social conservative adored by christian conservatives in this state. and then she also, of course, is a native of this state. that's going to do well for her here. in iowa, they like to meet you, as they say, three or four times before they settle on a candidate. after the sunday talk shows yesterday, she was doing the rounds yesterday on those shows. she was asked about her near

front-runner status here in iowa. >> we're undoubtedly thrilled. we don't take this for granted. this reflects what we had been hearing on the ground. this will be the beginning of a marathon. it's not a sprint. we're looking forward to go and greet more people and win in iowa. >> reporter: it's going to be interesting to watch this announcement and hear what she has to say, kyra. since the cnn debate a couple of weeks ago, we've seen almost a kinder, gentler michele bachman. she's been known for throwing ow the red meat. she's said things along the lines of questioning president obama's patriotism. that was back in 2008, saying that he perhaps had some anti-american views. she has softened that attack. on one of the sunday talk shows yesterday she even said she hasn't always said things the way she wish she had. i have to tell you, kyra, it is pretty early in this campaign to see things get this interesting in iowa.

not only do we have this announcement from michele bachman, in about an hour from now, a movie about her. >> michele bachman's official entry into the 2012 presidential race. we'll carry her announcement live here on cnn. flooding is causing concerns in nebraska and keeping people from their homes. we'll start with you at ft. calhoun at the nuclear plant there, patrick. is there any danger of that plant actually flooding right now? >> reporter: that's what officials are being very careful to say, that no, they think that plant can be kept water tight. there is some setbacks in the effort to keep the floodwaters, which are two feet higher, kyra, than where this plant sits.

yesterday, punctured about a three-quarter mile long inflatable barrier that goes all the way around the plant, sort of of a moat. a worker actually punctured that berm. they are trying to repair it today. we don't know if that will be a work of -- fuel from overheating. they it that for several hours. they're back on the grid today, kyra. that's a positive sign this morning as we were coming in here, we noticed that the employee parking lot is also completely flooded. we're asking how people actually get to work, hundreds of workers that are coming hee ining here . it's amazing. they have to climb a series of ladders. several hundred people are doing this every day. it's a pretty incredible commute

but the only way they're getting to this nuclear power plant that is now completely surrounded by water, kyra. >> okay. we'll keep following with you. thanks so much, patrick. let's talk more about minot now. as many as 4,000 homes have flood damage. that's where our jim spellman is. jim, any problems with the levees? any more evacuations? >> reporter: well, about a week ago, they realized that the it just goes on for block after block, mile after mile. people are coming back to the edge of the floodwater, trying to get a glimpse of their home.

only about half a block away from here, it's up to just under the roofs of houses. that goes on and on and on. it will be at least a week of the water staying at record flood levels. it will be months, at least, until the city is back on its feet. kyra? a man convicted separately of murdering knox's roommate is testifying. zain verjee is in london. this case is pretty strange with the conflicting testimony and what sounds like pretty wild kugs. what's the latest now? >> there's so much confusion around this. let me explain. what's happening now is that amanda knox is going through an appeal hearing, okay? in that hearing, she said i do not know what happened that night. the testimony is centering around this conflicting pieces of information. there is a guy called rudyguede,

who is -- and mario nelessi will say that rudy guede said that amanda knox is innocent. amanned i don't knox herself says she's totally shocked by this. this is a stage that is very important testimony. it's very critical. it's in the appeal stages and amanda knox and her family continue today, as they have every day, to protest their innocence. >> we'll follow it. zain, thanks. the casey anthony murder trial is back in session, after an abrupt delay on saturday. we'll go live to orlando after the break. and selling violent video games to children. free speech or government interference? a ruling could come down as early as today. a live report from the supreme court in two minutes.

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details just coming in. for those of you waking up out on the west coast, big baseball fans on the east coast, we got word that the l.a. dodgers filing for bankruptcy. so, what exactly does this mean? we will find out with regard to the dodgers and play. they're having issues with their finances for a while now. could this mean just a restructuring of the financials or could they be sold? we're not quite sure. we are just getting word now, l.a. dodgers filing for bankruptcy. we'll talk more about it, coming up in sports. other stories making news cross country --

>> tell her to hang in -- there's somebody over there. >> this is in nevada. investigators looking into the fiery crash between a big rig and amtrak train that killed six people. they're try iing to resolve a discrepancy in the numbers of passengers involved. at least 20 people listed on the passenger manifest are still unaccounted for. and in new york, yesterday's gay pride parade turned into a gay marriage celebration after new york governor andrew cuomo signed the measure into law. it stretched almost two miles from midtown to greenwich village. billy the kid photo sells for $2.3 million. it is the only known photo of the legendary gunfighter. should kids be exposed to those gory shoot 'em up games or

not? the justices are expected to rule this week on whether states can stop sales of violent video games to minors. kate baldwin is at the supreme court, following or waiting to hear a decision. let's talk a little bit about the case, kate. >> reporter: all right, kyra. this is a free speech debate between the state of california and multibillion dollar video gaming industry. this is a law that was signed back in 2005 by then governor arnold schwarzenegger. basically it would ban the sale of excessively violent video games to children, to anyone under the age of 18. the state says they have a vested interest in trying to protect, access to alcohol, cigarettes, even pornography but the multibillion dollar gaming industry say this is a first amendment issue and that it's violating their first amendment right to creative expression. so, many people are watching

this case to see how the justices rule today, as we'll find out probably in about an hour, kyra, in terms of everyone cares about free speech issues. many states watching this to see where they can and cannot regulate and, let's be very honest, many people care very much about their video games, kyra. >> that's true. campaign and finance, the other big case we could hear about today, right? >> right. this having to do with the campaign finance law in arizona. this is a campaign financing system for campaign that is would offer assistance. it was passed in arizona in 1988 in the wake of a corruption scandal. while we could get into the nitty gritty the big question the court could be deciding, is this law designed to fight corruption or is it designed to level the playing field, which is not allowed in election law. many people watching this. of course, we're heading into the 2012 elections, campaign finances are a very big issue here. that comes on the heels of the

landmark case of last year where the court struck down a sweeping federal campaign finance law that offered independent groups like nonprofits, unions and corporations the ability to spend more freely in the election process. very important to everyone in this country, especially as we head into another election, kyra. >> okay. let us know when you get word. kate baldwin, thank you so much. casey anthony trial set to resume in orlando. live picture rooss right now fre trial. on saturday the judge stopped the proceedings in its tracks saying an important, quote, unquote, legal matter had come up. do we have any idea what that was about, david mattedingly? >> reporter: not at this point. we had a little bit of deja vu before everything got started today. everyone went back into the judge's chambers again. that lasted a few minute this is morning. everyone came out with a document in their hands. half an hour after that, they

were all reading it, including casey anthony, reading it very intently. no activity yet. the jury has not been called in. the judge is not on the bench. we're still waiting for things to get started today. apparently whatever began on friday is still continuing today. we do have witnesses out in the hallway that are prepared to be called today. a private investigator that worked for the anthony family as well as investigators for the orange county sheriff's department, waiting to see themselves when court will get started and how we will proceed from here. kyra? >> all right. we'll track it. david, thanks. how low can they go? those trips to the gas station are getting easier, day by day. we'll find out how much longer you can expect those prices to go down. and student protesters in chile express the demands through dance. the sound track, michael jackson's "thriller," of course.

all right. let's talk showbiz for a second here. there was a super awkward moment at last night's b.e.t. awards. trust me, it's never a good thing when the info in your hand and the info on the teleprompter -- well, they don't exact match. >> we're here to announce the winner of the coca cola viewer's choice award. >> read it straight.

read it straight. >> and the winner is chris brown, look at me now. i'm sorry. rihanna. what's my name? >> okay. this is awkward. what's the -- okay. it's okay. it's okay. the winner is drizy drake. come on over here, drake. congratulations, drake. >> oops. so, what really happened? drake was featured on rihanna's song, so he accepted on her behalf. but it turns out chris brown was actually the winner, making it even more awkward, he and rihanna's rocky history. a b.e.t. exec is taking the blame, saying it was human error. they play a husband and wife in an upcoming film, they just

got married. "thriller" video jacket that michael jackson wore went for $1.8 million. mj's stuff brought in the biggest bucks. besides the jacket, one of his famous bedazzled gloves sold for $330,000 also. the auction was held on the second anniversary of jackson's death. meanwhile, students in chile marked the day differently with a thriller of a protest. zain verjee is here with the details. they got creative. >> they d if you're upset with your government, do a few michael jackson "thiler" moves. that's what's going on here. santiago, chile. 3,000 students or so demonstrating in front of the presidential palace because they're upset with education and the whole system. they want to see education reforms. look at them go, kyra, dressed up as ghouls, goblins and

zombies. the reason for the zombies is because they're saying the education system in chile is dead and rotten, just like a zombie. so they want the education minister to resign. they've been holding rallies about this for a while but at least they were having a little fun. they were making a point. >> can you imagine our senators, congress members disagreeing with the president and doing a little michael jackson number there on the hill? >> who knows. you may distract and deflect attention. but, no, i absolutely cannot imagine any of us doing that out in front of the washington monument or capitol hill. kyra, i can imagine you doing it. when was that night we went out in atlanta? you had some pretty good moves. >> definitely not the michael jackson move. >> that was you, right? >> i don't know if that was me or not. we'll talk later. thank you, zain. talk about getting creative. gas prices, never thought we would be happy to pay $3.50 a

gallon, right? that just shows you that everything is relative. allison kostik at the stock exchange. they're expect ed to go lower, probably 50 cents lower. what do you think? >> hearing less than 50 cents but let's rejoice. $the 3.53 a gallon, down more than 20 cents in three weeks. we've gone from almost a dozen states over the $4 mark down to just two states, alaska and hawaii at that mark. these lower gas prices, what do they mean? americans have more money to spend on other things. it could give a much-needed boost to the overall economy. we are getting consumer confidence numbers out tomorrow. kyra, we'll see if consumers have noticed these lower gas prices. kyra? >> this doesn't even factor in obama administration move last week. >> that's right. they could go lower than where they are.

the general consensus is that prices haven't hit bottom yet. some experts say we could see prices drop another 20 cents over the summer. it's not enough to get them below that $3 mark, but it's a whole lot better than where we were in may. keer camera? michele bachman enters the presidential race. she's come in swinging against the president and his policies. what about her own record on capitol hill? dana bash joins us for a closer look. just how thorough is the tsa? why don't you ask this 95-year-old cancer patient in a wheelchair, who had to take off her depends? yeah. the whole story, coming up.

checking top stories. 15 children and 8 adults recovering from injuries suffered in this school bus crash in pennsylvania. the driver of of a cadillac tried to pass the bus but swerved back in its way. parts of a nebraska power plant are under water after the missouri river flooded. the facility is on backup power and is secure, officials say. amanda knox testifies at her appeal hearing that she didn't know what happened at the night of the murder. a drifter, convicted of killing knox's roommate denied saying she was not involved. all right. right now, we're keeping close eyes on iowa, where the latest republican is about to enter the presidential race. michele bachman was born in

waterloo and may have a hometown advantage overflow republicans. a poll from the des moines register shows she may be an early front-runner. political columnist for the newspaper joins us now from iowa. what are you finding out to be the true buzz when it comes to bachman? you're on the ground, talking to everybody every day. >> reporter: yeah. i think that michele bachman, first of all, is a good fit for iowa in a number of ways. she is really appealing to the right wing of the party. this is a really strong block in the iowa caucuses, as most people know. she is a strong tea party caucus and there is a strong tea party presence in this caucus role. you mentioned she is an iowa native. that does not hurt her here. she has been making the most her

waterloo roots here today. >> when you talk to the voters and attend all the various events, what are the issues that people there are talking about? and, in particular, the issues that bachman is saying exactly what they want to hear? >> reporter: a number of issues where bachman really resonates, for one thing, repealing obama care, federal health care plan has been her mission in life, resonates well with republicans. that is part of a larger concern about the federal budget and spending. she is what i hear from voters is that they like the fact that they consider her a true constitutional conservative, someone who is really going to push the power of the federal government back down to the states, where they think it belongs. generally speaking, they want to get their taxes down and really, really control federal spending. >> des moines register's kathy

obradevich. thank you so much. let's view michele bachman from another angle of -- i guess from her paying job on capitol hill. dana bash joins us with a look of the congresswoman's standing on the issues and her standing with her colleagues. >> reporter: first of all, let's go through what her role is here in congress. she was first elected in 2006, not that long ago, of course. she sits on the financial services committee, giving her platform to rail against the bailout of wall street, which she says she was against. just this year, kyra, she got a coveted spot on the house intelligence committee, which allows her to hone her skills for the first time. what she's best known for here on the hill is what she's known for around the country, her involvement in the tea party movement. she saw it coming early on. she was successful at founding the tea party caucus. that really did give her a platform as the go-to person.

she was outside the hill, at the capitol, rallying and railing against the president's policies. and that made her profile go up dramatically. >> and let's talk about how respected, how popular she is with other members of congress. >> reporter: i've got to be honest, if you took an anonymous poll of her colleagues, particularly her republican colleagues, she wouldn't do very well. she is somebody who is viewed by republican colleagues, definitely who is very good at railing against president obama, against democrats but maybe not so much in terms of pushing legislative ideas. she is also somebody who has really challenged her own republican leadership. one gop strategist told me she was unhelpful on a lot of things going through the past years. it is those issues that have propelled her on the national stage. it's because she has been anti-establishment, because she has said that she's not going to stand for what republicans here stand for.

that has really made her sky rocket nationally. deidre walsh told me this morning in terms of rank and file republican, she raised mormmore money last year than any of of them. >> we'll be having our eyes on waterloo in about 30 minutes. da dana bash from capitol hill, thank you very much. at 10:00, we will carry michele bachman's announcement live. she is 95 years old, battling cancer and confined to a wheelchair. heart wrenching enough, right? as jean weber's mom wheeled up to security, a tsa agent said something on her leg felt a little suspicious. the tsa took her mother to a private room to be searched. >> they came out and told me that it had something to do with her depends, that it was wet and it was firm and they couldn't check it thoroughly, she would have to remove it. and i was -- i said, i don't

have an extra one with me. normally this isn't a problem. and she said that she could not complete the security check without the depends off. >> so how did the tsa defend its search? here you go. quote, while every person and item must be screened before entering the secure boarding area, tsa works with passengers to resolve security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner. we have reviewed the circumstances involving this screening and determined that our officers acted professionally and according to proper procedure. is the addiction to painkillers creating a new generation of heroin addics? we'll talk to the reporter who went right to the dealers to find out. >> casey anthony is in her seat, her murder trial set to resume this morning in orlando. we'll talk about the case with sunny hostin. [ male announcer ] and just like that, it's here. a new chance for all of us:

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it's as bad as the 1980s crack epidemic and 1970s heroin epidemic combined. that's exactly how barack obama's national drug described today's painkiller abuse. now writing in her cnn.com opinion piece that painkillers have introduced a whole new generation of heroin addicts.

it seems like such a jump from a pill popper to using a heroin needle. >> it is. it it does seem like a lot. there's a lot of stigma attached to heroin than there isn't to a lot of prescription pills. a lot of kids are starting with prescription pills, thinks that it's something that is not as dangerous. the fact of the matter is that it becomes addictive really fast and it's expensive. sometimes hard to find. and so they switch to heroin, which is essentially -- they have the same active ingredients and they satisfy the same urge. so, this is what is happening. it's a fast switch from prescription painkillers to heroin and it's really dangerous. >> you didn't just take written research and put together your piece. you actually went out and spent time talking to the pushers and the addicts. what did they tell you? >> i d i've been investigating prescription painkiller -- prescription pill abuse in the united states since 2009.

and what this investigation basically led me to finding out that a lot of these addicts are switching from painkillers who heroin. and we have spoken to people all the way from florida, all the way up to massachusetts. and in this last report called gateway to heroin, we went and met with some drug dealers at a drug den in massachusetts. you know, when you enter a drug den, you expect to find heroin, cocaine. but alongside these hard drugs, this hard stuff were prescription pills, oxycontin and percocets, right next to it. the dealers themselves were telling us that this has sort of become their cash cow. most of the money they make, they make out of selling prescription pills. this has become a street drug, just like any other. >> it will take a lot more than just taking down those pill mills. marianna, great job. great piece. appreciate it. go to cnn.com/opinion to read her entire article.

woman's world cup soccer under way and a new octopus is making predictions. any relation to the rested soul? poor paul. six waves under now. >> paul, the octopus, correctly predicted eight world cup matches, one for each tentacle. paula, the octopus, went against the home team and chose underdog canada. she ate food from a cylinder marked with a canadian flag. bad choice, paula. germany beat canada. german women looking for another win and maybe an appetizer of kalamari. sorry, paula.

showing why he is one of the best pitchers in baseball, i'll have that next. i caught you. >> you did catch me. i was waiting for the next story. that was just a tease. life on the lam proves pretty short. we'll have the details. casey anthony has entered the courtroom, her murder trial set to resume this morning in orlando. when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing.

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let's go cross country. oklahoma cops get a jump on an escaped prison. in the end, the murderer only enjoyed a few hours of freedom. somebody spotted him about 25 miles away and tip offhand police. los alamos national lab in new mexico closed as crews fight a wildfire nearby. as of last night it was less than a mile away. it is the center for nuclear research. in a statement, officials said, quote, all radioactive and hazardous material is accounted for and protected. and in new hampshire, ten tons of sand and 21 hours later, this is what mark lapierre of quebec created to take home master sand sculptor.

every year they compete for thousands of dollars. casey anthony murder trial back in session in orlando. casey is in the seat and on saturday the judge actually stopped the trial in its tracks, saying an important, quote, unquote, legal matter had come up. our legal eagle, sonny hostin, joining us from new york. what are you hearing about that legal matter in any way, shape or form? could it be some type of bombshell? >> we now know what it is. the court just let us know. this is breaking, actually, kyra. there was a competency issue that came up on saturday. it appears that the defense contended that perhaps casey anthony was not competent to proceed. and the court ordered that three independent psychologists meet with her. one, dr. daniel treschler met with her saturday, dr. harry mcclarion met with her saturday

night and another one, dr. hall, met with her sunday. and according to those three doctors they all concluded she was, indeed, competent to proceed. and now the trial continues. my understanding is also that there are four witnesses that are waiting in the wings to testify. and so the trial is going to go forward. but that is the bombshell, kyra. people were wondering, her defense team was concerned that she was incompetent to proceed with trial. >> now, why would that come up now? because those accusations were made in weeks past. >> exactly. i mean, it's very interesting. i think we've seen a toll has been taken on casey anthony. she looks very different from the woman that we saw three years ago. even very different from the woman that we saw at the beginning of this trial. she has cried. she cried a lot when cindy anthony recently took the stand and when her brother, lee anthony, took the stand. and so many people are thinking

and reporting that perhaps this trial has taken such a toll that her mental health is now at issue. >> sunny hostin, watching the casey anthony trial for us. keep us updated. thank you very much. violence and videos. the nation's highest court could decide whether states can ban the sale and rental of violent video games to minors. live report from court in the next hour in the cnn newsroom. say it ain't so. the l.a. dodgers are broke. they just filed for bankruptcy. after the break, we'll ask one of our money folks what this all means.

the word just getting to us this morning, l.a. dodgers filing for bankruptcy. so, what do you think? should they head back to brooklyn? assistant manager of cnnmoney.com joins us now. paul, what do you think could happen here? will they be sold? >> i think it is very likely that the dodgers will be sold. the mccourt family that owns them, frank mccourt and his wife, are going through a bitter divorce. baseball doesn't like to have any franchise, especially one of its storied franchises like the dodgers. >> as you say, this franchise, it's such a part of our nostalgia. what do you think? possible buyer, mark cuban? >> he has talked about, you know, them in the past. he has expressed interest in the chicago cubs. that did not go through.

cuban, any time he talks, you have to take him seriously. won a championship with thecnnm. paul following that story for us along with our other sports writers. thanks so much. stories developing today also. minnesota republican congresswoman michele bachmann making her bid official. that announcement expected in about ten minutes from now. 1:35, the colorado rapids, this year's major league soccer champs hold a clinic for military families on the south lawn of the white house. 2:00 eastern, secretary of state hillary clinton releases a worldwide report on government efforts to combat human trafficking for slavery, sexual exploration, forced labor or modern day slavery. we're following lots of

developments including the michele bachmann announcement in about ten minutes and that's where jim acosta is in waterloo, iowa. jim, let's start with you. >> hey, kyra. that's right. a tea party favorite is jumping into this presidential race on the gop side. michele bachmann, she may hail from minnesota as a congresswoman, but she grew up in waterloo, which is where we are. we'll have more on her announcement in a few moments. >> i'm brianna keilar at the white house. president obama is jumping into the fray. he's meeting with the top republican and the top democrat in the senate to talk about raising the debt ceiling. there are some -- there are still major sticking points. i'll have those at the top of the hour. >> i'm rob marciano in the cnn severe weather center, major flooding across the missouri river has the nuclear power plants in nebraska on high alert, one going off the grid at one point. what they're doing to protect themselves. another nuke scare in los alamos as a wildfire heads towards that area of new mexico in the next

hour. >> thanks, guys. also in the next hour, it's not just grunting you hear at wimbledon. now you hear whining. serena williams thinks she's being dissed, that and more live from london. .

philadelphia phillies, the best team in baseball right now, jeff here to brag a little bit and talk about yesterday. >> what? >> a big reminder why. >> they are the greatest team. >> they are. she was trying to sneak something in on me. >> waiting for a little something, i know. i'm sorry. >> have to watch out. >> philly fans will love us for this. >> roy halladay, absolutely the best, two-time cy young winner, this year at it again, tied for the nl lead in win, second in strikeouts, second in era. i won't get into the new age stats. he is the best. another dominant performance yesterday against the oakland as. doc's pare patience need to be medicated and institutionalized. 16 groundouts including the game-ending double play. philly leads the nl east by five games. that's the biggest lead by any decision in baseball. nascar, all about the bumping

and grinding at sonoma. they're allowed to get away with a little more of that on the road course. it's like that scene in the "god father." tony vicars takes on tony stewart. kurth curt busch did end up winning the race. check out the fan behind home plate. let's zoom in on him, shall we? he is asleep. only the second inning. not like this lasted five hours. >> he has great seats. >> right there. the batters are right in front of him. just started the game. he's clearly excited about interleague play. red sox beat the pirates 4-2. san diego padres grounds keeper look at him move. this is what kyra does while i do my sports cast. >> that's jeff fischell behind the camera. >> oh, boy. pull out the douggy? i don't know.

the padres beat the braves, more reason to dance. the world's ninth ranked women's tennis player had an unusual way to spark her comeback at whimble don. marion bar tolly had mom and dad removed. she compared it to like breaking a racket to release frustrations, saying her parents understood. she will play serena williams today. no word on whether she will let her folks be there to watch. >> sometimes your family makes you nervous or maybe parents were yelling something at her she didn't want to hear. >> it's been known to happen with tennis players. >> you lose we're taking away your allowance. a love story as old as time, boy meets girl, builds her body and marries her. jeanne moos introduces us to the neffers. >> reporter: such an incredibly odd sight that motorists do double takes. >> that can't be real. what the [ bleep ] is that. >> turn around for another look.

before posting it on youtube, someone created a facebook fan page for him. just did an interview with a couple deejays at 97 x in davenport, iowa. >> you're married to a mannequin? >> to me she's not a manny can. >> reporter: this syracuse, new york, resident has become a phenomenon, pushing his wife teegen 70 some miles from syracuse to watertown, back to where they first met and where a watertown daily times reporter found it. >> he said hi, my name is ned and this is my wife teegen. he believed it. you could see he believed this was his wife. >> reporter: folks are noting sightings on his facebook page, posting photos posing with ned and teegen. people who haven't met him think it's an ad, but doesn't seem like one. >> does she talk to you? >> yeah. i hear her very clear. we love each other and everything. we're just out living our life. >> reporter: ned tells folks he met his future wife at the jefferson county children's

home, a home for orphans and that when he first met her, she was just a head. >> the head told him to build her a body and that's what he did. >> reporter: we don't know why he chose this caricature of a black woman. his situation is out of the film "lars and the real girl." >> bianca is a missionary. well you are. >> he appears to have a dilution. >> fantastic. when will it be over? >> when he doesn't need it anymore. >> ned says he's needed teegen for 25 years. we can't diagnose ned's mental status but he does say he's on government disability. >> you guys have any kids? >> she's not flexible. she can't have children. >> almost like she's not real. >> well, she's real, but there are ladies that are flesh that can't have children. >> reporter: some may mock with music. ♪ pretty woman walking down the street pretty woman ♪ >> reporter: some may snicker

watching ned feed teegen a snickers bar. but others are it touched. they think he's no dummy. >> he seems happy. >> reporter: and at least he has the grace. >> good luck to you. >> thank you. >> and have a safe journey. >> certainly hope so. >> reporter: to wipe a snicker off the lips of his significant other. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. and it's 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. i'm kyra phillips. at any time the u.s. supreme court could hand down decisions on the final such day of its session. potential rulings include campaign finance reform and selling violent video games to kids. floodwaters have swallowed more than 3,000 homes. the souris river has crested a bit lower than expected but it's still at its highest level in 130 years. the murder trial of casey anthony resumes after the judge abruptly canceled saturday's planned testimony. we'll take you live to orlando.

at any moment the presidential race gets more interesting and probably more angry. michele bachmann, the powerful voice behind taxpayer frustration and tea party ideals launches her bid in the critical state of iowa. jim acosta is in waterloo where she's already getting buzz as a potential frontrunner, right, jim? >> that's right, kyra. the gop establishment in washington woke up this morning to a near frontrunner in iowa in michele bachmann. this is not where she was supposed to be according to all the experts in the conventional wisdom a few weeks ago, but she's been very smart in building a pretty effective ground operation just in the early going here in iowa and that is starting to pay off not to mention the fact as you mentioned, she is a tea party favorite. she is a social conservative. and she is a native of waterloo, iowa, which is going to do well for her in this state and that is where we are now. we are moments away from her

announcement that's expected any minute now and what's interesting ability all of this, kyra, is over the weekend this" des mince register" poll took everybody by surprise. people expected michele bachmann to do well in this state but not this well. if you look at the poll it's startling. mitt romney u the former massachusetts governor in the lead with 23% and on his heels, is michele bachmann, the republican congresswoman from minnesota. and it's interesting, you mentioned at the top of this, that there might be some anger in her message or she might tap into the anger out there. one of the things we've noticed in the last 24 hours, with congresswoman bachmann, is that has been toned down a little bit. we're seeing the softer side of michele bachmann. not throwing out the red meat we've seen in recent years with her. the red meat i would say is more well done than medium rare these days. interesting in a few moments to see what her message is going to be, because this is her first official speech as a gop presidential candidate and we're

all going to be watching here and there's actually a pretty sizable crowd here in this -- in her hometown. she's going to get a hometown welcome and hopes it's the beginning of a big surprise and shakeup in the republican ranks with this nomination. >> all right. jim, let us know as soon as it starts. we'll head back to you and take that live. appreciate it. let's look at michele bachmann's reputation on the hill. her paying job. dana bash joining us with a look at the congresswoman's stand on issues and her standing among colleagues. dana? >> kyra she is somebody who hasn't been here very long, elected in 2006, the year that democrats took control of the house, but she is on a couple of key committees, on the financial services committee which gives her a platform and has to rail against the bailout that she has said from the start was the wrong way to go, and this year, she got a yes to her request to be on the intelligence committee which is something that is really coveted here in congress and gave her a way to hone her

national security and foreign policy skills. she's also somebody who is, obviously, as jim was saying, as everybody knows, well known nationally now as somebody who's a tea party figure, she's a social conservative, fiscal conservative, but has ruffled feathers to say the least here among her leadership because of the fact that she has decided to be so anti-establishment even when it comes to tax cut deal, for example, last year, and she also has gotten in some trouble by saying things like a couple years ago that president obama may have been -- may have anti-american views. but i can tell you something interesting and backs up what jim was talking about, she has softened her image a little bit. i was talking to one of her republican colleagues last night who said that he obviously agrees with her on a lot of issues, said that she definitely was not -- has not been very popular recently. actually since she got here among her republican colleagues. in the last couple months she has been much more polite within the conference, so she's not only softening her image out there with the voters which

matters, but also among people she's going to need support for if she continues along this path. >> all right. dana, little bit of trivia here, making the leap from the house to the white house, i know you, you've always got your bit of history. >> we got help on this one, this is very interesting. we talked about how rare it was for president obama, then senator obama, to go to the white house, that hadn't happened since john kennedy in 1960. there was a question what about the house, even more rare as you can imagine. james garfield in 1880, he was the last person to go from the house of representatives to be elected to the presidency. you know, he was in congress for a while, a republican, i think almost 18 years, and he happened to be a civil war hero. but that shows you how unusual it is to make the leap that michele bachmann is trying to make from this end of pennsylvania avenue untin the he to the other end at the white house. >> thanks. stay with us. as soon as michele bachmann gets

ready to speak, we will return to waterloo and carry her announcement live. as michele bachmann celebrates home coming of sorts some of her republican challengers are fanning out across the country. jon huntsman a number of stops in california, mitt romney talking the economy and jobs in new hampshire, and then rick santorum also in iowa, stumping in sioux city. president obama ramping up efforts to diffuse the nation's ticking time bomb. our debt crisis. with an august 2nd deadline to raise the debt ceiling the president is meeting with senate leaders to break that stalemate. democrats say taxes will have to be raised. reasons want to only slash spending. you cannot achieve what you set out to do if you say it's just about cutting. it has to be about increasing the revenue stream as well. there are many things you can do. >> brianna keilar at the white house. brianna, run down the sticking points for us. >> well, kyra, there are a number, a big one as you

mentioned has to do with spending cuts. what you have really is republicans looking more towards programs, largely democrats are looking towards the defense budget, and i think, obviously, there will be a combination of the two things. certainly those are some areas that both parties are looking to target. tax increases, as you heard, discussion of that. what democrats will call closing tax loopholes and entitlement reform. this was overhauling medicare was a hallmark of the republican proposal, democrats say no way, this would end medicare as we know it. those are some of the major sticking points. president obama really jumping into the fray today. he's meeting with senate majority leader harry reid this hour at the white house. he'll meet later today this evening with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and these are meetings that he's largely left up to vice president biden who for weeks now has been spending hours with democrats and republicans in both the house and senate.

that all came to a sort of a halt last week on thursday when eric cantor the number two republican in the house pulled out of those meetings saying that democrats were not budging, they wanted tax increases, again democrats will say this is closing tax loop hoels and he said there wasn't common ground and it needed to be kicked upstairs, so to speak, so really bringing in president obama kyra, and he's finally operating intoes they discussions ahead of the august 2 deadline as the negotiator in chief. >> "the washington post" reporting possibly some pretty big cuts to military spending. >> yeah. that's a report saying that house republicans may be open to there being -- that may be open to some defense cuts which is something that typically republicans have not been a fan of. so now there's this question, perhaps, there is some common ground on the spending cuts. a lot of the negotiations have been kept under wraps and you see both sides kind of staying mum on them.

so, you know, as they work towards a deal. we actually are lacking some of the details as they kind of stay mum. >> all right. brianna keilar at the white house, thanks. four rounds into play at wimbledon, some controversies percolating at the all england club and serena williams is smack in the center of one of them. zain verjee has more now from london. what's the deal? she feels like she's getting dissed? >> yeah. she sure feels that way. you see what happens typically at wimbledon is that every day the matches are posted and usually two men's matches and one woman's matter. the boys play on the good court, center court and court one. what's happening the women, they go off to court two or three or other courts noted a great. what the controversy is right now, is that they're saying why is that? why should that be? this what is serena said. they like to put us on court two, me and venus for whatever reason. i haven't figured it out.

maybe one day we'll figure it out. they are never moved across. she said venus and i have won more wimbledons together than a lot of the players in even by ourselves in doubles, so she's getting a lot of support from the women in the world of wimbledon about all of this. the wimbledon is officially saying we're not discriminating against the players here. there's no intention of doing that. but the fact is, is that the guys do get the great courts and the women do get moved off to the others. >> kyra. >> you and i could get talking about that but that would take another hour. >> yeah. yeah. you know, wimbledon about four years ago there wasn't even equal pay for men and women for winning and they made it equal four years ago. they have had a history of these issues. >> another issue, shall we say, one of the players getting upset at mom and dad, saying can't play until you remove the parents? >> right. marion bar toely, number nine seed, playing this weekend and

just basically said mom and dad out. the reason she gave later she was frustrated and didn't want to break her racket or kick her racket bag and so she just said i was emotionally charged, needed to do something so i said, mom, dad, out. so she's got a history of being a little bit of a confrontational character. i don't know the relationship between her and her father but that's what happened. not very nice. i want to show you one other thing. rafael nadal, this picture, and he has this superstition where he, when he comes on to the court, he never steps on any of the white lines because he thinks it's bad luck, right. so, he's just sort of tip toes. you see there was a time lapse picture done and you see him stepping over all the white lines until he starts playing. wasn't there a movie with jack nicholson or something not wanting to steg step on the cracks in new york. >> exactly. right. >> hey, seems to be working for nadal. he's a great tennis player.

avoid the white lines. what can i tell you. thanks. >> all right. once again, we want to remind you, that we are keeping our eyes on waterloo, iowa. why? because michele bachmann about to step up to the mike. the latest republican about to enter the presidential race. as soon as we see her, we will take it live. looking for a job? why don't you head to tucson? they're looking for a marijuana connoisseur. that story and others when we go cross country. and the casey anthony murder trial back in session after the judge rules that she's -- competent -- or competent to stand trial. we're live in orlando with the details. host: could switching to geico really save you

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live to waterloo, she just made the formal announcement. michele bachmann is now saying she's in the running as a gop presidential candidate. >> and from this great country and not because of the position of this office, but because i am determined that every american deserves these blessings and that together, once again, we can secure the promise of the future for america because i want to bring a voice, your voice, to the white house just as i brought your voice to the halls of the united states congress, to secure that promise of the future, not only for our generation, but for the generations yet to come. i often say that everything i need to know, i learned in iowa.

[ applause ] i learned those lessons at hawthorne elementary, valley park elementary and at my home which are a very short distance from where we're standing today because this is where my iowa roots were firmly planted. and it's these iowa roots and my faith in god that guide me today. i'm a descendant of generations of iowans and i know what it means to be from iowa. i know what we value here and i know what's important. those are the values that help to make iowa as my mother used to tell me, the bread basket of the world. those values are the best of all of us put together which we must recapture to secure that promise of the future. waterloo was very different five decades ago when i was here. that elementary school building, was much younger then and i have to admit so was i five decades

ago. five decades ago when i went to those elementary schools the halls were literally teaming with young people running up and down the halls, parents who had dreams for their children and for their future. a future with promise and parents who wanted it filled with even more opportunities than they and my own parents had known. five decades ago, in america, we had less debt than we have today. we had $300 billion or less in debt. a gallon of gasoline was 31 cents and owning a home was part of the american dream. today, that debt stands at over $14 trillion. a gallon of gas is outrageously expensive, and unfortunately, millions of too many americans know what it is to have a home that's in foreclosure and so those dreams are distant for many americans. times have changed here in

waterloo. but the people haven't. the people still have the same spirit in waterloo that iowans have always come to exemplify. we work hard, we don't spend more money than what we take in and we expect to pass on a better life to our children. but the problem is, our government keeps getting bigger. and it makes it tougher for all of us to pass on our values and our lives to our children and it's caused jobs to go overseas and they are spending more of our money than we want them to and that means that we get to keep less. so don't mistake my happy memories of growing up here in waterloo, iowa, as pining for the past. i recognize it's impossible to turn the clock back and to go back to a different day. instead, i want this moment to serve as a reminder of the best of who we are as a nation and of what our values are and what it is to make america great, to

recapture its best for the promise of the future. i want my candidacy for the presidency of the united states to stand for a moment when we, the people, stand once again for the independence from a government that has gotten too big and spends too much and has taken away too much of our liberties. [ applause ] as americans we've always confronted challenges and our history is one marked both by struggles as well as by prosperity. my younger days like so many americans were difficult, especially during the years when my mother struggled after a divorce, but we made our own way. we depended on our neighbors, we depended on ourselves. it wasn't our government that we depended on for our health because we trusted in god and

our neighbors and not in government. americans still have that same spirit but government -- [ applause ] but government keeps trying to erase that spirit because government thinks it knows better. government thinks it knows better how to spend our money. government thinks they know better how to make a better life for us, they think they create jobs, they even think they can make us healthier but that's not the case. >> naming where she grew up, even her grade school, touting her iowa roots. michele bachmann as you can see right there in waterloo, iowa, the latest republican to enter the presidential race. she was born there in waterloo. and may have a hometown advantage over other fellow republicans if you look at the polls. we're following the rest of her speech and keep you updated throughout the morning. the opening pel rang 45 minutes ago. let's check the big board.

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breaking news out of the u.s. supreme court. getting word now that the nation's highest court has decided on whether states can actually ban the sale and rental of violent video games to minors. our senior legal analyst jeff toobin on the phone from new york. jeff, the decision has been made and not every parent very happy about this. >> well, be you know, this has

been a very tough issue for the supreme court. it was a very divided court at oral argument but by a 7-2 vote today the supreme court said that california's attempt to limit the sale of violent video games is unconstitutional. they said it's a violation of the first amendment. it underlines that this supreme court liberals and conservatives alike have a broad notion of freedom of speech protects and they are hesitant to approve any sort of restriction even one like this which on the surface has a lot of appeal. >> and two, we've done a number of the stories on cnn about research that exists about the influence of this violent video games on the kids. how did that weigh at all? how is that brought into the decision? >> well, it did weigh in, and the court said that when you are dealing with restrictions on

speech, when the court looks at a case like that, they need proof that this is justified, that there is a good reason for it and they looked at the justifications for this law and they found it was not enough. they found that the research was more speculative than iron clad proof and they said given the fact that the constitution is designed to protect freedom of expression this sort of restriction was not justified. there wasn't enough proof that this was a good use of the very narrow power that restricts speech. >> jeff toobin, thanks for calling in. we're following all the decisions being handed down from the court. fox news anchor asked michele bachmann if she's a flake. then quickly apologized. so does she benefit from being under estimated? our political buzz panel tackles

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checking top stories, los angeles dodgers have filed for bankruptcy. and the team will continue to operate during reorganization but will probably be sold. get away from this smoke. it will kill you. >> three days after that tractor trailer truck slammed into an amtrak train in nevada. at least 20 people are still unaccounted for. six people were killed in that crash. as you saw on cnn, michele bachmann officially running for president. in -- the congresswoman just

made that announcement from waterloo, iowa. her birth place. ♪ political buzz now. your rapid fire look at the hottest political topics of the day. three questions, 20 seconds on the clock and playing today, cornell bellcher, and comedian pete dominic and talk show host dana lohse. first question, andrew cuomo, legalizes same-sex marriage in new york. gay activists already talking about 2016 and the presidential run. could a president cuomo actually have a national appeal? da dana. >> i guess that solves the 9.1% unemployment rate and high energy prices. i look at those talking about running cuomo as a serious presidential contender and i have to think it's political naive. we all forget, i don't, maybe some of us do, the same andrew cuomo secretary of hud and convinced fannie mae and freddie

mac to get all of these low interest loans to people who couldn't afford them and boom we had the housing crisis. we had the economy crash, all of this. no no no, we can't have this guy. we cannot have this guy. >> cornell? >> look, i think 2016 is a long ways away. however, i mean if you look at what he's been doing in new york, bringing democrats together and republicans together not only sort of to move contentious legislation through in this manner i think it speaks well. the american people like that idea of bringing people together to move legislation through. he's done that, been successful at that. i think he's a contender in 2016 although it's a long ways away. >> pete? >> kyra, you asked me to speculate on who's appealing on 2016. i will not play this game. the names we were thinking in 2016 might as well be mr. spacely and george jetson. >> come on. >> they should be dionne warwick and the psychic friends network. we don't know who's running next month. maybe you will be president,

president phillips. >> that's a scary thought. skeletons out of the closet, i don't think so. like you running for president, pete. >> i can do the negative attack ads now. >> exactly. you and i against each other, who would be worse? newt gingrich, michele bachmann, said in the recent weeks president obama hasn't done enough for african-americans. exit polls show obama took 95% of the black vote in 2008. could their support really be up for grabs in 2012? dana? >> i don't know. i think it's -- it would be very difficult to say it wouldn't be considering that when this president took office, black unemployment was at i think 11% and now it's at 16%, over 16%. i mean you have to look at the fund numbers here. a huge amount of job loss in the black community from a president bringing hope and chase. jesse jackson saying i don't see it happen. national black chamber of commerce said this guy is against business. >> dana extra five seconds, look at her. i have to give you more than

cornell. >> talkative today. >> that's kind of hilarious to me. look, our economy was in a nose dive when the president came in. the campaign will not take any vote for granted. i want to veer off for a second. you tell me newt gingrich and michele bachmann are the ones bringing this charge? because newt gingrich, michele bachmann have such credibility in the minority community? really, really? come on. >> pete? really? >> well, the truth is, this president hasn't done enough. they're right, newt gingrich and michele bachmann, for african-americans. this congressional black caucus would be the first to say so. i mean, michele bachmann and newt gingrich pointing this out, cornell is right, like rev vand al sharpton advocating for higher salaries for ceos, be it's ridiculous and they're not going to get any black support, newt gingrich or michele bachmann. >> buzzer beater. ten seconds to answer this. fox news anchor chris wallace asked michele bachmann if she's

a flake. then he quickly apologizes. does bachmann benefit by being under estimated? cornell? >> yes, she does. and by the way, she is a bit of a flake but that doesn't disqualify her for being a nomination. she's been underestimated it's going to benefit her a lot, one of the last two or three people standing in the republican primary. >> dana? >> i sort of agree with cornell. god help me, i agree with cornell a little bit. she is underestimated. if we're going to judge what people say in terms of flubs as a measurement as to whether or not they're flake we need to look at what the president says. he has a lot of gas as well. >> pete? >> i mean this is hilarious. it gets her base riled up. probably underestimated. but kyra and everybody america, listen, if you're rick santorum or michele bachmann or any other candidate for president that doesn't believe in science you should be disqualified, disqualified that buzzer should go to you. >> cornell, dana, pete, don't be be sorry, pete, thanks. the floodwaters have quit

rising in soggy minot, north dakota, but the misery could last for weeks. thousands of people forced from their homes. a live report from the flood zone just ahead. keeping track of your blood pressure, hey, there's an app for that. we'll tell you about a new device that helps you actually monitor your blood pressure using a smartphone or tablet.

stories making news. vandals nearly derail chicago's gay pride parade. hours before the big event yesterday somebody snuck in and slashed tires on all 51 floats. organizers scrambled to fix the busted tires and all but three made out it out of the warehouse in time. 15 children, 8 adults recovering from a school bus accident near harrisburg, pennsylvania. they were on their way to camp when the bus hit by a cadillac and flipped over. three of the children were pinned inside. police say the elderly driver out of the cadillac jumped into the bus's path. a rare photo of billy the kid sells for $2.3 million. the auction house expected it to go for $300,000 to $400,000. it's thought to be the only existing authenticated picture of the yacht law. floodwaters threatening two nuclear power plants in nebraska but officials say no cause for

alarm. cooper nuclear station, about 20 miles north of omaha's one, missouri river is flooding there but the plant remains water tight. the fort calhoun plant has more severe flooding. protective dam around part of that plant ruptured sunday, but officials say that other protective systems are in place. now to the flooding problems in minot, north dakota, as many as 4,000 homes have flood damage now. cnn's jim spellman is there in minot. any problems with the levees? >> so far the levees they've built around critical infrastructure here are holding early into this event, a week ago they knew that the dikes throughout the rest of the city were just not going to hold up and concentrated on that vital infrastructure. the good news this morning, is that this river has crested, this is as high as the floodwaters will get and, in fact, it started to recede a little bit. this neighbor spray painted this line on here at 9:20 yesterday

even and the water moved back about this far, ten feet or so. the bad news, look how much farther it has to go back. this damage goes on and on. we've seen neighbors coming up to the edge of the floodwater to get a look and see what the fate of their homes might be. and we got a chance to speak to a couple of them. take a listen. >> just the second house past the stop sign. >> devastating, heart breaking, heart wrenching. saddened. when we had to evac asap, i mean, both sides of the neighbors and friends and family, they got us out. >> and so many people here are just relying on their friends and neighbors. whenever we cover disasters, so many this year, i'm blown away by how great it is, how people are so nice to each other in these communities come together. 12,000 people or so evacuated

and less than 300 staying in shelters. everyone else taken in by friends, neighbors, families. the community coming together and they're going need that solidarity. months before minot is back on its feet. >> jim spellman, thanks. the flooding missouri river has hit historic levels now but the good news, the river has crested and is not expected to go any higher. rob marciano taking a look at that. close call? >> the dangerously high and remain high for a long time. might come up a little bit in some spots but the key is especially when you talk about the nuclear power plants it's not going to come up three or four feet. let's talk about what's going on at the fort calhoun nuclear power plant. that was off line briefly because the water was getting so high there. we'll zoom in. along the river. they use the river water for cooling purposes. the reason they were in temporary shutdown mode a few months ago because they were refueling the plant. they decided not to ramp it back up because the water levels were getting so high here.

and they're using something that's called an aqua dam, something that we've seen in the mississippi river floods where they take a inflatable tube or bladder and surround it around the areas that they want to protect and they pump water into it. that's what they're using here. see around, this is all electrical work here. that's what they're trying to protect the power that's used to cool the plant which is way up there. they surround it with the bin ladeners. what happened over the weekend, a fork lift or some pieces of machinery punctured the bladder and allowed it to leak. they briefly went off the grid but they have come back on and they think that they have things for the most part under control. down river we have the power plant closer to omaha. the cooper nuclear station. this one, the river has to come up another three feet for it to be in danger and right now we don't think it will come up much more than a foot. other than floods we have fire problems with nuclear sites.

los alamos in new mexico, this fire which is about 5,000 acres in size, is currently out of control. 0% containment. here is some fresh video coming into the cnn newsroom. it's within one mile of los alamos the laboratory with dangerous materials, hazardous and nuclear materials. they have evacuated that area. only essential personnel being asked to report to work. 11,000 people. talking about a huge facility that has nuclear issues that they promise us all that material is contained and protected at the moment. certainly has some folks nervous in new mexico. >> we'll keep watching. thanks, rob. you've got high blood pressure there's an app for that. two companies have put products on the market that will let you monitor your blood pressure, using your iphone, ipod touch and ipad and you buy the inflatable cuff that wraps around your arm and it's attached to a cable that you

plug into your apple gadgets. records the monitor and your blood pressure rate. last night's b.e.t. awards could have handed out the, quote, most uncomfortable part of the night award. she gets the winner's name wrong not once, but twice. your showbiz update coming up. medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp.

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the winners of the b.e.t. awards, whoever they might be, lady gaga accused of scamming herself and tracy morgan. there seems to be confusion at last night's b.e.t. award show. >> kyra, confusion, that's really putting it mildly. this was about as awkward an awards show moment as i've seen. get ready to cringe. tiffany green, poor girl a fan from flat rock, michigan, chosen to announce the winner of the coca-cola viewers choice award. this is what happened. >> the winner is -- chris brown "look at me now." i'm sorry. rihanna "what's my name." snoets what's my name ♪ >> okay. this is awkward.

what's the -- okay. it's okay. it's okay. the winner is drizzly drake. come over here, drake. >> oh, my gosh. just feel so sorry for her, her big moment in the spotlight and this is what happens. okay. there were reports that she was back stage crying after this thing. show producers blamed human errors but it said chris brown on the tablet and rihanna on the prompter. after the show b.e.t. announced brown was the winner which gave him four major awards of the night. to pick two names to mix up you couldn't find an explosive choice than rihanna and her abusive ex. this was just so bad, if you thought the show was a train wreck i watched, the preshow, it was pure comedy. so -- >> and there you go. tend to wonder what was going on behind the scenes.

publicity for this. this girl, this could probably launch her career. wasn't her fault. >> she's not going to show her face again for a long time and it wasn't her fault, but you feel for her. >> lady gaga used to controve y controversy, but an odd things to be accused of, even for her. >> yeah. indeed. odd thing from an odd source. 1-800-law-firm says they are suing lady gaga over her efforts to help victims of the japanese earthquake. she sold $5 wristbands with proceeds to go to victims. one of the first celebs to step up to help out. while we commend lady gaga for her philanthropic efforts we want to ensure claims that all donations are true. our intention is to uncover any improprieties by lady gaga and appropriate the full donations assumed to the victims in japan. i think at this stage we should be giving gaga the benefit of the doubt here. she was just performing at a benefit concert in tokyo so i

think her heart is really in the right place here. >> someone else taking the stage, tracy morgan, how did that go? >> tracy morgan, back on stage in the big apple for the first time after his onstage home phobic rant. published reports have him addressing the controversy during his show. he claims he was misunderstood and joked about being the child of one of the village people. the audience was willing to forgive. he's reported to have said, quote, i don't have that in me. i believe gay, straight, everybody, anybody is supposed to be happy in this world, man. every time tracy opens his mouth it's like i'm waiting for something inappropriate to come out. made it through this show. let's hope he remains low for the time being and don't do any more negative stories on tracy. >> i don't believe you. careen, thanks. want more information on anything breaking in the entertainment world you have it on "showbiz tonight." 11:00 p.m.

the philadelphia phillies roy halladay showed why he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. two-time cy young winner had another dominating performance yesterday against the oakland as. he threw a complete game, fifth of the season, no walks, 16 ground outs, including the game-ending double play. 3-1 the final. his tenth win of the year. philly leads the nl east by five games now, the biggest lead in any division. all right. nascar sunday all about the bumping and grinding in sonoma. allowed to get away with more on the road. the drivers settle any old scores. watch brian vicars take out tony stewart. kurt busch, who knows a thing or two about driving with road rage, ended up winning the race. and some stories developing today. we are watching republican presidential candidate rick santorum address a jewish group at 10:50 eastern in sioux city, iowa. following that two other events

in iowa. at 1:35 the colorado rapids, the soccer champs hold a clinic for military families on the south lawn of the white house and at 2:00 eastern, secretary of state hillary clinton releases a worldwide report on government's efforts to combat human trafficking, slavery, sexual exploitation, forced labor or modern day slavery. amanda knox back in court in italy. and she's shocked by some of the testimony at today's hearing. you'll hear it too. (rambling phone conversation)

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amanda nox in an italian courtroom today appealing her murder conviction. knox and two others found responsible for the death of her roommate meredith ker cher. one of the men convicted and his testimony [ inaudible ] knox. dan rivers joining us from italy. fill us in on what happened so far. >> right. this was the testimony of rudy guede the coaccused convicted as well of the murder of meredith ker cher in 2007. he exhausted his appeal procedure. today he was called in to give evidence that they were hoping defense lawyers he under cross-examination may sort of capitulate and admit that he was he alone that killed meredith dits c-- kercher. for the first time pointed the finger directly at amanda knox

and her then boyfriend raphael sollecito and said he always felt they killed meredith kercher. she was allowed to dramatically speak in this hearing. one of the rare occasions. she has been able to speak in this appeal process. she said as you said, she was shocked by what guede said. she said he knew we weren't in the house at the murder. the only time the three of us have been together is in court. i don't know what happened. i'm sorry, i didn't have the opportunity to talk to him myself. and sollecito spoke and said their lives have been ruined, been in jail for four years and he guede knew what happened and by implication they've been convicted only on his evidence and supposition and that the rest of the case was weak. >> dan, this case has taken on so many twists and turns, stretched across four years now. there is any time frame for a ruling on this appeal?

>> well, this will all now shift towards the forensic evidence. the hope for defense players here is that rudy gau day would sort of collapse and basically admit that he did it on his own, that seems to have evaporated. they're going to focus on the forensic an dna evidence. this may wrap up end of september so we may get a result then. if they fail in their appeal, there is one further avenue for them to go to the supreme court here before they have exhausted all of the different levels of appeal here in italy. >> dan rivers, thanks. new in the cnn newsroom with suzanne malvo, a return to school for libyan children living in a war zone. >> classes have resumed in misrata, but after months of war, these children are full of pent up energy and, perhaps, not far beneath the excitement lies a life's worth of trauma.

>> ben wedeman takes you inside the classroom and talks with students and teachers about getting back to school after months of time off. what other states are debating gay marriage law and if new york's decision to legalize gay marriage has a direct impact on the debates. that and more in the cnn newsroom with suzanne malveaux. st: uld switching to geico reallyavyou 15% or more on car insurance? host: is the pen mightier than the sword?

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