today, that despite all the ranker of the campaign, there is more that unites us as a country than divides us. she also went after this president saying that barack obama will be a one term president, calling his health care law unconstitutional and on and on. she has a busy campaign ahead of her. she will be in iowa over the next 24 hours and then off to new hampshire where, obviously, she's going to have a tougher road to hoe and then to south carolina. she's off to a good start to go into her announcement event showing up in the latest "des moines register" poll one point behind mitt romney at 22%. a strong start for michele bachmann. >> jim acosta, thanks. that does it for us. back here tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m. eastern time. we take it over to suzanne malveaux. >> did you have a good weekend? >> fantastic. happy monday. >> happy monday. here we go. thanks. >> you bet. >> live interest studio 7, i'm suzanne malveaux. up to speed for monday, june 27th.

the supreme court says california cannot ban selling video games to kids simply because the games are grotesquely violent. justices struck down the law just minutes ago. they say the commercial free speech rights of video game manufacturers trumps concerns over violent content. we know why the judge halted the casey anthony murder trial in orlando this weekend. three psychologists examined anthony at the defense team's request to determine her competency to proceed. she is charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter caylee in 2008. >> the court ordered that the defendant to be examined by three psychologists to determine her competency to proceed. based upon the reports that the court has reviewed, the court will find that the defendant is competent to continue to

proceed. >> an appeal hearing in italy today for amanda knox. she is the american student convicted along with her boyfriend in the murder of her british roommate. today a second man convicted in the case disputed testimony from a fellow inmate. he says he never told the inmate that knox was innocent. floodwaters are inching closer to a nuclear power plant in nebraska. a levee broke yesterday which worried nearby residents that a nuclear disaster similar to japan's could be brewing but an official emphatically says the chances that water will reach the reactor and cause trouble are almost zero. the reactor was shut down in april for refueling and wasn't brought back on-line due to the flooding. forecasters think the missouri river will crest six feet short of the level that would inundate the plant. wildfire is threatening the los alamos national lab in new mexico today. it is burning less than a mile

away. officials say all nuclear and hazardous materials are safe. most of the lab's 11,000 workers were told to stay home. crowds are growing larger and larger in syria, despite a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters. activists say rallies over the weekend drew the biggest numbers yet to the streets of damascus and its suburbs. protesters jammed the streets in yemen, demanding a transitional council take over the government. president ali abdullah saleh is in saudi arabia for medical treatment. he was wounded in an attack back on june 3rd. aides predict he is going to return any day. minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann formally announced her bid for the 2012

republican presidential nomination that happened today. she did it in a town where she was born, waterloo, iowa. a new des moines register poll shows that bachmann is running a close second to mitt romney in iowa. >> but the problem is, our government keeps getting birg and it makes it tougher for all of us to pass on our values and 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. the transportation security administration, the tsa, denies that it forced an elderly woman to remove an adult diaper at a florida airport. the woman's daughter says they did. she told cnn the 95-year-old cancer patient had to board her flight without any underwear. >> 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. here's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day, new york passes a law allowing same-sex marriage and our question, is it time for marriage equality in america? is it time for it to be essentially throughout the country? federal law even. carol costello joining us from new york. hey, carol. good to see you. >> hi, suzanne. on july 24th same-sex marriage will be legal in new york. as it is in five other states. it was a bipartisan effort, yes, four republican new york state lawmakers voted yes to same-sex marriage. gay advocates are celebrating and already handing out their road map to other states working on same-sex marriage legislation.

new york's governor andrew cuomo. >> i believe new york has sent a message to this nation, loud and clear, it is time for marriage equality all across this country. >> maybe. nationally even some staunch republicans -- actually, maybe nationally even some staunch conservatives are on board like dick cheney who has a gay daughter. >> i think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. >> cheney did add it's up to each state to decide. other conservatives are on board like john mccain's wife cindy, george w. bush's daughter barbara. advocates say it's a sign young republicans are much more supportive. still plenty people opposed to same-sex marriage. according to politico 29 states have enacted some type of constitutional prohibition against same sex unions and

groups like the catholic church say new york's vote leaves it worried both marriage and family will be undermined. so talk back question today, is new york's governor right? is it time for marriage equality in america? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> carol really interesting, when you note, there was a great article in t"the new york times talked about the back story, donors, rich republicans, behind working with the governor to move this legislation forward. >> and basically because the republican lawmakers voting for this measure in new york state were afraid they would lose their seats because those against same-sex marriage would lobby against them, but those wall street executives said look we'll support you and give you money. >> gave them a little political cover there. very interesting to see what folks have to say, thank you. want to bring our rob marciano who's in with the latest when it comes to the bad

weather taking place, rob, you have been comparing these nuclear plants, the one that, obviously, a lot of folks are talking about, the fukushima nuclear plant after the earthquake and tsunami in japan, but also, there is a situation we're seeing, the missouri river, two nuclear power plants that sit right near the missouri river and there's some grounds around fort calhoun plant that are already under water. do we think there is any comparison in these two? >> well, there's some similarities. you have water encroaching upon power sources and that's the main reason they've been worrying about these two zones along the missouri in nebraska. we're going to highlight those two areas of concern, the missouri has not yet officially crested and even though it's getting to the crest it's going to remain high for quite some time. that's not the only nuke issue we have. we also have a nuke issue in the way of a forest fire, wildfire,

just outside of los alamos in new mexico. we've got some hazardous materials and nuclear equipment and materials there that need to be protected. the 11,000 people that work on that site have been asked not to come to work today and that fire is within a mile of the facility. we'll track that as well all within this hour. suzanne. >> all right. thanks, rob. i want to bring in our patrick ot oppmann, close by, talking about the flooding causing concern in nebraska. two nuclear power plants that sit near the river. patrick is close by. patrick, what do we know about any kind of immediate danger from the weather and any kind of threat to these two nuclear plants? >> well, you know, the message that officials suzanne, have been driving home over the last day or two, is that there is no immediate danger in terms of any kind of radiation leak, any kind of event at these plants. the chairman of the nuclear regulatory commission landed just a little while ago by helicopter at the fort calhoun

plant and we expect him to be driving that point throughout the day here today as he goes around speaks with workers and as he did yesterday, at the cooper nuclear station where he said that he thought the measures they've enacted are adequate. but the bottom line, suzanne, is here at that fort calhoun plant, they would be under two feet of water if they didn't have the berms and sandbags and walls they've set up. they're under two feet of water. so they're managing to keep that water out, but it's a guessing game as to how long they can do that for quite a bit of work to keep this plant, this facility, dry and it's really a constant effort to keep these rising floodwaters from getting into the plant, suzanne. >> patrick do we know, are they evacuating at this point? do they feel they need to evacuate the surrounding area? >> there's been evacuations around both plants. these are nebraska's only two

nuclear power plants and both facing flooding issues. that's been because of the flooding like anywhere else, there's flooding. officials have said there's no need because of the danger posed to the plants, that they would have to evacuate people. really just telling people right now that they've got it under control and they don't need to worry. i've talked to some residents and their very, very worried. lots of rumors going around. talk about a plant being shut down as the fort calhoun plant has been shut down. it's done for safety reasons. but people are scared by, you know, that very unusual event. so officials again are trying to get the word out that these plants are safe and that even if flooding does reach into some of these plants they've got so many fail safe measures to keep any type of radiation event from taking place. >> patrick, last question, the cooper nuclear station about 100 miles south of there, you were given unprecedented access to it

yesterday. what did you actually see? >> you know, it was really amazing. we were in this state-of-the-art facility, and yet all across the first floor of the facility you had to go up by ladders over these five sandbags, sort of a bunker mentality within this plant, because they are afraid of the flooding into the plant. they want to keep it out of certain areas. so as we were being toured, as the chairman of the nuclear regulatory commission was being brought around, he had to climb over some of these very, very high sandbags, so there is somewhat of a bunker mentality that they are constantly trying to keep the water out and have done that, but, you know, if the water rises another three feet there, by regulation, they have to shut down that plant. they don't expect that to happen but if it did that would mean both nebraska's nuclear power plants would be shut down until the floodwaters subside. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. here's a run down some of the stories ahead.

first, gay pride and joy after winning the right to marry in new york. will the state proof fit from the historic decision. i'll ask an assembly man who led the charge. water recedes slowly in minot, north dakota. one homeowner if there's anything left to return to. plus the supreme court decides on violent video games. we're going to break down key issues on the docket for this final session. and casey anthony's murder trial resumes this morning. after the drama inside the courtroom this weekend. noon eastern, my conversation with the u.s. commander in charge of training afghan soldiers. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft.

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a little flavor of new york's annual gay pride parade. thousands of people celebrating the law legalizing same-sex marriage in new york. it is now the sixth and by far the largest state to allow gay couples to marry. the lawmaker who led the marriage equality act to passage, assemblyman daniel owe donnell joins us live. the first openly gay man in the new york state assembly and brother of comedian rosie o'donnell. this was a huge personal victory for you as well as a political victory four weeks gay couples will start tying the knot in new york. when you heard from the governor this was going to happen, what was that moment like for you? >> it was pretty intense. i mean i have known for at least a month that there were the votes in the senate to pass it if the senate leadership put the bill on the floor. john and i, my partner, my fiancee and i were the plaintiffs in the lawsuit in 2004.

this has been a struggle for a long time. the state assembly passed this bill five consecutive times and i'm finally happy that the state senate followed suit. >> will we see a wedding cake in the future here? >> we've been together for 31 years and before we were the plaintiffs in the marriage suit, he made me propose, we can't sue to get married since you haven't asked me to marry you. over a glass of white wine at the symposium greek restaurant on 113th street, i proposed, he accepted and we've been waiting for this a long time. i expect we will get married in the fall. >> nothing like a little pressure. that sounds wonderful. congratulations to you both. >> thank you. >> you needed republicans on board to get this law passed and they were on board. there's a great article in "the new york times" explains the back story to all this and about how a super rich group of republican donors worked with thep are governor and assembly men to give them political cover. how important was that, the financial aspect of getting this

thing done? >> well, a lot of ways politically this was a perfect storm. when the assembly passed the bill for the first time in 2007, the polling numbers were at 38 or 40%. the polling numbers now in new york are close to 60%. that's a wonderful thing. our previous governor david paterson was as committed as andrew cuomo was to the idea, although he didn't have the political power and political popularity that andrew cuomo did and our governor was able to use that power and support to marshall this through. the third thing is that all the groups that were working for us in the past all joined together and worked as a coordinated campaign. then part of that campaign was money. and the money wasn't directly given to the senators, but the money was used to get people in the senate districts to contact their senators, to put tv ads up, to get celebrities like cynthia nixon and others to come to albany and make the case, audrey mcdonald was here.

all that combined made it a perfect opportunity for the senate to put the bill on the floor. and convince those four republicans that they should vote yes. i owe a great debt of gratitude personally. my family and i will be forever grateful to the four senators who joined 29 of those democrats who made history. >> do you expect other states will be able to follow new york's model? >> new york is a very large state and diverse state. people think of it just the pride parade in new york city but there are parts of new york more like ohio than new york city. it's a very large diverse state. it has led on a variety of social issues, whether it's women's voting or the abolition movement. all those things were started here in new york state. and in the end, new york city is an international city which people look to and come to all the time and so i am hopeful that this victory will be able to be mimicked and copied in other states and i'm certainly available to go anywhere in the country anyone want nose try to

help to allow the citizens of those states to get the same rights i finally will have on july 24th which turns out to be my partner's birthday. >> happy birthday to him early. did you happen to get a chance to talk to your sister rosie about this, did you have a conversation, celebration? >> i'm sort of new to the tweeter thing and so she started following me on twitter after we passed the bill and she and i had a late lunch/early dinner on saturday. i only got back from albany saturday afternoon and i saw her saturday night and then yesterday was the pride parade. it was a busy weekend. we had a nice dinner and she was very proud and happy that this occurred and she's looking forward to coming to my wedding. >> okay. great. thank you very much for your time. we're all a little new with the twitter thing and we'll follow those tweets of yours. appreciate your time. not everyone is happy about the passage of the marriage equality act. new york archbishop tim mow this

dolan fought hard and voiced his disappointment after the vote. >> i was sad. i'm just sad because i think it's not good for -- it's not good for the common good and that's what we've been arguing so long. it's just that i think a society of culture is at its peril if we presume to tamper with what has been settled and given and already taught us and cherished for the history of civilization. some of our stories our affiliates are covering around the country. in nevada investigators are still trying to account for all the passengers this amtrak accident. six people were killed when a tractor trailer slammed into the train at a railroad crossing that happened on friday. authorities say they don't think there were problems with the lights or the crossing gates. pennsylvania, a school bus ferrying kids to a church youth camp slammed into a car, rolled over, injuring 15 children and

eight adults. police say the driver of a cadillac tried to pass the bus, but didn't see oncoming traffic. he overcorrected and ended up in the bus's path. st. louis, lightning lit up the famous gateway arch as an inch of hail rained down on the city. tornado sirens went off sending people scrambling to their basements but there were no touch downs. in minot, north dakota, the souris river is slowly returning to its banks after cresting at an all-time high that happened yesterday, but the damage is done. many homes now are under water. it could be july 4th before a lot of folks can even go home. troy ericsson is joining us from minot and troy, you got out, i think, just in the nick of time on friday. have you been able to go back and check on your house? what is happening? >> yes, we have been back to our

house and the basement was completely flooded and we had a good effort to try to save it, but there's only so much you can do. but there's a lot of other people that are a lot worse off than we are and -- but our community has really come together to help and just -- it's very, very difficult situation because it's going to be a long time to get things back to where they need to be and we aren't that far away from the snow fly. >> where are you staying now? >> it's very difficult. >> since you left your home? >> we are up at my mother and father-in-law's up on the south end of town. >> is there any way for you to check on your home to get a sense of what it looks like or what you have left? yes.

we were there yesterday for a short period of time. we walked through our backyard through about four feet of water and got into the house and like i said, the basement is full but it's not to the main level yet. i don't hopefully it don't get to that point. maybe we can save ours. >> were you able to take things with you? >> across the street from us it's a lot higher. >> were you able to take some things with you? >> we did get most everything out. we have -- yes. >> do you have -- so you most of your belongings with you. do you have flood insurance for the belongings that you had to leave behind? >> no, we don't. >> what are you hoping in the next couple of days? are you -- are you able to

assess what you'll have left? >> well -- i'm hoping that water goes down, but it's going to be kind of hard to do when the water is still sitting in front of the house to get the basement water out because it's just going to probably keep coming in. it's going to have to really go down before we can even get in there to do anything. >> troy, we understand that there are folks who are out there to try to help. we wish you the very best. we appreciate you're sharing your story with us. please let us know what it is that you need during this very difficult time. thank you, troy. >> okay. >> floodwaters are inching closer to a nuclear plant. there are questions about whether or not there are shades of fukushima. rob marciano will put that in perspective for us. that is 15 minutes in now. and the last day for the supreme court before summer break begins. some rulings are out this

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now it's time for you to choose the news you would like to see. today a look at how social media and technology are having a unique impact on the way we do things. so, here are your choices. first, facebook standoff. a man holed up in a house with a hostage updates his facebook profile several times during the ordeal. police are looking at how to handle social media in future cases. second, homeless website. two twitter accounts run by homeless women have sparked a popular new web page. how that's creating an on-line

community and helping organizations help people who are in need. finally, scan it, the new device that lets you scan your groceries, bag them and head out the door in record time. you can vote for your favorite story texting 22360, text 1 for facebook standoff, 2 for homeless website or 3 for scan it. winning story will air in the next hour. there are some video games so violent, that parents might think twice before letting their kids pick up their joysticks. the question is, is it legal to ban selling them to minors. the supreme court doesn't think so. that's one of the key rulings the court made today before going on break for the summer. our kate baldwin at the supreme court. kate, tell us about the court's decision. what was the justification for that ruling? >> very interesting and very important ruling, suzanne. a 7-2 decision by the high court. it was really a balancing act

before the justices between consumer protection and free speech. this has to do with the california law that would have banned when signed into law in 2005 the sale of excessively violent video games to minors. anyone under the age of 18. in the majority they basically said the law may be well intentioned, that it wept too far. that it crossed the constitutional boundary of free speech. i'll read you in part what the majority opinion said from justice scalia, suzanne. he wrote as a means of assisting concerned parents the law is seriously overinclusive because the bridges the first amendment rights of young people whose parents and aunts and uncles think violent video games are a harmless past time. interesting coming from justice scalia. on the flip side the justices writing in the dissent, this wasn't as much about censorship as about education. i i'll read you the dissenting opinion by justice breyer. in my view the first amendment

does not disable government from helping parents make such a choice here, a choice not to have their children buy extremely violent, interactive video games. he goes on to say which they more than reasonably fear pose only the risk of harm to those children. very interesting ruling and one many states will be watching to see where they can and cannot draw their own lines in terms of consumer protection and bottom line, a very big win for the gaming industry, suzanne. >> kate baldwin, thank you very much. the casey anthony murder trial is back in session, after the judge rules she is competent to stand trial. i'm going to talk to a criminal defense attorney about the latest drama in this riveting case. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? isn't it time you talked to ?

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a run down of some of the stories ahead. next the casey anthony trial resumes after the judge's fury this weekend. monitoring nuclear plants after massive flooding in nebraska. michele bachmann makes her presidential run official after weeks of campaigning. casey anthony is competent to stand trial for murder, that is according to three psychologists who examined the florida woman over the weekend. court is back in session. that is happening right now. you're looking at live pictures inside the courtroom and anthony, as you know, charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter in 2008. joining us criminal defense attorney richard herman, he is in las vegas. richard, i mean, this was pretty incredible what we saw over the weekend. there was this -- the judge was quite frustrated by everything. they said there was surprising information. now we know that casey anthony underwent examinations by three psychologists at the request of her own attorney about whether or not she's competent to stand

trial here. what do we know about this? what was behind that? >> well, suzanne, if you look into this courtroom carefully, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and the pressure each day now is mounting because, obviously, the -- what's at stake here is her life. i mean in every criminal case, especially with the federal sentencing guidelines it becomes a pressure cooker, the closer we get to the end. here she walked in the courtroom saturday, she was visibly shaken, she was crying, she was upset. this motion was made. it was properly made. no one should take -- blame anybody for making this. they should have made this motion. they had to make the motion. the judge responded appropriately, he immediately edge gauged two forensic psychologists and one psychiatrist to evaluate her over the weekend not to determine whether or not she was insane, nothing to do with insanity, this has everything to do with competency. is she able to understand what's going on in this proceeding and able to effectively assist her

counsel in her defense. that's what the focus was. all three of the medical personnel came back, reported to the judge, she's fine, she can proceed. i don't know if she is fine but competent to proceed and therefore this case began this morning. >> did that help or hurt her that happened over the weekend? >> well, you know, if you listen to all the talk about this, they're saying it's a sign of weakness by the defense and shows that they're just scrambling right now because it came so late in the game. i don't know, suzanne. i don't want to read too much into it. it was a proper motion that had to be made. if she was hysterical or falling apart the lawyers had to bring this to the attention of the court. they did the right thing. the judge did the right thing. and now look, the case started right up this morning and it's -- it could end this week. >> the defense is expected to rest on wednesday, possibly thursday. do we expect this delay over the weekend will impact that at all? are we on schedule? what do we expect? >> suzanne, i think we're on

schedule. i know we missed saturday which is going to be a full day, but i think by the end of this week, this defense case is going to rest. i don't believe he's going to put casey anthony on the stand because that would have taken probably a whole week of testimony just from her. so it looks like this case is going to wind up, i expect to see george anthony on the stand again, maybe lee one more time, maybe cindy one more time, but i think at the end of this week it's over. we're going to go to summations. >> all right. we'll be watching very closely. richard, thank you. appreciate it as always. >> thank you. natural disasters the threats to nuclear facilities, we wi we're going to look at two going on right now in the united states and see how one compares to the disaster at fukushima.

the missouri river spilling over its banks and getting awfully close to the fort calhoun nuclear plant in nebraska. part of a flood wall there collapsed late yesterday and the plant had to switch to backup generators. rob, tell us about this. we know the plant is secure. a lot of people wondering are we dealing with anything that's close to what we saw? japan with the fukushima and the nuclear crisis there? >> it's a valid question. two different scenarios but both involve water, both involve the potential of seeing power taken away from what they need to cool these pipes. show you video as we walk you

through this. what they've been using are inflatable bladders basically, there you go, that actually were used in the mississippi floods as well. they pour water into the bladders that surround the sensitive areas and this is one of them. this is the power station associated with the plant itself. and they've used bladders on both sides of these things to surround the critical areas here and that's been helping. one of those was damaged and there was a temporary leak there. as it stands now, they believe they tell us, as long as the river doesn't rise another two or three feet they should be fine. the forecast is for it to rise maybe a foot or more than that. we should be okay with that. obviously when you talk about fukushima, a google earth image of what that looked like when it was in good shape you had huge tsunamis, more than one coming in, and knocking out all the power and then knocking out the backup generators and then the

backups from that and that caused this area to -- the core to melt down because it had the inability to cool. the other thing we have going for us, suzanne, this. this is fresh water, that certainly helps, and two, we have -- this particular plant was on what's called a cold shut down or cool shut down, meaning it wasn't fully operational and that requires less informatiene keep the rods cool. >> the flooding in nebraska is not the only concern for a nuclear facility in the united states. what else are we watching? >> fires in new mexico. unbelievable. forest fires happening in arizona, new mexico and texas and now a fire in the los alamos laboratory area, national lab, where guess what? they do stuff with nuclear weaponry and other hazardous materials. that fire you saw video of is creeping closer to the entrance of los alamos national laboratory. here it is in new mexico. it's about 40,000 acres or so. zero containment.

that has folks nervous. it's within a mile of the entrance of that place. the 11,000 people that work at the lab be has been asked to stay home with the exception of a few essentials. fire weather today not so bad, but as we get later into the week towards the weekend, we expect the winds to whip up again. zero containment being very close to the los alamos national laboratory, had a lot of folks concerned here as well. two items of nuclear concern, one with fire, one with floods. officials have their hands busy, that's for sure. >> rob, thank you very much. breaking news here. want to give to you. the former illinois governor rod blagojevich, we understand that there is a verdict now that's going to be read between 1:00 and 2:00. that is this afternoon. the jury we are told by the cnn affiliate that the jury has agreed on 18 of 20 counts deadlocked on two counts, all about whether or not the former governor was trying to sell former president -- former

senator barack obama's senate seat in illinois. and whether or not he is guilty of that. i want to go to richard herman who has a little background on this particular story. what do we know? what has he been charged with? this is not his first go-round. >> i understand that we have just lost richard herman. we will summarize the information that we have. this is the former governor of illinois. we have ted rowlands on the phone, who has been covering this story as well. he's now in chicago. ted, what can you tell us? >> well, suzanne, the jury has talked to the judge and sent a message this morning to the judge saying that they have come to an agreement on 18 of the 20 counts against blagojevich, meaning that there are two that they're still hung on. what the judge has done, doesn't give a lot of information about these things. he sent out a note and says he hopes to read the verdict between 1:00 and 2:00 central

time. so between 2:00 and 3:00 eastern. presumably he's gone and told these jurors, all right, let's spend a few more hours on the last two counts and we'll call it a day and read the verdict. we don't know what the two counts are that they haven't come to an agreement on, but they, after a long period of time working on this, they now have a verdict in this case and there is a lot, obviously, at stake for blagojevich. many of these counts have 20-year maximum sentences, some have 10, some have 15 but a lot have 20. if they come back with guilty verdicts in those, the extort n extortion, bribery, attempted extortion counts blagojevich could be going to federal prison for a very long time. >> if you would, just remind our viewers very quickly kind of a little bit of the background here, what was he -- what has he been charged with? >> he's been charged with a litany of charges. wire fraud, attempted extortion, solicitation of a bribe,

extortion conspiracy, conspiracy to solicit a bribe. the government's case was very complicated. this time around, as you mentioned earlier, this is the second time around. they had a retrial in this case. the second time around the government tried to dumb it down if you will for jurors, especially in the closing arguments. they went down the complicated counts and they basically drew a road map for jurors and they left there feeling confident, feeling good they had done an excellent job. the last time around blagojevich was found guilty on one count and jurors when they were polled later said it was too complicated for them, they didn't feel comfortable finding him guilty, however it was 11 to 1, just one hold out juror. we'll see how the government did this time. >> ted, thank you very much. want to bring in richard herman. can you hear me? >> yeah, i hear you, suzanne. >> i can see you now as well. >> i'm back. >> good. >> you've been watching this case closely. what do you make of the fact that they came back with a verdict within the time that

they did? this is what, a little bit more than six or seven days or so? >> yeah. i think that -- and it's all speculation, obviously i don't have personal knowledge, based on experience in over 30 years with these types of cases i think that he's going to get convicted here today. i think the hold outs held out on two of the counts where their strength was, but, you know, one juror prevented a clean sweep the first time around, and by dumbing down the case and simplifying it, coupled with blagojevich taking the stand, you know, that's always such a dangerous thing, when you put the defendant up on the stand because if they catch that defendant in one lie, suzanne, the jury then decides oh, my god, we can't believe anything this guy says and they really hold it against them. so, that's why you're not seeing casey anthony take the stand. i think it was kind of devastating for him to testify in his own case and i think this jury is going to at least --

unleash vengeance on him today and expecting some convicts, yeah. >> what was his defense? what was his explanation? >> his explanation is this is how business was done and i didn't do anything out of the ordinary and this is how politics is done. you know, we trade and we make deals and we try to better ourselves, but that's normal for an outgoing governor. it's a normal thing. it was for the benefit of the citizens of illinois. i mean, it just was preposterous and in chicago, it's preposterous defense i thought, and he was just -- i think he's just unable to carry the weight when your chief of staff testifies 100% against you, and that is your right-hand person, it's kind of difficult to overcome that testimony and that's just one person in his close circle. many others of his close circle testified against him and for the government, now granted they were cut immunity deals, deals

to cut their sentences down, and that comes out on cross, but still, it's pretty devastating testimony. >> all right. richard, thank you very much for your perspective. once again, breaking news, blagojevich verdict is going to be read today between 1:00 and 2:00 this afternoon, the jury has agreed on 18 of 20 counts. deadlocked on two counts. we will find out the fate of rod blagojevich. we will take a quick break. [ male announcer ] walls can talk. but it's our job to make them say something interesting. so how about this weekend we learn some new tricks of the trade...

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all workers are unhappy with their jobs. of course, there's a lot of reasons why, but if you're dreading the workday because of a bad boss, well, we've got some tips on how you can cope with all of this. alison, we don't have bad bosses, right? >> never, nope. not a one. >> but if you had one, what should you do? >> well, what you're referring to, this is a mercer survey that says 21% of employees, they're not actually looking to leave their job, but they do view their employer unfavorably. what do you do? >> rod kurtz says, if you're not willing to quit in this tough economy, watch where you complain, meaning who you complain to or what you say in e-mail, because you don't want it getting back to your boss what you're saying. kurt says find tangible reasons for what you don't like and figure out how to make the situation better.

bosses like proactive employees, so list your goals. brad carsh says asking for quick feedback daily. if the reason is you were passed up for a raise, performance reviews are a good time to express your concerns. if it's a serious issue like harassment action go to your h.r. department. >> what about being friends with your boss, like a facebook friend? is that okay? >> it is a thin line when your boss is your buddy outside of work. 51% of employees think of their boss as a friend. when it comes to your online life, they're looking to disconnect with their manager. that's according to a 2010 survey. 82% of workers aren't connected to their bosses, 32% wish they weren't connected. kurt says, if you have professional connections, be

careful of the persona that you're putting out there online. limit the access that you have to your pictures, keep your tweets to just those closest to y you, and don't accept that friend request. just ignore, suzanne. >> block it out, if you can. if that's possible these days. >> exactly. >> thank you, alison. a lot of you are sounding off on our tack back question. is it time for marriage equality in america. your responses are just moments away.

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>> you've been sounding off on our talk back question, with new york passing a law allowing same-sex marriage. carol joins us with your responses. carol, what are folks saying? >> the question as you said, is it time for marriage equality in america. this from lee, of course it's time. the u.s. needs to catch up with the rest of the world. the next issue you'll have is to convert to the metric system. basically the only country that hasn't. being a superpower doesn't get you. >> i think it's time to get rid of the word marriage when it comes to secular benefits, tax breaks, health proxy, deaths

benef benefits. the word marriage should be given back to religious ceremonies. this from monique. with the high divorce rates among straight couples who are we to judge and talk about broken marriages and familieiese who has not sinned cast the first stone in this case. marriage is about love, not what goes on in the bedroom. this from nick, you mean to tell me equality comes before true christian values, if your answer is yes, then something is truly wrong with your brain. this is a smack in god's face. >> the fact that we're asking this question is absurd. it's as appalling when the question was posed is america ready for a black president. the answer to both questions is of course. keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carol cnn. i'll be back in ten minutes. >> strong opinions on both sides. an asteroid is nearing earth. it's a close encounter you don't

want to miss hearing about. that up next in the newsroom.

top of the hour. i'm suzanne malveaux. the lead detective in the casey anthony murder case on the stand today. hoe jjose baez questioned the p trying to show sloppy examination work. three psychologist examined

anthony over the weekend. they determined she is competent to proceed with the trial. anthony is charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. we learned just a few minutes ago the jury in the retrial of former illinois governor rod blagojevich has reached a verdict. however, it's not going to be read until after 2:00 eastern. blagojevich's first trial ended in a hung jury. he is accused of corruption, in particular, trying to sell the u.s. senate seat vacated by president obama in 2008. flood waters are inching closer to a nuclear power plant in nebraska. a levee broke yesterday which worried a nuclear disaster similar to japan could be brewing. an official emphatically says that the chances that water is going to reach the reactor and cause trouble are almost zero. the reactor was shut down in april for refueling.

wasn't brought back online. officials say they think the river will flood six feet short of the level that would inundate the plant. supreme court says california cannot ban selling video games to kids just because the games are grow tess beingly violent. the commercial free rights trumps concerns over violent content. another candidate joins the race for the 2012 republican race. michele bachmann went to the town she was born, waterloo, iowa to make that formal announcement. that happened a few hours ago. a poll shows bachmann is a close second to mitt romney in iowa. >> my name is michele bachmann. i stand here in the midst of many friends and many family

members to announce formally my candidacy for president of the united states. [ applause ] >> with bullets flying, syrian security forces are carrying out another round of arrests. despite the crackdown, anti-government protests swelled on the streets of damascus this weekend. the international criminal court at the hague issued an arrest warrant today for libyan leader moammar gadhafi. the war antsds says gadhafi committed crimes against humanity by ordering troops to kill libyan civilians in the early days of the uprising. gadhafi's son and brother-in-law are facing arrest warrants. the los angeles dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection. that happened today.

baseball commissioner bud selig blocked a new $3 billion tv deal that would have given the team immediate cash. the move is designed to force dodger's owner frank mccourt to sell the team. he's accused the using the team as his personal piggy bank. want to get back to the casey anthony murder trial. we now know she underwent examinations by three, three psychologists, all who found her competent now to stand trial. our david mattingly who is outside the courthouse, he is in orlando. david, first of all explain to us how that happened? who asked for the competency tests. do we know if that is actually the reason why there was this abrupt recess for saturday? >> that was the mysterious reason behind the ending of court on saturday. that we're finding out is it was the defense who came forward to

the court asking for this sort of an examination. we've just got the briefings back. we can read this to you. it says based on privileged communications between casey marie anthony and her counsel, counsel reasonably believes that ms. anthony is not competent to aid and assist in her own defense and is incompetent to proceed. she was then examined by a psychologist, a forensic psychologist and a psychiatrist over the weekend. this morning, the judge took their findings and was able to determine that, yes, she is competent to continue to stand trial. so we got back on track this morning after that examination over the weekend. no details and we're likely not to see any details about exactly what kind of behavior her defense team was looking at when they decided to do this. >> david, we know there's been a brief recess right now. do we know who we're going to hear from or see today? >> we're hearing from more

experts. we're hearing from investigators being called by the defense. the defense trying to show there were certain questions not asked, there were certain directions in the case that took them away possibly from other possibilities, and that, in particular, that they may have drawn the wrong conclusions when they tested the gases inside the trunk of the car belonging to casey anthony. the defense had an expert on the stand saying those gases in there, you cannot really determine if there was a human body decaying in the trunk of that car. again, this is a tack that the defense has been using for quite a few days now, bringing in their own experts and calling attention to things that weren't asked and facts that were interpreted away that they say should have been interpreted another way. >> how's casey's behavior today? we know from time to time she's been emotional during certain testimony? what does she look like today? >> well, the last couple of days last week, we saw her get very upset, particularly when her brother was on the stand, she

was crying quite a bit where she was sitting. she also got emotional as they were showing pictures of little caylee while her mother was on the stand testifying. today, she walks into the courtroom, she's smiling at some of her attorneys, appearing to laugh very briefly at one point to something they were talking about. so she seemed to be in a much better mood after this examination that took place over the weekend. >> david, thank you very much. here's your chance "talk back." new york passes a law on same-sex marriage. is it time for marriage equality in america. carol costello joins us from new york. hey, carol? >> hi, suzanne. it's what new york's governor thinks, on july 24, same-sex marriage will be legal in new york as it is in five other states. it was a bipartisan effort, four new york lawmakers voted yes to same-sex marriage.

gay advocates are celebrating and handing out their road map working on same-sex marriage legislation. new york's governor, andrew cuomo. >> i believe new york has sent a message to this nation loud and clear. it is time for marriage equality all across this country. >> maybe. national, even some staunch conservatives are on board like dick cheney who has a gay daughter. >> i think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. >> cheney did add that it's up to each state to decide. other conservatives on board, john mccain's wife, cindy, his daughter too. george w. bush's daughter, barbara. it's a sign young republicans are much more supportive of this issue. still, there are plenty of people opposed to same-sex marriage. according to politico, 26 states have enacted some sort of

prohibition against same sex unions. the catholic church leaves it worried that both marriage and family will be undermined. the "talk back" question today, is it time for marriage equality in america. facebook.com/carolcnn. >> i find it fascinating that there were wall street, big donors who were involved in all of this with the governor to give political cover for some of them republicans who voted for it. >> that's right, who have conservative constituencies, and they were afraid the money would dry up. so the governor enlisted the help of the wall street tycoons so they could shore up some of that money for those republicans the next time they ran for office. >> okay. interesting. interesting back story. it's all fascinating. thank you, carol. run down of some of the stories ahead.

up next, i'll be talking to lutd general william conwell. he's getting ready for the afghanistan drawdown. look out above, an asteroid speeding through space, closing in on us. amanda knox back in an italian courtroom, her appeal suffers a potential setback. lower prices at the gas pump. just in time. and this. ♪ get up get up >> better education in chile choreographed to michael jackson's "thriller." you makes♪ ♪ when skies are grey ♪ you'll never know, dear ♪ how much i love you ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ [ male announcer ] as long as there are babies,

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have been killed in pakistan. it happened in the tribal region of south waziristan on the afghan border. officials tell cnn a suspected u.s. drone fired two drones on the militant vehicle. this comes as the u.s. military prepares to start bringing troops home soon from the afghan war. lieutenant general william conwell has commanded forces in iraq and afghanistan. he currently serves as the training general of the combined security transition command. thank you so much for being with us. >> thanks for having us today. >> we heard president obama's announcement, 10,000 troops to be withdrawn this year, another 20,000 or so before the election. there's been a lot of criticism saying, look, maybe the timing of this, it's overlapping with the campaign, with the re-election effort.

do you think there is at all a political component to this? >> well, what i would tell you, suzanne, what's really most people don't realize is during the time period that we brought the surge forces in, one of the stated objectives of our president was to increase the number of afghan security forces. in the last 20 months we've increased them by over 100,000. in the next 15 months, during the time period where they're talking about taking out these 33,000 forces, there will be an increase of about a 70,000 more afghan security forces, so those should in fact have a real impact on the ground inside of afghanistan. >> do you think those are the considerations that the obama administration was taking into account when the president decided these are the numbers of the troops that are going to be withdrawn? >> absolutely. no question at all that he looked at that complete picture, that and also made more strategic level things back here at home. >> i want you to take a listen here at home. this is congressman mike rogers.

he's one of the critics who is suspicious of this when it comes to whether or not this is a good idea, the obama administration and the paves withdrawing troops. take a listen. >> at the end of the day, if we leave afghanistan with a safe haven, we have done nothing except accept a pre9/11 mentality. the time line is just too darn close. i'm a former fbi guy. coincidences are one thing, but the fact that it lines up to have those troops out before the first debate of 2012 is concerning to me, mainly because the conditions on the ground have not changed. >> i assume you take exception to that, but what needs to happen? what do the conditions on the ground, what do they need to be in order to withdraw perhaps more troops out quickly? >> well, again, i've been on the ground now for almost 20 months continuously. what i'll tell you, the conditions on the ground today are far different than november

2009. you see a troop better trained and who want to take a lead for their country, which perhaps you would not have seen perhaps as robustly in november of 2009. >> are you satisfied that the afghan forces being trained? is there something they could be doing differently to move faster, to get more troops out? >> it's being done at a pace that's about right for afghan stand rig stan right now. 100,000 additional forces on the ground operating that be weren't there before with 70,000 more coming online. >> i want you to take a listen to fareed zakaria.

>> the money was invested directly has achieved the united states has been built schools for us. but the united states has not invested in major infrastructure projects for us like dams and electricity that we can produce of our own. >> why support this guy? we have invested billions of dollars in propping up his country, and many projects. he says it's going to the wrong place. >> what i'll say is we're supporting the government of afghanistan, not necessarily an individual, but rather the government of afghanistan. >> he is the president. >> he is. but what i would tell you is there has been an significant investment in the infrastructure, especially in the military and police side where we have oversight, where we have done an tremendous amount of infrastructure development in building the military facilities, police stations, hospitals, clinics and those type of things necessary

for a functioning army and police force. >> do you dismiss what he says out of hand? >> no. you know, there's that concern about how money is moved in each country. but what i can tell you, what we do in a training mission is a transparent, open mission with our afghan counterparts. they're aware of the different activities taking place. there's a routine interaction between the minister of defense and the minister of interior. >> thank you so much for your time. best of luck to the mission and all the troops over there who are fighting. >> thank you very much. >> appreciate it. there's surprising news at the gas stations as summer begins. probably not what you would expect. ♪ [ male announcer ] and just like that, it's here. a new chance for all of us: people, companies, communities to face the challenges yesterday left behind

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cnn money lead story, minnesota government shutdown could hit kids. lawmakers fail to pass the budget. taking a quick look at the stock mark market. the dow jones up. we are following another good story, if you believe it or not, it's trickling down each time we stop at the gas station, the price going down now, 24 straight days are seeing those prices fall. our alison cossic, she's joining us from the new york stock exchange. last month, it seemed hopeless. now we seem to have a turnaround this summer. how did that happen? >> exactly, yes, the national average, now sitting at $3.57 a gallon.

we want to know why the drop? you know why? it's simple supply and demand. prices wound up going high enough that we changed our driving habits. we pulled back on how much we were filling up. that cut down on the demand for fuel. at the same time, the supply is increasing most recently with the u.s. and the iea pumping extra supplies of crude oil from their emergency reserves. look how dramatic of the change this is in the past two months, less than two months actually. since early may we've gone from almost a dozen states over the $4 mark. now we're down to two, alaska and hawaii. suzanne? >> how low do you think we're going to go here? this is pretty amazing. >> we could very well go lower than this. the general consensus is prices have not yet hit bottom. some experts are saying we could see prices drop another 20 cents this summer. you know what, it's a whole lot better than where we were in may. i want to take a quick check at

the markets. we're at the halfway mark of the session. the dow up 101 points. the nasdaq up 30. getting lukewarm reporting on consumer spending. we're getting to the end of the fed's bond buying program. that's been pouring cash into the market to help the economy. it could add extra volatility as traders wind up dressing up their portfolios before the quarter ends. not seeing a lot of volatility issues. seeing lots of green. >> i like this news, it's rare. we like to see good news coming from you. it's time for you to choose the news. today a look at how social media and technology are having a unique impact of how we do stuff. here are the choices, a manholed up with a hostage updates his facebook profile. police are looking at how to handle social media in future cases like that one.

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government lets reporters inside. same-sex marriage spreads across new york. we're going to see if other states decide to follow suit. a close call above earth, an asteroid zipping past us. for months, syria refused to let journalists within its borders. while reports of this crackdown blew up on the internet. now the government is finally letting reporters in. arwa damon reports from inside syria. >> reporter: it's unsettling arriving in this town. for weeks, we heard stories of brutal attacks by syrian security forces, of thousands fleeing of mass graves. now the government is bringing journalists to this dusty and very empty town. we're escorted, not only by officials, but two truckloads of military.

that's for our own protection, we're told. armed gangs that once controlled this town are still a threat. military officials told us the crackdown here was unavoidable. to stop terrorist elements whose aim is to bring down the regime and establish an al qaeda style islamic state. most of the shops are closed. a handful of people wander the streets. this is what is left of the post office. where we're told security personnel are trying to surrender were gunned down. >> arwa damon joins us live from damascus. first extraordinary that you now have access along with other journalists. explain to us what you are seeing on the ground. we've reported so many signs of violence that have taken place. have you seen this where you are? >> suzanne, if we just take the example of that snippet that you

aired right there, that's exactly what the government wants us to see and hear. our movements are regulated by government minders who are constantly on the streets with us whenever we're filming. what we end up with is two competing narratives, that the government is targets these armed gangs trying to bring down the regime and with activists fiercely disputing that fact. saying they're demonstrating peacefully because they want to bring about reform, because now they want to bring about the downfall of the regime because the regime has resorted to using so much violence against them. and in trying to clarify exactly what is happening, it's really almost just as challenging as it is to figure that out when we're inside syria as it is when we are outside. >> excellent point. up until now, we've been getting all our news from citizen journalists inside sear yeah, joup loading their cell phone video. the people in damascus, are they

willing to talk to you and share their stories about what's really going on? >> well, that's a great question, in the sense that even if people were willing to speak with a western journalist, people are incredibly cautious when approaching us, simply because we are constantly operating in the shadow of our government minders. because we have been having to rely on the youtube videos, one of the questions we put in was to go to areas around damascus where the demonstrations were taking place so we could see for ourselves exactly what was happening. that request was denied. we were told the permissions did not come through and it was for our own security. on friday we were taken to an area where a pro government demonstration was happening. people there most certainly passionate about the point they were trying to put forward, but again, it's incredibly difficult to have candid, on-camera conversations with people because they are very concerned

about their own safety. that being said, it is possible to try to go out and speak to individuals. we do sometimes hear people coming up and whispering things to us in the streets, but again, you are still trying to pull apart the competing threads and figure out what is taking place in this country. >> we appreciate your efforts in doing that. i know it's a tough job there, but thank you once again. new york becomes the sixth tate to legalize same-sex marriage. what state could be next? we're going to take a look at the new battlegrounds. [ whistle ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ ting! ] [ male announcer ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage or visit travelers.com.

a reminder for you to vote for today's "choose the news" winner. vote 1 for facebook standoff, a man holding a hostage updates his facebook page during the standoff. police are coming up with new tactics to battle criminals using social media. vote 2 for homeless website, how to twitter accounts help spark an online community for the homeless. vote 3 for scan it. scan it, sack 'em, juan martin out t walk out the door. new york hopes to rake in billions of tourism dollars by becoming the destination wedding spot for same sex couples.

city's annual gay pride parade celebrated a new law legalizing same-sex marriage in new york. it's the largest state to allow gay couples to marry. last hour, i spoke to the lawmaker who led the marriage equality act to passage, daniel o'donnell. he's the first openly gay man in the new york assembly. the brother of comedian rosie o'donnell. >> a lot of ways this was a perfect storm. when the assembly passed the bill, the polling numbers were at 38 or 40%. the polling numbers in new york are close to 60%. our previous governor was as committed as andrew cuomo was to the idea although he didn't have the political power and popularity that andrew cuomo did, so our governor was able to use that political power and support to help marshall this

through. the third thing, all the disparate groups joined together and worked as a coordinated campaign. >> new york governor, andrew cuomo believes his state's actions could change the momentum for the gay rights movement on a national level. >> what this state said today brings this discussion of marriage equality to a new plane. that's the power and the beauty of new york. the other states look to new york for the progressive direction. what we said today is you look to new york once again. because new york made a powerful suggestion, not just for the people of new york but for the people all across this nation. >> new york's new law takes effect on july 24th. carl is here to go beyond the headlines. tell us what other states this

may be gaining traction? >> we're going to take a look at where the country stands on this at the time. there are six states and the district of columbia that allow gay marriage. those states include vermont, new hampshire and new york. two other states recognize same-sex marriages from other places, those include rhode island and maryland, but this battle continues in several other locations. if you want to take a look at california, there has been intense back and forth here over the issue. gay rights activists are currently trying to overturn proposition 8. that was a voter approved measure that banned same-sex marriages after there was this four month period when they were allowed. that, proposition 8 could be a big issue in 2012 for californians if that gets back on the ballot. take a look at north carolina, the home of the 2012 democratic national convention. that state's considering whether or not to put a con constitutional ban of gay

marriage on its ballot. then minnesota, home of two presidential hopefuls, representative michele bachmann and tim pawlenty. minnesota is considering a constitutional amendment that would keep the definition of marriage as between a man and women. there are 37 states that still enforce the defense of marriage act. that was the bill congress enacted in 1996. it prevents government recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same thing. while what happened in new york is considered a victory for gay rights activists, it's not something considered a sea of change. american amanda knox is in an italian courtroom. that is today, appealing her murder conviction. knox and two others were found responsible for the death of her study abroad roommate. one of the men convicted took the stand today. his testimony apparently shocked knox. cnn's dan rivers joins us from

italy. fill us in on what happened today. what is this about? >> well, they were kind of countses, i think, the defense team for amanda knox on this co-defendant effectively, rudy guede who has been convicted for the murder. they were hoping he would crack under cross examination, that he would admit he killed madeline on his own and the other two had nothing to do with it. in fact what happened was the exact opposite. for the first time, rudy guede accused the other two of being guilty of her murder. he confessed that he alone had killed her as had been reported as he confessed to a fellow prison inmate. it back fired for the defense team here. amanda knox herself dramatically also gave a statement to the court in italian. she talked about how shocked she was at kwa day's evidence.

she said he knew we weren't in the house the night of the murder. she didn't know what happened and she was sorry that she couldn't talk to guede direct. it was a dramatic day in this appeal, an appeal that still has several months left to run. >> this case has taken so many twists and turns. it's gone on for four years now. do we have any sense of when there would be a ruling on this appeal? >> well, suzanne, this is just one of a number of appeals that can happen. this one may wrap up in sort of the end of september, but then if they fail to overturn this conviction, they can then go to the supreme court here. this may drag on for months more, even years more. all the while, the kind of intense press speculation and media interest in this case, if anything, is only getting bigger, not diminishing at all.

it was interesting as well seeing amanda knox in court today. it was the first time the three of them had been in court altogether since the very early days of these court hearings. as she gave her statement, her voice was really tremabling with emotion. she paused almost as if she were about to break down in tears. she regained her composure. it was clear, when we were watching her, she was taking deep breaths. she was being reassured by her lawyers. she was clearly very nervous about today, because she knew so much was hanging on it. >> dan rivers, thanks so much. an asteroid nearing earth. it's a close encounter you don't want to miss hearing about.

reminder to volt for today's "choose the news" winner. vote 1 for facebook standoff, a man holding a hostage updates his facebook page during the standoff. police are coming up with new tactics to battle these social media. vote 2 for how to websites, how twitter is used to create an online community for the homeless. vote 3 for scan it. scan it, sack it, walk out the

door. winning story is going to air later this hour. 30 minutes and counting. close encounter with an asteroid. alex ra steele taking an eye on that for us. tell us what that's about. it sounds scary. >> let's say it's not a look out below scenario. what is one of the coolest things about it, it was discovered on wednesday by robotic telescopes who's job in new mexico scan the skies and look for asteroids. let's talk about it. it is fast approaching the earth. in about half an hour, it will be at its closest approach. what does that mean? can you touch it? can you feel it? no. it's going to be about 7500 miles above the earth's surface. how big is this rock-like substance? it's actually the size of a tour bus. seems pretty big in scope. pales in comparison to what we've got out there. it won't hit. there's no threat. it is interesting. an object this size passes about

every six years through our earth's atmosphere. so you want to see it? can you see it? let me tell you, it's going to be a little difficult. you need a moderate sized telesco telescope, one of the ones you would buy in the scientific stores, but it is lightning fast. it is moving incredibly fast. also it's not that bright. it's about 250 times dimmer than the faintest stars we see in the night sky. collision satellites are not possible. i'm saying it's 7500 miles from the earth's atmosphere. the weather satellites are about 22,000 miles in the earth's atmosphere. kind of neat. probably not going to see it. if you have the correct scientific acumen, you might be able to see it. in terms of the bigger picture, other than asteroids, we have strong storms especially this afternoon and tonight, chicago,

minneapolis, kc, you could be under the gun, nashville as well. birmingham, atlanta, certainly more out of the question than not. hail and strong winds part of the package tonight and the heat continues to blaze. we'll talk more, suzanne, about those fires in los alamos and the weather impacting them. your responses popping up to our talk back question. is it time for marriage equality in america after new york's approval of same-sex marriage. your responses are moments away. how many hours a day would you say you spend sitting in front of a computer at your job or at home? a new study says long hours sitting actually shortens your life. researchers followed more than 100,000 people over 14 years and found a pretty disturbing trend, especially among women who sat more than six-hours a day. what do you think they discovered? the women had a, 25% more incidence of death compared to

those who sat less than three hours a day, b, a 37% higher chance or c, 10% higher? not so much. well, for a driver like you, i would recommend our new snapshot discount. this little baby keeps track of your great driving habits, so you can save money. [sighs] amazing. it's like an extra bonus savings. [ cackling ] he's my ride home. how much can the snapshot discount save you? call or click today. water, we take our showers with it. we make our coffee with it. but we rarely tap its true potential and just let it be itself. flowing freely into clean lakes, clear streams and along more fresh water coast line than any other state in the country. come realize water's true potential. dive in-to the waters of pure michigan.

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women who spend their days sitting more than six-hours at a time face a much higher risk of death than those who sit less than three hours a day. how much higher? a whopping 37%. for men, it was 18%. here's the really troubling part.

folks who got physical activity when they were not sitting still had a shorter lifetime. sitting in a chair has a negative effect on your metabolism, affecting your blood pressure. if you have to sit, break it up with periods of standing and walking. >> you've been sounding off on the talk back question with new york passing a law allowing same-sex marriage. carol costello joins us from new york with your responses. what are folks saying? >> passionate responses, the talk back question, is it time tore marriage equality in america? this from jeremy. i do not understand why this is such a huge issue. in this country, there's a very old document that says all men are created equal. last time i saw it, there wasn't a asterisk next to men.

this from jennifer, for the people opposed, ask yourself this question, does it truly affect you if gay marriage is made legal? will you lose your job, your house, your safety? if not, shut up. let people in love get married. how would you like being with someone for years and not be able to make it legal? this from robert. gay marriage should be banned only when we ban straight people from getting married two, three, or four times. continue the conversation at facebo facebook/car facebook/carol@cnn. >> this is a protest. this is anger expressed quite like you've never seen. check this out. ♪ get up get up >> these are students that are protesting. they are protesting. the state of chile schools to

the beat of michael jackson's "thriller." they say chilean education is as rotten as the ghouls in that music video. >> everybody knows the steps. i'm amazed by that. i must say, that's my kind of protest. >> carol, i know the steps. >> it's peaceful. it gets the message out peacefully. >> you know the steps. >> i did back in the day. >> you do still? >> absolutely. they have nothing on us. i want you to see this one. this is the red leather jacket, michael jackson wore in the video. sold for $1.8 million to a texan. a second thriller jacket is owned by the jackson estate. all of that after the two year anniversary of the death of michael jackson just days ago. a lot of michael jackson stuff out there. >> 1.8, can you imagine paying

$1.8 million for a leather jacket just because michael jackson wore it dancing as a zombi. >> that texan sure loves him. we'll let you go, carol. talk to you tomorrow. you told us what you wanted to see. your "choose the news" story moments away. in companies embracing the cloud-- big clouds, small ones, public, private, even hybrid. your data and apps must move easily and securely to reach many clouds, not just one. that's why the network that connects, protects, and lets your data move fearlessly through the clouds means more than ever. [ waves crashing ]

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time for your "choose the news" winner. felicia taylor shows us a new

grocery gadget that gives us new meaning to fast food. >> i love scanning it. >> why? >> because it makes shopping fun. >> i love the pop-up coupons. >> reporter: scan it is the latest gadget to hit grocery stores, promising to save customers time and money. the system is in use by the dutch company ahold. in the czech reaspublic in halff their stores. >> it's about giving the customers choice so they come back here every day. we have 10 million people who use scan it. a lot of them are repeat customers. it's about getting a choice of technology that you can't find anywhere else. >> this is the first time i'm using it. i think it's going to be very helpful once i get the hang of it, because it's quick to get out of the store. i anticipate, and i would like to see the prices. >> reporter: it was time to take

scan it for a test drive. let's see how this works. all we have to do is scan it. here we are. okay. here's the little trusty device. let's see what happens. carrots are 1.66. romaine is expensive, but it's fresh. okay. not bad. $2.50. that's really a good deal. let's start bagging this stuff up. that's the whole point. that's why you're supposed to save time. and be a smarter shopper. while you're shopping, the device displays what's on sale, enticing the buyer to pick up more items. ahold says the shoppers who use scan it spends about 10% more than the average customer. we spent $45.55 yet